 |
Kevin
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 30th May 2023 Very tired and needing investment Course is very tired and lacking investment. Greens are good and you can see why this course once hosted the Portugal Open but it’s a long way from that standard now . Appreciate the lack of water but the green fess are high for the quality of the course . |
 |
charles graham
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 19th Apr 2023 The party of 8 from Scotland Enjoyed playing the course again however two major issues The steak sandwich was inedible The fact we had paid over 90 plus euros we were unable to have a shower and clean up due to facilities closed at 7 pm That is simply disgraceful |
|
Norman
from Portugal
on Sun, 9th Apr 2023 The greens were fantastic but the tees and fairways were very bare and dry . |
|
John
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 12th Jan 2023 Really tired and shabby. Greens were in pretty good condition but after a period of rain the course played long and wasn’t helped by an apparent lack of green staff. A real shame because the course deserves to have better attention than it’s obviously getting At €180 off season there must be better courses to play |
|
Les
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 21st Nov 2022 Disappointing. The fairways were very worn and damaged in places, and we decided to use preferred lies to compensate. The greens were also the worst of the courses we played in October. The course was also very slow to play and appeared to be particularly busy. Our pre-booked start time was put back 40 minutes with no prior warning. Penina was also 100 euros more expensive for four players with buggies than the other courses we played. Overall, less than satisfactory. |
|
Hugh
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 14th Nov 2022 Penina Championship Having played this course previously about 4 years ago compared to now it appears the haven't invested any money for the upkeep of the course tee boxes are shabby,Greens worse than the 9 hole Resort course,the general condition is very run down and not worth the green fee we paid. |
|
DAVID
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 7th Nov 2022 This course has quite obviously had its day.Clubhouse & course is very tatty & looks to be in need of a major upheaval financially.Very expensive at 83€ a round & certainly not worth the price. No marshalls on course to speed up the pace of play,5 hour rounds unacceptable 😡Would not rush back to play here again ☹️ |
|
Charlie
from United States
on Sat, 5th Nov 2022 Remembering 1970 In 19769,70,71 I played Penina with my father he passed away this year aged 94 and I wanted to play one more time the championship course, well I was surprised at just how rundown the golf course has become , sorry for this but I still felt the old magic . |
|
Mark
Bentley
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 13th Oct 2022 Mr Mark Bentley Very poor fairways. Slow greens which have not recovered from maintenance. Poor lies in bunkers with little sand. After 6 holes we were ready for walking in and asking for a refund. Over priced for the condition of the course which is priced at a peak rate for pristine conditions. I will be posting on social media to avoid playing this course. |
|
RACHEL
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 7th Oct 2022 Penina The resort is very tired and much neglect on the course. The basis of the course is lovely but it needs some care and attention. The range balls were absolutely shocking and the practice area hadn’t been cared for as much as you’d hope. |
|
keith
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 22nd Sep 2022 Don’t go !!! |
|
Miguel
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 22nd Sep 2022 Decent design, almost everything else poor The bones of the course design are really quite good once you get through the boring opening stretch of up and down holes, the back 9 has some interesting holes The condition is rather poor however and not worth the green fee, I had read this on other reviews and felt I had to check it out for myself. I made the mistake so you don’t have to, go to one of the Pestana courses or better yet Palmares, this is not worth the money! It was surprising it could be in such poor condition given the quantity of workers on the course with 2 stroke engines blaring on every hole and racing around in buggies! Delusions of grandeur also come to mind, at half way 2 cans of beers cost €10, I’m not sure you could pay more anywhere in Portugal, a strange place stuck in the 80’s with 2040 prices |
|
Simon
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 2nd Sep 2022 Penina Championship Unfortunately the course is trading on past history. Absolutely terrible condition. Fairways were lacking grass, the tee boxes were just dust and the greens had moss growing. Staff completely indifferent, shower facilities and pro shop from the 1960s. Avoid! |
|
Curtis
from United States
on Sat, 20th Aug 2022 August golf trip Course was no more than average. It was overpriced and the facilities were slightly dated. Greens however were very good |
|
Anders
from Portugal
