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The best golf courses in Portugal

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Terras de Comporta's Dunas course by David McLay Kidd debuts at #1 in our ranking of the Best Courses in Portugal.

James Hogg

By Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey
May 27, 2026
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The golf in Portugal was already top notch. Then the Dunas course at Terras de Comporta opened.

The Dunas course was a long time coming. David McLay Kidd was first tapped prior to 2010 to start working on the venue about an hour outside Lisbon before financial troubles beget the previous owner and work stopped. When new ownership resurrected the project, Kidd’s original shaper on the project, European-based Conor Walsh and his CJW Golf International team, completed the course, which sits on a natural sandy site less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean amidst towering wild pines and natural vegetation.

Sergio Garcia’s design team, along with Walsh, opened Terras de Comporta’s second course, Torre, last year. It did not have enough ballots to rank on this edition of the Best Courses in Portugal. Both courses—along with the Discovery Land development CostaTerra and Ernie Els' redesign of the old Victoria course at Vilamoura—give a huge boost to the golf in Portugal, which already ranked among the best in Europe. (CostaTerra also did not have enough ballots for consideration this year.)

We urge you to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography, drone footage and expanded reviews. Plus, you can now leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … to make your case why your favorite should be ranked higher.

Editor's Note: Our Best Courses in Portugal ranking is part of Golf Digest's rollout of the Best Courses in Every Country. Check back over the next few weeks for more of our rankings of the best golf around the world.

