If you’re weary of the Algarve but are nevertheless fond of Portugal, you should give its renowned Silver Coast a try.
It’s certainly less busy than its illustrious neighbour and is renowned for its ancient towns, sandy beaches and rugged coastline. Not only that but it also has some spectacular golf courses that compare favourably with those you might find elsewhere in the country.
The first thing you may want to know is where exactly is it? Well, it starts to the west of Lisbon just north of Estoril and stretches further north for about 150 kilometres and ends just south of Porto.
In case you’re wondering, the name comes from the distinctive sparkling sand that is responsible for the dazzling beaches. But we’re less interested in the beaches than we are in the golf courses and so let’s take a look at them.
After a flight to Lisbon, the first one I tackled was the famous Praia D’El Rey. It occupies an attractive cliff-top site and, in places, stretches right down to the sea. Indeed, the best and most attractive holes are on the back nine and run along by the water so that the soothing sound of the surf might settle the nerves.
Cabell Robinson, for many years Robert Trent Jones’s right-hand man, designed it back in 1997. He has done a fine job, blending the undoubtedly ‘linksy’ stretches in with the holes where trees are more abundant and the course has a more parkland feel.
There are fewer bunkers than you might have expected on an evidently sandy terrain. There are some extremely attractive elevated tees but not much in the way of troublesome rough.
Wind is sometimes called the ‘invisible hazard’ and it’s very much a feature of this excellent course that is blessed with glorious greens that are wonderfully smooth. The only negative is the amount of construction work going on around you but the villas they’re building are far enough back so as not to interfere.
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After what was an extremely enjoyable round, I caught the shuttle bus back to my hotel, the very comfortable Praia D’El Rey Marriott and enjoyed a marvellous night’s sleep before the next challenge which was Praia D’El Rey’s sister course, West Cliffs, which is just ten miles up the road.
Designed by a female member of the Dye dynasty, Cynthia Dye, it’s yet another course that affords you some nice views of the Atlantic. But the most distinctive feature is the demanding carries over gorse and other vegetation that threatens to devour your tee-shots.
After a handful of holes, I swallowed my macho pride and walked forward to the more sympathetic tees where the carry to the fairway was less daunting and I would urge you to do the same. Golf was never meant to be a succession of searches for lost balls.
Even from the forward tees, there is still plenty of trouble on this tough but fair course. Again there were not as many bunkers as one might have expected and the greens are an absolute pleasure to putt on. There is a sprinkling of water hazards from modest ponds to large lakes, which suggests that irrigation is not a problem and is yet further evidence that this not a true links in the classic sense; in fact, it’s perhaps more ‘cliff-top’ than anything else.
If you go to Bom Successo and enquire about the architect, the chances are that they will tell you about the various international architects who were involved in the design of the numerous buildings that are scattered around.
They include a 120-bedroom hotel that overlooks the final green but has yet to welcome its first guest. It’s an empty shell of a structure that has still to be fitted out but the new owners are confident that it will open next year. The course is a friendly one that is fairly open.
Designed by Donald Steel, it’s not in the least intimidating and the numerous olive trees only enhance the welcoming character of the course. The rather smart bunkers are filled with crushed marble and are quite dazzling. Even so, it is probably best to keep out of them as the sides are rather steep. Possibly disorientated, what you might assume are glorious views of the sea aren’t views of the sea at all but of the nearby Lagos de Obidos, the largest coastal lagoon system on the Portuguese coast.
After a very comfortable night in the aptly named Royal Obidos Scenic Resort, I was to face my last challenge of the trip, Royal Obidos. Leaving aside the slightly awkward question as to how it comes to be ‘royal’, the numerous photos of the great man himself that festoon the clubhouse, leave you in no doubt whatsoever that the course was designed by none other than Seve Ballesteros.
It was in fact one of his final contributions to the great game of golf and it is a thoroughly worthy one that simply exudes class.
In perfect harmony with the surrounding environment, it is a worthy and fitting legacy that Seve has bequeathed to us all. Perhaps because water never really troubled him, there’s no shortage of ponds and lakes guarding the greens, which only add to the excitement of taking on this wonderful course that has hosted the Portuguese Open every year since 2020.
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Distance, too, was never a problem for the great man and so perhaps it’s unsurprising that there are five par fives, three of which he would almost certainly have been able to reach in two.
It’s quite a challenging course but the choice of six tees renders it rather more manageable for those of us who are mere mortals.
And so the Silver Coast richly deserves a gold medal for golf.
NCG Top 100s Rankings
NCG Top 100s: European Resorts
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