Algarve, Portugal
Amendoeira Golf Resort
Course Highlight
This Algarve twin-course resort features championship layouts by legends Nick Faldo and Christy O'Connor Jnr., with the Faldo Course showcasing desert-style bunkers, cacti and olive groves in Mediterranean splendor, while the O'Connor Course dazzles with its orange-tree-lined 5th and dramatic water hazards spanning holes 7-9, plus Portugal's only floodlit night course.
About the Course
Amendoeira Golf Resort features two championship courses—the Faldo and O'Connor—with the former winning the 2016 World Golf Awards title for 'Portugal's Best Golf Course' and maintaining a consistent ranking among Continental Europe's top 100. As host to the World Kids Golf Championship, the resort nurtures the next generation of golfers. The Faldo Course stretches 7,258 yards at par-72, showcasing dramatic elevation changes. The par-4 12th hole stands as the signature test—a spectacular tee shot over a wooded valley climbing to the course's highest point, where an ancient cork oak tree guards the green. The back nine delivers two exceptional par-3s: the 11th, though only 144 yards, demands precision over water to a two-tiered green, with an old well from a former homestead preserved in Faldo's design as a historical touch; the 16th plays downhill to a massive green with water lurking right. The O'Connor Course offers flatter terrain but more water hazards, with the par-3s at the 3rd and 6th testing accuracy over aquatic challenges, while the 5th hole winds through fragrant orange groves that capture the Mediterranean essence of the Algarve.