on Fri, 5th Aug 2022 Fairways a bit dry and ruf but played with a member and he said it’s getting better and better! Overall a great course and environment! |
|
Thomas
from United Kingdom
on Sun, 24th Jul 2022 Not worth travelling abroad to play Disappointed with quality of course given its history. €50 buggy hire is steep compared to other courses. Course is okay but not worth travelling abroad to play. |
|
Gary
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 1st Jul 2022 Poor Condition In its day I would imagine it was a very nice course unfortunately the course is not in the best of condition very dry and bare and scruffy and is living of its past glory |
|
Karl
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 28th Jun 2022 Course was in decent condition, round in 4hr 20min… We will be going back next year. 👍 |
|
Moal
from France
on Sat, 25th Jun 2022 Pourquoi pas Golf agréable, intéressant, entretien perfectible |
|
Bryan
from United States
on Sat, 25th Jun 2022 Needs Some Investment Could be a wonderful course again but the condition of the tee boxes and fairways leave much to be desired. Quite scrappy in parts, which is a shame as many of the holes are really pretty. Also too many people on the course resulting in a 5 hour game. |
 |
Monika
from Poland
on Sat, 18th Jun 2022 A big disappointment The course in very poor shape - naked ground in the middle of the fairways, uneven tees with no grass, the course looks like somebody stopped investing in it some time ago. The design is not spectacular - quite boring to be honest. This was my last round in Algarve (I've played on 10 different courses) and this was a big disappointment. |
|
Tom
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 2nd Jun 2022 Disappointing The course is in urgent need of renovation. It’s all very tired from the tee boxes to the distance markers, and signage. As others have mentioned, the fairways are in terrible condition, and sometimes you can find a better lie by missing them entirely. For the price of a round, you’d expect a much better experience. My advice is to avoid until the above is rectified. |
|
Arie
from Portugal
on Mon, 30th May 2022 old-fashioned coursee with a lot of overdue maintenance friendly personal in the restaurant |
|
Angela
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 18th May 2022 Penina Fairways are dead grass Unfortunately this course isn’t being maintained. All the fairways were dead due to no watering. Such a shame l haven’t seen this course in such a state before |
|
Douglas
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 16th May 2022 Poor Penina Greens are good but fairways and Teeing ground abysmal. Driving range balls extremely poor. Staff disengaged. Had to ask for everything. I just returned from Amendoiera where things were completely different with bottles of water and ice in carts. Won’t be back unless there is huge improvement. |
|
Nick
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 4th May 2022 Disappointing No sand in the bunkers, fairways patchy and tees dry and grass less. Course packed and very slow round. Greens in good condition. |
|
Mark
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 26th Apr 2022 Not really Championship Standard A bit disappointed by this Championship Golf course. Course not in the greatest shape and fairways dry and uneven. Greens nice and big and layout pretty good but requires some invested and lots of maintenance. On the positive side, long course and quite challenging. |
|
Walter
from Switzerland
on Thu, 14th Apr 2022 Splendidly landscaped course Long wide flat fairways, makes it fun to play for us mediocre players. Beautifully landscaped with grandios old trees and even cactii. Loved that. Enough water hazards, quite amazingly managed to stay away... The Restaurant Terrasse has a beautiful view We felt that all was well maintained. |
|
Leona
from Norway
on Thu, 7th Apr 2022 Good lay out, but poor maintenance The lay out is really nice, fairways are long and greens are challenging. It could have been a topnotch course but the maintenance is rather poor. The roughs are 'spottish' and the big bunkers have only 1 rake. The toilets both at the driving range and on the course are so poorly kept (dirty and no paper towels to dry your hands) . They say this was once a regal course and we could kinda see that. But the way it is maintained these days, seems its regal days are definitely over. |
|
gordon
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 18th Mar 2022 penina-March 2022 a bit scruffy but overall worth playing |
|
francoise
from Belgium
on Thu, 10th Mar 2022 Cher Rapport qualité -prix médiocre Trop cher pour des installations vieillottes. Golf peu convaincant |
|
Martine
from France
on Sun, 30th Jan 2022 Even course but very enjoyable. Can imagine why it received the Portugal open so many times. |
|
Petra
from Germany
on Tue, 4th Jan 2022 Fine difficult course A nice , difficult course with a lot of Bunker |
|
Jerome
from France
on Wed, 8th Dec 2021 Disappointing « Old course » . Too much ditches crossing the fairways Maintenance seems poor and the greens are in trouble compared to the courses around Faro . Good welcome . |
 |
Ermanno
Masa
from Italy
on Sat, 27th Nov 2021 Buon livello Bel campo tenuto bene e divertente. Ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo. |
 |
Malcolm
Fisher
from Portugal
on Thu, 7th Oct 2021 Now a disgrace I’ve been coming to Penina for 25 years and never seen the course in such poor condition. It is a disgrace the way this ex championship course has been allowed to fade into mediocrity. There is nothing about which I can be positive. Both fairways and greens are in very poor condition, and there are leaks to the watering system all over the course. You know things are bad when even the Pro Shop staff warn you the course is in bad condition! I just hope that someone does take over the hotel and course and spend the £millions it needs to restore it to its former glories. |
|
Martin
from United Kingdom
on Sat, 11th Sep 2021 Great course but greens were awful and whole course looks tired and in need of some investment. Staff food and facilities all excellent. |
|
Neil
from Portugal
on Thu, 2nd Sep 2021 Penina course review I had been warned about the condition of the course in July, but thought there should have been enough time for things to improve. Unfortunately the greens have not been taken care of as there is invasive grass and damage on all of the greens and they were bumpy and difficult to putt on. Having played other courses in the area recently this course is sadly behind on repairing them. This course has a long history and pedigree but needs some TLC. |
|
John
from United Kingdom
on Sun, 29th Aug 2021 Overall a good course, challenging but lacking maintenance, debris about, layout ok but some tee points lacked hole information boards, and distance markers. Some greens a bit tacky and patchy. Val de Lobo Ocean and Old Course much better quality. |
|
Gary
from United Kingdom
on Sun, 22nd Aug 2021 Great course just not looked after I’m really sorry to write this,could be an absolute fantastic course,unfortunately the maintenance standards were extremely poor,firstly refreshment facilities were non existent,general public just walking and jogging the course , no consideration for the paying golfer,the greens must be the worst on the algarve,leaves and debris all over, This was the poorest experience I have had in all my algarve holidays |
 |
Allen
Hirons
from United States
on Sun, 18th Jul 2021 Meeting Henry Cotton Played there on vacation in the mid-70s with my parents. I recall playing on Christmas Day and Henry Cotton was in the pro shop and took our greens fees. Seeing him was a great honor. I remember that more than the golf course. |
|
Dave
from Italy
on Mon, 10th May 2021 Historic course near Portimao Very nice course but once you get of the fairway the grass is high and not forgiving. Very beautiful historic layout mostly flat but with some tough approaches with bunker and water hazards. Overall, we really loved the course! |
|
Alan
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 11th Sep 2020 Penina Championship - good course Playing Penina Championship you can be forgiven for thinking that you are in the UK (in summer of course). A really good tree-lined layout and not too difficult a walk as the course isn't hilly. Definitely worth a visit. |
|
Timothy
from Portugal
on Fri, 28th Aug 2020 Not worth the money Clearly the course is not being properly looked after. The greens are pretty mediocre and very, very slow. There is a general air of neglect. Sadly, it's definitely not worth paying €154 for 2 players with a buggy. |
|
Dirk
from Germany
on Sun, 23rd Aug 2020 Platz bräuchte dringend eine Pflege Platz bräuchte dringend eine Auffrischung Schade drum würde ich keinesfalls empfehlen |
 |
Dirk
Oehle
from Germany
on Sun, 23rd Aug 2020 Nette Wiese die dringend Pflege benötigt Platz ist in einem miesen Zustand. Faiways kommen eher einer Pferderennbahn entgegen Das Gras um die Bunker lange nicht mehr gemäht von der Länge zu urteilen mindestens 6-8 Wochen Als Fazit nette Wiese die dringend Pflege benötigt |
|
Armin
from Germany
on Wed, 11th Mar 2020 A reasonable round, fairways with many divots, greens o.k. Friendly Service. |
|
Carol
from Ireland
on Thu, 23rd Jan 2020 Very disappointed Very disappointed. Course in poor overall condition. Pace of play extremely slow. After just over 4 1/2 hours of waiting,waiting and waiting...and only 16 holes played ,we gave up!! At no stage did a steward come round and try to speed things along. Our 2nd time playing here and definitely last!! Never again will we waste money here. |
|
Alan
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 25th Nov 2019 Not the best of days. Bit wet to really appreciate the course, the greens looked good however not swept of water, many par 3s same length, overall lovely walk and sure course has seen better days,. Real issue is paying 150 pair and the being asked for handicaps ( we were 6 &11) paired with another couple who struggled to often get off the tee., very slow and extremely frustrating. More care needed by course when taking bookings and matching pairs, get the impression it’s grab the money and who cares about the enjoyment. |
 |
Andy
Cutler
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 21st Oct 2019 Mr Cutler Both myself and my playing partner were disappointed in the condition of the course, practise areas were still covered in dew at 9am. General upkeep of the course made it look quite tatty, not what we were expecting considering the green fees, Oceanica courses around Vilamoura all put this course to shame. As for the course layout, we found it to be a good challenge with some interesting holes, just let down by the shabby state of the course and facilities, just not worth the money. |
|
paul
from United Kingdom
on Sat, 12th Oct 2019 Penina Excellent course, traditional design. |
 |
Marc
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 7th Oct 2019 Fairly narrow and challenging course, good value for money when taking advantage of 2 player and 1 buggy deals. The only gripe would be the course management were unorganised when it came to collecting buggies. I would be keen to play here again. |
|
Michael
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 2nd Sep 2019 Good condition great day golfing on a super test of golf |
|
Mark
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 27th Aug 2019 Very average course. Far to expensive compared to much nicer courses in the algarve. |
|
Paul
from Portugal
on Tue, 30th Jul 2019 Very enjoyable round of golf. Greens could be better. Staff were first class. Would recommend. |
|
Matthew
from United Kingdom
on Sat, 27th Jul 2019 Great Challenge Fantastic course with a very warm welcome. Every hole has a ditch and this can sometimes catch you out! You need to know your yardages to play well around Penina. They have a buggy bar half way round plus a challenge hole which is fun. |
|
Lars
from Portugal
on Sat, 20th Jul 2019 Nice course in decent shape Nice classic course in decent shape. The greens are very soft so you can really go for the pin. To live up to its old reputation they need to put some work in the areas just outside the fairway. |
|
Graham
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 11th Jul 2019 Long time since I last played here but it was still as good as I remembered it. Perhaps not the longest course in the Algarve any more but Henry Cotton designed it to be a good test of your complete game and it did not disappoint I look forward to going back again |
|
nick
from Ireland
on Mon, 17th Jun 2019 Solid 7/10 Good course in good condition. A little flat so the challenge very much keeping the drive on relatively narrow tree lined fairways. Greens in great nick and facilitates excellent. Would definitely revisit but wouldn't be on the 'must play' list. |
|
giles
from Russian Federation
on Wed, 12th Jun 2019 Lovely course. Buggy ridiculously expensive. Far more than all other courses |
|
Colin
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 12th Jun 2019 A proper Championship Course Great layout and a beautiful place to play. This is a Championship course, so expect to struggle, but if you are on form you will be well rewarded |
|
Philip
from United Kingdom
on Sun, 9th Jun 2019 Penina Review My favourite course. Steeped in history. A lot of foliage on the course due to trees but didn't affect the golf. The greens were in very good condition with lush fairways. All staff were very helpful. |
|
James
from Ireland
on Wed, 29th May 2019 Hi played here with my 2 boys and enjoyed it, the only thing was the bunkers were not good as they had not been raked and so they were just hard.james. |
|
Sam
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 27th May 2019 Fab course Great course on a very hot day. Course was in great condition despite hot weather and a pleasure to play. Only complaint is making us wait for our tee time despite being a two ball and 40 mins early. There were plenty of gaps in that time unfortunately. The pro spoke with us and seemed like a lovely gentleman. Would recommend this course. |
 |
Gary
Rayner
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 9th May 2019 A really nice course to play on, not overly difficult but lots of well place water and sand hazards to avoid. Good facilities. Lots of trees and a bit inland so wind was less of an issue - a great course to play on and have a really good time/round. |
 |
Hannes
Loekkoes
from Austria
on Fri, 3rd May 2019 Nostalgisch schön Sehr schöner flacher Kurs, viele Flights mit kurzen Startintervallen. |
|
Philip
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 4th Apr 2019 Penina Phil The Course was in fantastic condition (although a little tidying up required around the edges) and the weather was good to us. A great experience to play at a famous course. Will certainly be playing the course again and will book it through yourselves. |
|
Carol
from Ireland
on Mon, 31st Dec 2018 Very slow. Lovely course but very, very slow.....nearly 5 hours to play a round! |
|
Frank
from United States
on Tue, 30th Oct 2018 Penina Championship Course We found it well kept and at times, challenging. We would certainly play there again. |
|
Paul
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 23rd Oct 2018 Super day out Super day out on an excellent course. |
|
Irene
from Switzerland
on Sun, 14th Oct 2018 Beautiful scenery in park style, some demamding holes. |
|
Terry
from United Kingdom
on Sat, 29th Sep 2018 Could not fault it , great course , and hospitali Fantastic course |
|
Keith
from United Kingdom
on Fri, 28th Sep 2018 Looking very tired maybe due to so many people playing but its a nice challenge especially if you haven't experienced it. Our group will probably give it a miss next time. |
