119 - Oitavos Dunes Golf Course

Location: Lisbon, Portugal

Rating: 7.8

A beautiful Portuguese links style course slightly dissimilar in its set up to what you would imagine on the coasts of Scotland. The first few holes start through swathes of low pine trees but still retaining the linksy undulating fairways before opening up into the more traditional feel of wider, more expansive spaces.

It doesn’t have the wispy, thick rough you get elsewhere but more sandier wasteland areas with smaller bushes. The course is a great challenge with a great variety of holes. The back end of the front 9 starts to end with some more elevated tees and greens and an incredibly picturesque tee off the par 4, 11th overlooking the majority of the course. It is not a particularly long course but when the wind picks up it makes it very tricky, especially two of the par 3’s, the 9th and 13th, the first is a steep downhill tee shot directly into the wind and the second again into the wind but this time across a valley to a tricky, sloping green.

Sadly two of the greens were under repair which made those two holes unplayable. The quality of the fairways was good and so were the greens, playing on the slower side compared to some neighbouring courses. There is a lovely clubhouse with a big pro shop with loads of merchandise. Not sure it’s quite in the €100 bracket, considering how much cheaper some of the courses near Peniche are but maybe that is to do with the proximity to the affluent area it is in. It is, however, a lovely experience and would certainly recommend playing if you’re in the area.

The practice facilities are great, there’s a big driving range with opportunity to hit off the grass and separate putting and chipping greens.