I review golf courses for a living – and THIS is Europe’s next great destination

Could the opening of four new golf courses in Portugal make serious waves in our sport’s tourism industry? Our Top 100s Editor went to find out…

One course opening in a country these days is significant news, so for two to do so on the same narrow peninsula in Portugal is fairly sensational.

With these two golf courses in Portugal opening, it means the area has gone from one course in 2022 to five within three years, it represents the most notable development in Continental European golf for many decades.

This notable scenario has developed in Lisbon’s Costa Azul (Blue Coast) by stealth for two reasons. 

Firstly, CostaTerra is Discovery Land Company’s first opening in Europe and thus entirely private, so when it opened in 2022, the club sought no fanfare. 

It’s literally my job to know about these sort of things, so it actually surprised me it had been open as long as it has, because I had only heard snippets about it for 18 months. Don’t mistake the lack of hype for anything low key, though.

Secondly, Pinheirinho was actually finished more 13 years ago, but is only just poised to open after two periods of financial difficulty. It is slated to welcome golfers for the first time when clubhouse construction ends in September – but having seen the state of play this week, don’t be surprised if it is pushed back to early next year.

The key club in this movement, however, is Terras da Comporta. Owned by Vanguard Properties, it opened its Dunas course in 2023 and is counting down the weeks until the second, Torre, is ready for play.

This quartet of new courses join Troia – one of the greats of Continental European golf – on the peninsula south of Lisbon. 

And even this Robert Trent Jones original has some exciting news. Today’s Golfer understands it can expect fresh investment and a thorough overhaul sooner rather than later, and we can thus bank on it to be restored to its former glory – and even perhaps surpass it.

I walked Troia with one of the world’s most prominent architects and even on a casual stroll he was able to point out several things on every hole that would improve the course. 

This pleased me immensely, as I have a real soft spot for Troia and hope my optimism about its future is not misplaced; I really can’t wait to see what it looks like in a couple of years’ time.

Troia is almost at the end of the peninsula, with the town of Setubal easily visible across the water at the southern end of the city of Lisbon. It has been out on its own in golf terms since opening in 1980, and therefore didn’t attract the footfall its quality – when in its prime – merited.

The story is now very different, and as you make your way back down the peninsula from Troia, you first come to Terras da Comporta, on the outskirts of the eponymous charming village. 

The Dunas course, designed by David McLay Kidd, opened in 2023 – but has a long backstory as a result of the collapse of the Espírito Santo bank and then the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It was worth the wait, because it went straight in Golf World’s Continental European Top 100 Courses ranking at No.9.

The scale of Dunas is truly extraordinary. It rises and falls across shapely, tumbling terrain with a feeling of endless space and exhilarating freedom.

It was routed by Steel before McLay Kidd was drafted in and the Oregon-based Scotsman had to stick with a plan that feels sure to have been done with residential units in mind.

Those have not appeared and the GM Rodrigo Ulrich does not believe they will, unlike on Torre. As a result, there are significant green-to-tee distances and you need to be pretty fit to walk it. 

Otherwise this has the hallmarks of McLay Kidd’s emphasis on fun, playable golf littered with heroic shots. He challenges you to take on carries to reap reward and dares you to find a line of play that sets you up for attacking approaches.

It is risk-reward, gambling, perfect-for-matchplay golf. And it looks absolutely epic.

Fescue fairways (a rarity in Europe) are flanked by blankets of sandy native areas and handsome pines. Your phone camera will only be in your bag for a maximum of a couple of holes at any point in the round.

I especially love the back nine, with some unforgettable holes that are up there with the best on the continent. Don’t expect Dunas to fall when I refresh the Top 100 Courses in Continental Europe list later this year.

It is poised to get a little sister in a matter of weeks which will fall under consideration for that ranking. 

The front nine at Torre is more or less ready for play right now and it’s only really the start of the back nine that needs some work.

