Lisbon Golf Guide

Lisbon: The Golf Capital You Have Been Sleeping On

Everyone flies into Faro and heads straight for the Algarve. That is a perfectly defensible decision. It is also why the smart play is to skip the herd entirely, fly into Lisbon, and discover that Portugal's capital has been quietly stockpiling world-class golf courses while the rest of the world looked south. The roster of architects who have built here reads like a hall of fame ballot: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Jr., Arthur Hills, Frank Pennink, Rocky Roquemore, Severiano Ballesteros, Mackenzie Ross. They did not show up by accident.

The geography splits cleanly into three areas, all within an hour of the city. To the west along the Estoril Coast you get Oitavos Dunes, an Arthur Hills design routed through umbrella pines and coastal scrub that lands regularly on top 100 lists worldwide. Next door sits Quinta da Marinha with its Atlantic views, and just inland the Penha Longa Atlantic Course winds through the Sintra Mountains alongside a Ritz Carlton built into a former 19th century palace. Across the Tagus to the south you have Aroeira I and II, both Pennink designs that have hosted the Portuguese Open, plus Quinta do Peru and the legendary Troia Links, a Trent Jones Sr. course set between the Sado Estuary and the Atlantic. North of the city, Praia D'el Rey and West Cliffs deliver clifftop drama on the Silver Coast.

Then there is Lisbon itself, which happens to be one of the great food, wine, and nightlife cities in Europe. The post-round options here outclass anything you will find on a typical golf trip.