Vale do Lobo Royal course was in great condition when we played; perfect tees, fairways and greens. The sand in the bunkers is powder soft, what I imagine the sand that the pros experience to be like. It is an exacting course off the tee. Sometimes there is space to spray it but often holes are flanked by houses meaning you need to drive it straight to play well. There are some real standout holes, specifically the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th, all of which involve water perfectly placed to provide challenge. But the rest of the course is also memorable. It is relentless off the tee because of the bunker placement, one each side of the fairway between 220 and 250 yards on almost every hole. It is expensive to play but the condition of the course almost makes it worth it. We teed off early (8.40am) and the pace of play was some of the best we experienced in the Algarve i.e. we got round in less than 4.5 hours, which was a treat.

I had heard good things about Ombria from a member of my club but I was blown away by the course; weve been playing golf in the Algarve and Costa del Sol for over 10 years and this is probably the best course weve played. Our groups was a mix of handicaps (2 up to 27) but we all played from the back 58 tees and everyone coped with the forced carries. The front nine is an exhilarating rollercoaster ride of golf, starting with back to back par 5s where you have to cross water hazards twice (the 2nd is particularly exacting), followed by a 50 foot drop to the 3rd fairway. Two par 3 holes follow (one with another 50 foot drop from the tee) then another par 5, a par 3 and then two tough par 4 holes at 8 and 9. Hole 9 is a beast. The back nine has a lot less water but the elevation changes and carful tree placement continue the excitement but it is more forgiving and more scoreable than the front nine. Condition was near perfect from tee, through fairway and onto the greens. It is not a cheap round of golf and there are no practice facilities other than a putting green but it is simply a must play golf course in the area. One criticism off the course is the cost of the food in the clubhouse. It is not cheap and we were disappointed to find the bar closed when we finished playing at 6.50pm. But that should not detract from an amazing golf course.

The view from the terrace bar at Amendoeira promised much and we were not disappointed. The OConnor course is a thrill ride from start to finish. There are water hazards everywhere (although most of them have little water in them), carefully placed to always catch you attention, and on most holes you have to hit over them. The fairways are very wide, you need to be very wayward to miss them but the challenge comes from the water around the green. It is exciting but you can certainly score well if you are playing well. The greens were excellent, true and fast, probably the quickest of the 4 courses we played on the trip. Some of the tees were a bit scruffy in places but the fairways were good. Around the cart paths and fringes of the course there is a lot of scrub land that doesnt look very well looked after but thats probably by design. The places you should be hitting from are all in good shape.The food in the clubhouse was good and the most affordable of all the places we visited. Service was very friendly and the bar stayed open long after darkness fell, which wasnt the case at all the places we visitied.