It is Sergio Garcia’s first design and it is going to be a distinctive complement to Dunas.

Like Dunas built by Conor Walsh’s company, it has views overlooking the sea and Serra da Arrábida natural park and is a par 72 that is well over 7,000 yards from the tips.

With a Tour pro involved – albeit a lot of the heavy lifting was done by Olazabal Design’s Matthias Nemes – I was expecting a more exacting examination off the tee, not least with Garcia’s renowned driving prowess.

“The Torre course, in general, will favour precision and shotmaking over length and power,” Garcia has said of Torre, for which Valderrama has been cited as his inspiration.

But in fact it is pleasingly generally really wide off the team. Only in a run of three holes from the 12th does it become narrower and I think golfers are going to really enjoy it.

Like Dunas, it really looks the part. There is no fescue here but with the native vegetation populating the piles and piles of sand lining the fairways it has a gorgeous natural aesthetic.

There are some intriguing decisions to be made as well as some thrilling semi-blind drives and Torre is consistently engaging. I wouldn’t quite have it at Dunas level but it will definitely be a contender for the 2025 Continental European Top 100.

Ten minutes further south is Pinheirinho. This was designed by Jorge Santana da Silva in 2012, but after being mothballed through two periods of financial difficulty, it is ready for play and just awaiting its clubhouse.

There is plenty of construction round the edges but it is generally well back from the playing corridors.

Pinheirinho is never close to ‘quiet’. It was designed in a different era of golf course architecture and it shows. It was in a sense refreshing to see a new course opening that bucked the trend for ‘wide and playable’, even if I do think high-handicap golfer or even just those with a modest short game will be seriously tested by it.

There are many memorable holes. I enjoyed the start, with the short par-4 2nd played between trees acting like sentries to a sporty green and the long par-3 to a funky green sloping left to right.
The 7th plays downhill then uphill to a green with a ridge down centre and the short 8th’s green has three tiers, and is guarded by a bunker on left and a valley short.

The 10th has a split fairway with water in between, and an angled green; you have to go down the right if the pin is back left because of trees on that line.

The 11th is another split-fairway decision, where you can drive straight then fly over the lake or go down the left and have a shot more ‘up’ the green.

The 17th is a Sawgrass tribute and then 18th ends on a reasonably shallow green protected for 95% of its front edge by water.

Another 10 minutes away and you’ll find CostaTerra. This American group specialises in super-high-end developments with luxurious properties for sale and a Tom Fazio-designed course at its heart.

I’ve been to plenty of similar places and before I get to the golf I’ll just say that the service, vibe and charm of CostaTerra’s clubhouse is up with the very best. The view – over the treetops to the ocean – from the clubhouse verandah is breathtaking. 

The course is, I’m assured by someone who has played several Fazio courses, ‘very Fazio’. There is a distinct difference between the playing areas and the native vegetation, with some sharp lines in contrast to the melding at Comporta Dunas.

The playing area for golf is clearly defined and immaculately presented. It really was in terrific condition with comfortably the quickest greens of the trip.

There are plenty of greens with plenty of movement in them – apparently at times a bit more than is expected of Fazio – so sure touch with the putter and wedge is often essential. 

Swales, ridges and curves on and around the greens are enhanced by the shapes being covered in tightly-mown grass. This is not a links but putting from 20 yards away on these surfaces is possible.

It’s a big-boned course but pleasingly walkable, with most holes gently undulating so that when the one or two with notable elevation arrive it appears as pleasant variety rather than a chore.

I stayed at Quinta da Comporta during my trip. This boutique hotel is styled like farms native to the Comporta area, giving it an atmosphere of rustic refinement. Thatch-roof cabanas and mock farmhouses with tiled roofs mix with whitewashed walls, wooden beams and elegant furnishings in this eco-friendly, tranquil, arty hotel. One of the farmhouses contains a superb spa and gym, the other a splendid organic restaurant.