TRÓIA | DESTINATION Tee time Tróia’s golf product is one of the best in Portugal, writes Mark Harding G
olf is another of Tróia’s staple visitor atractions, serving as the perfect
complement to the casino, conference centre, concert venue and other leisure amenities.
Opened in 1982, Tróia Golf Course hosted the Portuguese Open the following year and, according to golf director António Castelo, the club now ranks as one of Portugal’s top courses, along with Monte Rei, Oitavos and Praia d’El Rey.
“Tróia has always been one of my favourite courses, even before I came to work here,” remarked Castelo. “When I lived in the Algarve I used to drive all the way up to Tróia to play golf. It’s certainly one of the best courses in Portugal. Anyone who isn’t familiar with Tróia will be pleasantly surprised by its proximity to the sea.”
With its small greens and narrow fairways, the course runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean and is memorable for its exhilarating sea views. And for those with an appetite for golfing
challenges Castelo, who himself plays off a handicap of two, recommends the course’s third and unofficial signature hole which, he warns, is strewn with hazards such as the strategically- placed pine trees on the fairway and the long strip of sand running down the leſt-hand side which, in his words, is reminiscent of the deck of an aircraſt carrier!
“Te course architect, Robert Trent Jones Sr, once said that from all the courses he has designed around the world, the third green at Tróia would be included in his top eighteen holes of all time,” he revealed.
Indeed, the course is an integral part of the peninsula’s product mix and one that’s held in very high regard by international golfers everywhere.
“Tróia markets itself as a quality resort and having a great golf course is extremely beneficial to the hotels and real estate developers,” he added.
Aſter nearly 30 years of success as a golfing operation, the club’s atempts to get a second 18-hole course beyond the drawing-board stage have been thwarted due to the unfavourable economic climate, despite the fact that a) it was part of the resort’s original masterplan and b) the American golf course architect Cabell B. Robinson has already provided an early draught of the layout.
However, the construction of a new course called Comporta Links – a short drive down the coast – is now set to go ahead which, besides further establishing Tróia as a first-class golfing destination, will give visiting players a wider-ranging experience during their stay on the peninsula.
www.portugal-life.net | Summer 2011 |
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