Vale do Lobo Royal Course

Golf at Vale do Lobo began in 1965, when Sir Henry Cotton was brought in to lay out the resort's first course, part of Trusthouse Forte and Costain's plan to build Portugal's first purpose-designed luxury resort. Two nine-hole loops opened in 1968 and 1972, and eventually became today's Ocean course. The Royal course as it stands opened in 1997, American architect Rocky Roquemore's reworking of Cotton's original drawings.

It's a par-72 layout of around 6,059 metres, rolling through pines and lakes, with some steep climbs on the back nine and a couple of doglegs. Water shows up on both nines, mostly visible from the tee. The 9th plays to a green that's almost an island. But the signature hole is the 16th, inherited from Cotton's original 1968 routing: a par-3 played along the coastal cliffs, often named among the most photographed holes in Europe.

The buggy is recommended here, and the resort backs it up with a driving range, an academy staffed by resident professionals, a clubhouse restaurant and snack bar, locker room and pro shop. Book a round on the course that gave the Algarve its most famous photograph, and pair it with its sibling, the Ocean course, next door.

Course Map