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15. Penha Longa Resort: Atlântico
Linho, Sintra, Portugal
Penha Longa might be considered Portugal’s mountain course. Most clubs and resorts are built within easy eyeshot of the Atlantic coast, but the Atlantico course at this 27-hole complex near Lisbon sits up in the Sintra Mountain foothills and feels higher than the 500-foot elevation suggests. Built next to a monastery founded in the 14th century, the 1992 Robert Trent Jones, Jr. out and back design flows gently downhill for ten holes before turning to ascend again toward the old monastery, now the site of a Ritz-Carlton. The course is full of attractive risk/reward driving holes with engaging fairway bunkers that must be navigated, punctuated by short par 5s and two tantalizing short par 4s at three and 13 that make players think hard about what club to pull.
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14. Praia D'El Rey G. & Beach Resort
Praia D'el Rey, Obidos, Portugal
An hour north of Lisbon, Praia D’el Rey shows off some of the country’s most dazzling ocean golf. Five holes on the second nine run parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, set down amid the wind-blown dunes, a Portugeuse doppelganger of the middle-section links of Maidstone on Long Island. This course was built in 1967 by American designer Caleb Robinson, who ran the European office for the late Robert Trent Jones. The ocean holes feel more special because of the time it takes to get there, with the routing first working back into the inland forests before bursting out onto the surf at the par-5 12th.
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13. Quinta do Lago: Laranjal
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
One of three courses at Quinta do Lago Resort ranked among Golf Digest’s Best Golf Courses in Portugal, the Laranjal course was built on an old orange grove site a few minutes away from the main resort. About 35 years after the resort first opened, new land was acquired and made way for a third entry at this upscale Portuguese facility.
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12. Tróia Golf Course
Troia, Carvalhal, Portugal
About 30 miles from Lisbon, accessible via a train and then a ferry to Setúbal, Portugal’s Troia Peninsula is 13 miles long and one of the world’s longest uninterrupted strips of sand. In other words, the ideal site to build a golf course. The setting is tough to beat—with views of the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains across the Sado River, including the par-4 third hole, which Trent Jones dubbed one of his best. He routed the course through a towering pine forest and sandscapes—leaving a very naturalistic feel akin to a nature walk. His typical strategic bunkering and smaller greens are difficult to navigate, but Troia is one of the most enjoyable courses in the region and a regular on top 100 European lists.
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11. Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort: Royal
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Just a few miles down the Atlantic coastline where he crafted San Lorenzo along with Joe Lee, Rocky Roquemore, Lee’s right-hand man, built the second course at the luxurious Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort in Fabo. The Royal course contains some thrilling shots—including the par-3 16th, which plays over a clifftop—in addition to the ninth green, which plays like an island green.
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10. Vale do Lobo Golf and Beach Resort: Ocean
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
Sir Henry Cotton was instrumental to bringing great golf into the region of the Algarve. After World War II and post-retirement from his playing career, Cotton helped John Stilwell design the first 18-hole course, the Championship course at Penina. After the success of Penina, Cotton was highly sought-after in the region—and his next project was at Vale do Lobo. He designed two nine-hole courses, one of which became part of the Ocean course, supplemented by a new nine in 2003 by American architect Rocky Roquemore. The first nine presents tight shot-making demands as it winds through residences and cottages including several Florida-style holes that interplay with small lakes, including the third that requires a long approach over water. The second nine moves away from the campus toward the ocean where the 14th and 15th greens sit along the beach.
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9. San Lorenzo Golf Course
Almancil, Algarve, Portugal
Joe Lee is credited with 232 course designs—with extensive work in the Southeast part of the United States, having been the lead associate for Dick Wilson. But after Wilson died in 1965, ‘Gentleman Joe’ took over the business and his solo career took off. He and his protege Rocky Roquemore were flown out to build the second course at the Quinta do Lago estate, San Lorenzo Golf Course, on a spectacular site in the Algarve. The routing makes good use of lagoons, saltwater marshes and brilliant vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and mountain backdrops. Even with hte influx of newer courses in the area, San Lorenzo remains a great test while being very playable—true to the design ethos of Lee's evident at all his courses.
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8. Quinta do Lago: South
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
The South Course at Quinta do Lago, this development’s original course, was part of the first wave of Spanish and Portuguese modern golf resorts in the 1960s and 70s, most built by American and Canadian architects. In this case it was American William Mitchell, who laced slender holes through the umbrella pines of the Algarve region on the country’s southern coast. Tension builds as the holes work toward the second nine and gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean, punctuated by a nearly 200-yard par-3 15th that plays entirely over water. The club completed a $7.8 million dollar in-house renovation in late 2020 that has enhanced an already elegant design.
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7. Oitavos Dunes
Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal
American architect Arthur Hills didn’t often work outside the U.S., but the nature preserve site he got for Oitavos Dunes on the southwest coast of Portugal was one of the best of his long career. Opened in 2001, most of the course canvases an arid, upland section of land with holes that cross ravines and play low beneath dune ridges of coastal pines. The key to scoring well is to avoid the numerous fairway bunkers, and have a deft recovery game around the small greens. The set of par 3s rival the best in the country.
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6. Quinta do Lago: North
Faro, Algarve, Portugal
A ton of American architects have worked on the North course over the years, starting with the original 27 holes designed at Quinta do Lago by William Mitchell in the early 1970s. Nine of those holes comprise the current day North course, with nine additional holes being added by Joe Lee and his protégé Rocky Roquemore in the 1990s. Then in 2014, Beau Welling oversaw a complete remodeling of the existing North course with consulting by Paul McGinley.
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5. The Els Club Vilamoura
Quarteira , Algarve, Portugal
The Victoria Golf Course, designed by Arnold Palmer, opened in the early 2000s and earned a reputation for being one of Portugal’s top courses. Ernie Els' design team redesigned the course with it reopening in 2025 as a private club under The Els Club brand—the only private club in the Algarve region.
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4. Vilamoura G.C.: Old
Quarteira , Algarve, Portugal
One of the oldest courses in the Algarve region of Portugal, the Frank Pennink-designed Old Course opened in 1969 and underwent extensive renovations by Martin Hawtree in the late 1990s. With five par 5s, the par-73 course is routed around towering trees with doglegs, medium-sized green surfaces and punishing bunkers. The course is part of Dom Pedro Golf Club, which also includes the Victoria course (#13 on our list), the Laguna, Millennium and Pinhal courses.
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3. West Cliffs
Vau, Obidos, Portugal
West Cliffs, on Portugal’s Silver Coast an hour north of Lisbon, it one of the more scenic courses built on the continent in the last decade. Designed in 2017 by American Cynthia Dye McGarey, a niece of the late Pete Dye, it plays through a sandy coastal property with striking elevated views of the Atlantic Ocean several hundred yards away. Think of this as Portugal’s version of Spyglass Hill, with some holes like seven, eight, 10, 11 and 12 situated through a plain of low sea salt vegetation, and others that play inland through forests and the resort development.
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2. Monte Rei Golf and Country Club
Vila Nova de Cacela, Algarve, Portugal
Monte Rei leaped into the World 100 for the first time two years ago and is the second-highest ranked international course from Nicklaus Design. How could that be? Well, let’s see: It’s located on a panoramic site in the Algarve region of southern Portugal just 3.5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean with holes that roll over 1,000 acres of crumpled, arid foothills. The design is a blend of modern and classic—wide fairways, aggressive bunkering and shallow, angled greens that hook around hazards, including a variety of American-style water features. Troubled economic times when the course opened has meant the resort development is peacefully underbuilt, an advantage in accentuating a feeling of remoteness in the surrounding hill country.
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1. Terras de Comporta: Dunas
Grândola, Lisbon, Portugal
Terras de Comporta is one of the largest luxury resort communities in Portugal, featuring two newly opened 18-hole championship golf courses. Located to the south of Lisbon on the Alentejo coast, the expansive resort occupies nearly 5,000 acres bordering the Sado Estuary Nature preserve. The resort, with financial backing from Vanguard, opened the first of its two courses in 2023 with David McLay Kidd’s Dunas course. This was followed by the opening of the Sergio Garcia-designed Torre course two years later. The Dunas course is designed with a focus on sustainability, as fairways follow natural contours and indigenous grass and native areas are used to create hazards. Kidd’s design incorporates modern and classic links elements with fescue fairways that traverse steep sand dunes and large bentgrass greens hidden in hollows and natural bowls. Quite a few holes can make strong arguments as the most dramatic at the Dunas course, however, the standouts come at the long par-3 third with a nearly 70-yard-wide green and the spectacular par-4 13th with a fairway that snakes through sandy native areas and a green protected by overhanging trees. It's no surprise to see the Dunas course debut on our Best in Portugal ranking at #1.
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