Pitch & Putt

Balaia Golf Celebrates 25 Years with a Members’ Birthday Tournament

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Twenty-five years Celebration. Nine holes. 20 members. And not a par 4 in sight.

Balaia Golf, the short course tucked into the pine woods of Balaia Golf Village on the eastern edge of Albufeira, has marked its twenty-fifth anniversary with a members’ tournament, a prize-giving and a dinner in the clubhouse. Twenty members played nine holes in sunshine and warm temperatures. The Algarve does not really do anniversary rain.

Balaia 25 Anniversary Golf Tournament participants

The Winners

The French took the honours. Phillipe Cordier won the men’s prize with 20 points, while compatriot Viviane Dujardin won the ladies’ competition with 17. Ian Foulis claimed nearest the pin — the one prize on a par-3 course for which every hole qualifies.

A putting competition for beginners ran alongside the main event, and the trophy went to Belgium’s Marie-Angèle Beeckman. Balaia CEO Ana Bachmann presented the prizes, looking back over the resort’s history and thanking the team that keeps it a place guests return to year after year.

Tournament ladies winner receiving prize from Balaia CEO Ana Bachmann
Tournament mens winner receiving prize from Balaia CEO Ana Bachmann

Two Founders Remembered

The course opened in 2001 within the resort businessman Robert Bachmann had founded some years earlier. The golf, though, was the idea of Gad Ron — then general manager, a friend of Bachmann’s and the man behind every stage of the golf at Balaia. Both have since died, and the evening paused to remember what they built.

There is continuity, too. Maria José Pinto has directed the golf since November 2000, before there was a course to direct. In an industry where managers change more often than pin positions, that is going some.

The Course

Southern Golf laid out nine par 3s among the resort’s pines, ranging from 67 to 160 metres; played twice, the 18-hole card measures 1,968 metres. The course is rated for the World Handicap System and has its own tees for Pitch & Putt competitions. (Visit Portugal)

Players on the green at Balaia Golf, Albufeira

It is short, not easy. Undulating fairways, excellent greens and small targets make it a proper examination of the short game — precisely where most of us lose the shots we later blame on the driver. Its hundred-plus members would agree.

A short par 3 green framed by trees at Balaia Golf, Albufeira

A Busy Anniversary Year

The members’ tournament was not the only celebration. On 26 and 27 September Balaia hosted the Albufeira International Pitch & Putt, three rounds of stroke play over the nine holes. Hugo Espírito Santo of Quinta das Lágrimas won on 150, 12 under par, four shots clear of Finn Gordon from Vilamoura. (Jornal do Algarve)

Back at the anniversary, the prize-giving and dinner were accompanied by live music from Inês Pinto Machado. Twenty-five years of short game, it turns out, deserves a long evening.

A Base with Bonus Holes

Balaia is a resort first: around 480 apartments, tennis courts, pools, a driving range and academy, and the beach within walking distance. The nine holes are on the doorstep, so a quick round before breakfast becomes a daily habit rather than a holiday resolution.

The bigger courses are close by. Pine Cliffs and Salgados are minutes away, and the Vilamoura Old Course is a short drive east. Whatever your preferences, you are sure to find the perfect Golf Course course amongst our listings.

Browse our Algarve golf holidays and book your ideal Golf Getaway with Tee Times.

Portugal Makes Its Mark at the French Pitch & Putt Open

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Hugo Espírito Santo and Tomás Ribeiro excel at a wet and competitive weekend near Lyon

The 22nd Open International de France de Pitch & Putt brought 71 players to UGOLF Mionnay, just 20 kilometres north of Lyon, for three rounds across the 8th to 10th of May. Portugal sent a four-man contingent — and came away with a podium finish.

Though it was not the biggest tournament in the golf calendar, it was exactly the kind of result that reminds you how broad and deep the game runs beneath the surface of the DP World Tour. (Federação Portuguesa de Golfe)

Open International de France

Third Place in Testing Conditions

Hugo Espírito Santo, representing Quinta das Lágrimas, and Tomás Ribeiro of Paredes Golf Club closed with a combined total of 144 shots, 18 under par, to share third place. The final round was played in persistent rain, with the top seven players separated by just two shots entering the day — conditions that test patience as much as technique.

Espírito Santo, a former champion of this event in 2023, showed the composure of a player who has been here before. Ribeiro matched him card for card, returning three identical rounds of 48 — a consistency that is harder to achieve than it looks across 54 holes of strokeplay.

The Winner and the Field

The title went to Noa Auch-Roy, a young French player from the host club, who posted a composed 47-47-47 for 141, 21 under par — three shots clear of the field and arguably the performance of the weekend. The runner-up spot went to Spaniard José Maria Ortiz, the defending champion from the 2025 edition at Le Puy-en-Velay, on 143.

The field of 71 also included players from the Netherlands, Italy, Algeria, and Benin — a reminder that Pitch & Putt has a genuinely international following, particularly across southern Europe, where the format has been growing steadily for two decades.

The Other Portuguese Results

Portugal Pitch and Putt Team
Matteo Balzer, playing out of Amendoeira Golf Resort in the Algarve, finished a creditable sixth on 148, 14 under par. Arnaldo Paredes of Quinta das Lágrimas closed in 13th on 160, two under. Four Portuguese starters, four finishers — and three of them inside the top fifteen. By any measure, a strong showing for the national squad on foreign soil.

A Format Worth Knowing

Pitch & Putt is played on a par-54 course, with holes typically ranging from 40 to 90 metres. