Tips For Players Going To Try Oitavos Golf Club In Portugal
Leaving the big city
If you take a trip west out of Lisbon and on the way pass by seaside towns such as Estoril, you will eventually arrive at the golf course Oitavos Dunes. The course is part of the Quinta Da Marinha resort and is a fairly recent addition to the site in golfing terms (2001). The course lies in the Sintra and Cascais Natural Park, which gives it its famous scenery. You can't go any further west in Europe so you might as well stay and play golf here where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Sintra Mountains.
Course details
Oitavos Dunes is a par 71 and 6,300-yard course and is a mix of parkland and links. You will play through three different environments in eighteen holes: woodland, dunes and coastal. This will keep your senses alive and force you to concentrate on your game.
The course was designed by ex-president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, Arthur Hills, who made his name as a golf course architect in America but Oitavos Dunes is not like a typical US resort course built for target golf, it is more akin to Muirfield, Scotland than Muirfield Village, Ohio. Thankfully, the design has remained faithful to the natural layout.
Where the wind blows
This area of western Portugal enjoys cooler temperatures than the Algarve for those who don't enjoy the blazing sun.
Being on the Atlantic Ocean, the wind will have a big say in how you score that day. For example, you can hit an 8-iron into a hole on today and have a 3-iron into the same hole the day after. The course can be very difficult on a breezy day and if you find yourself playing into the wind on the back nine, it will be tough to score well and beat your handicap that day.
Finishing up
Once you finish the 18th hole, the sights are not over. Sit in the glass clubhouse with panoramic views of the whole course. For a very traditional looking course, the modern architecture is a nice contrast.
For those looking to book soon, low season is November to February, and April to September is high season. Oitavos Dunes has been ranked amongst the best 100 courses in the world so you need to book well in advance to get on the first tee.
