Portugal Golf – Salgados golf course in Algarve

Salgados golf course Bacalhau Strings Tournament

Salgados golf course Bacalhau Strings Tournament

An invitation was extended from Salgados Golf Course to Chez Carlos Golf Society to participate in their *Strings* tournament.

7 of our members accepted and were met with a warm day with an abundance of wind and anyone who has played Salgados knows that means some difficult playing conditions are in your immediate future.

The golf course itself is actually in top notch condition and the greens were quite quick. Putts had to be judged for speed quite precisely or there was a penalty to be paid for any exuberant efforts that missed.

The greens were near perfect for roll and it is appreciated that it was apparent the earlier groups made the effort to repair their pitch marks which isn’t always the case around the Algarve. The concept of the Strings game was somewhat lost on a few of our members but the round actually moved along at a reasonable pace. None of our Chez Carlos group placed in the prizes for scoring, but Jim Gillis came away with the long drive prize of one large bacalhau. As has been the case in these Salgados events, the lunch provided afterwards was spectacular.

Several codfish dishes and plenty of other options for those born without the I like fish gene, with an assortment of salad options and a well-done sweets and fruit table for dessert. The cheesecake was amazing and there was plenty of wine which seemed to be much appreciated by all. Simply said, the value for these events hosted by Salgados are unbeatable and everyone has a great time. Its a bit of an earlier start than our usual, but highly recommended to try at least once.

By Jim Gillis organizer of C.C.G. Society

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Portugal golf – Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course

Amendoeira O'Connor Golf Course

Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course

Another warm and sunny summer day in the Algarve took Chez Carlos Golf Society to Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course on 17 July.

We had a group of 20 players all set with intentions of conquering our golf demons and holing putts from ridiculous distances, but the O’Connor Jnr Course had other plans in mind for most.
Aside from a few excellent efforts by a few of our members that deserve commendation, O’Connor defended itself well.

Fraser Graham (39), Ian McAleese (38), and Adrian Fraser Jones (36) were the only 3 that could manage to beat the course and accumulate 36 or more stableford points on the day. Nick Coulson took nearest the pin honours on hole #13.
O’Connor Jnr, as always, was in very good condition tee to green, and the greens themselves were not lightning fast as we have seen them in the past but ran true and consistent and pin placements provided a fair test of skill. As is usual with Amendoeira, the staff and the service they provide from front desk to caddy master is exemplary, efficient, and quite friendly and helpful which is greatly appreciated always by our members.
Included in the special for our group was buckets of balls for the range which has legitimate grass tees and an excellent little practice chipping green for warming up prior to hitting the course.

In my humble opinion, the O’Connor course is a fair test to all levels of talent or lack thereof. Short hitters will be pushed to their limits to get there, and long hitters will be dealt with accordingly for errant tee shots.
Around the greens requires some nifty shot making to produce scores. Measuring by attendance from our membership, it is quite apparent that O’Connor Jnr is one of our group’s favourites in the Algarve.
The course is without a doubt top notch and the service is second to none at Algarve golf courses. If I had a peeve, it is with the GPS on the buggies that restricts their pace in critical areas around the course, which is understandable and acceptable. Having the caddy master explain this to patrons as they assign buggies would be appropriate so they understand their buggy is not dying on them as they proceed to the first tee box when it activates built in slow speed restrictions.
Also, the buggies are coded not to work at all in the parking lot, which makes little sense when players go to load up their clubs from their vehicles and is an annoyance that seemed unanimous amongst our group.
Several times as I wait for our members near the caddy master station, I have witnessed patrons approach the desk upset their buggy died in the parking lot only to have them made aware of the circumstances at that time.
Saying that if this is the only complaint one can make about their Amendoeira O’Connor Jnr experience, it is quite petty.
This golf course is one of Chez Carlos Golf Society’s favourites and quality of course and golf experience for value is as good or better than most in the Algarve.

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Portugal golf holidays – Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve Portugal

Salgados Golf Course. Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve

Salgados Golf Course

Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve

The Algarve, being the most southern province of Portugal, offers a semi-tropical climate, a cold winter and hot, but very pleasant summers, providing conditions for fantastic golf breaks all year round. There are 39 Golf Courses in the Algarve from west to east and almost all of them offer several options for multiple games, “golf packages”, where the player gets advantageous discounts. We have the example of dynamic packages that start from 2 or 3 rounds and offer an additional discount, such as the Vilamoura golf courses or the Amendoeira Resort. Vilamoura also offers Taylor made packages on its 5 golf courses, the traditional Old Course, the emblematic Victoria golf course and the popular Pinhal, Millennium and Laguna golf courses owned by the Dom Pedro group and therefore the options are many and with different types of discounts. A Group of 8 or more golfers have a free round for 1 player. Golf professionals also benefit from amenities and special conditions.

Quinta do Lago also offers combinations of 3, 5 or more rounds on its three golf courses, Laranjal, Quinta do Lago South and North, offering one free player in 16 and special conditions for the golf professionals.

Vale do Lobo on the two golf courses, Ocean and Royal also offer 1 free player in 8, a package of 3 rounds with 1 free round, excellent for those who want to play more than one round of golf at Vale do Lobo golf courses in the centre of the Algarve.

For the best golf holiday, we at Tee Times Golf Agency have around 60 golf packages to choose from all golf courses in the Algarve.

The most important areas of the Algarve for your golf holidays are Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo, Quinta do Lago, Lagos, Portimao Carvoeiro and Tavira, all of them have a set of very important Golf Courses such as Palmares, Boavista and Espiche, in Lagos.

Portimao has the legendary Penina Golf Course designed by Sir Henry Cotton and the excellent Morgado and Alamos Golf Courses, set in a peaceful environment at the foot of the Monchique mountains. The Morgado golf course, more demanding, recently home of the Portuguese Open and the Alamos golf course shorter but very demanding golf course in the short game, very wavy greens. Two good options in the region. In Carvoeiro, we have the Vale da Pinta & Gramacho golf courses and in Albufeira, the Salgados golf course is a lot of fun and not too far to the north after the highway, golf players can find the amazing Amendoeira Resort, Faldo and O´Connor golf courses and the popular Silves golf course.

In the Tavira area, in the eastern part of the Algarve, we have the best golf course in Portugal, and one of the best in Europe, the Monte Rei North golf course with the signature of Jack Nicklaus.

A little further south two excellent golf courses, Quinta da Ria & Quinta de Cima, plus the Benamor and Castro Marim golf courses, both very popular and pleasant to play and a course designed by the legendary Severiano Ballesteros that is Quinta do Vale, complement the golf offer in Tavira which is quite comprehensive and suitable for all types of players and provide also some great golf holidays in that part of the Algarve.