Castro Marim Golf Course

Castro Marim sits right on the border, with the Guadiana river and Spain visible from its higher ground and the Atlantic glinting to the south. Terry Murray laid out the original Atlantic and Guadiana nines in 2001; a third, the Grouse, followed a few years later, giving the resort three genuinely different nine-hole loops and two ways to build an eighteen.

The Atlantic and Guadiana wind through mature pine, tight and demanding of accuracy, with elevated tees and dogleg fairways carved into the hillside. The Grouse opens things up considerably, rolling over higher ground with wide inland views and fewer trees to hide behind. Two holes on the Atlantic stand out for very different reasons: the par-5 4th, a sharply doglegging hole with a lake and elevated green that's been singled out in international golf writing, and the par-5 9th, which runs downhill all the way to the sea. Keep an eye out beyond the fairways too, this is genuine wildlife country, with wild boar, partridge, and even the occasional Iberian lynx spotted on the Grouse in the early morning.

Facilities include a driving range, a resident academy, and a clubhouse restaurant with a terrace looking back over the course. The greens here are consistently the best-praised part of the round; the wider infrastructure shows some age, so this suits golfers who value variety, views, and a quiet, unhurried atmosphere over polished modern conditioning. For a genuinely different corner of the Algarve, right at its eastern edge, Castro Marim is worth the drive.