|
Christian
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 14th Aug 2018 Great course design and conditions. Beautiful old style course. Lovely design and conditions great. A little more pricy than others but a worthwhile visit. |
|
richard
from United States
on Thu, 2nd Aug 2018 Don't Waste Your Money Where do I start? I played Penina about 20 years ago and remember it being a great course. Not anymore. The greens had been hollow tined and sanded, but the course didn't think this was important enough to provide a discount or even let us know in advance. They put us out on the 10th unnecessarily. Courses are designed to be played 1 through 18. We were a 4-ball and as part of the terms and conditions the course reserves the right to make your group, if smaller, up to a 4-ball. Why then did they put multiple 2-balls behind us (all residents), therby putting us under constant pressure? During the round we let 4 groups through but this never relieved the pressure and we had to stop doing this as there was a never-ending stream behind us champing at the bit. Ther is no way that they were allowing 8 minutes between tee times. The course itself is looking rough around the edges and they are obviously not carrying out enough mainenance. This was in evidence when one of my group thinned a ball into the face of a bunker only for the bunker to gobble it up. The lip of the bunker had, what can only be described as the bristles of a baleen whale (look it up) hanging down from it. In 30 years of playing golf I have never seen this happen before on any course, anywhere. The only way to retrive the ball was to rake under the bristles with an upturned club until it fell out. Find that one in the rules! Finally, the staff are completely apathetic and customer care is not high on their agenda. |
 |
Bjorn
Egertz
from Sweden
on Mon, 23rd Jul 2018 Old dull course After 9 holes the course feels dull. Fairways not good with kind of rough gras. |
|
Stephen
from United Kingdom
on Thu, 19th Jul 2018 Great historic course - just a shame greens were on maintenance week. also buggies were not included but we believed they were. |
|
Miikka
from Belgium
on Thu, 12th Jul 2018 Our first time on Penina Championship course. Greens were with a lot of sand and under aeration, thus putting was not that much fun. Course itself is technical with perfectly placed water hazards and numerous bunkers. Old eucalyptus trees give a nice smell to the air. Although flat and without fantastic manoramas, it is very interesting for golf itself! |
 |
Maurice
Murphy
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 20th Jun 2018 Played 10-27 course was in great condition |
|
Josephine
from Portugal
on Sun, 17th Jun 2018 1st time playing Penina Championship. Pretty course and well landscaped. Mature course with trees that can provide shelter yet a pain if your balls land anywhere below the trees. Bad experience was we started at hole 10 as it was a busy day and after hole 18, we went to hole 1. When we got there, a lady came up and said to us “You play fast? Did you book?”. She was quite obnoxious and I said this was our 2nd 9. I also said if you play fast, you can go ahead as this is our first time playing here. She mumbled something and her husband said is better we proceed as they are walking and we have a buggy. |
 |
Phil
from United Kingdom
on Tue, 12th Jun 2018 First golf holiday - 8 Lads Great course to play on. Superb greens. Very pleasant staff, went above and beyond for us. |
|
Ian
on Mon, 21st May 2018 Nice course worth a visit. A good course some tight holes and water to negotiate but a fair test of Golf. Greens were very good. Staff could have been more welcoming and helpful but overall worth a visit. |
|
Paul
from Ireland
on Tue, 8th May 2018 Greens were reasonably good, fairways could be better , lot of grass, |
 |
Gerard
from Ireland
on Mon, 7th May 2018 Very good test of golf. Fabulous condition. Very enjoyable |
|
Don
from Portugal
on Wed, 2nd May 2018 Over charged for buggy We enjoyed the course and it was in good shape. However, we were there on a twilight rate which was nice. We were charged 50 Euros for a buggy...this is outrageous! We are attracted to the course for a good green fee and then get jammed on the buggy cost. Very disappointed with that. |
|
James
from Canada
on Tue, 5th Dec 2017 Nice course but not well maintained. |
|
John
from Ireland
on Mon, 13th Nov 2017 Great challenge of golf |
|
Brian
from United Kingdom
on Wed, 8th Nov 2017 Dissappointingly average condition. The course layout is good, but the course has had a lot of heavy traffic. Fairways were not in great condition, and the greens need a lot of attention. We were paired with a couple who played the course in March, they said the course was in excellent condition then. |
|
Martin
from United Kingdom
on Mon, 6th Nov 2017 Great course Great course - varied, challenging holes and in fantastic condition. Looks like a lot of the issues previously mentioned have been resolved. |
|
Hildegard
from Germany
on Sun, 29th Oct 2017 For a Championship Course were the fairway and greens not good. The green fee was too expensive for that. |
Golf 
Golf 
Golf 
Golf 
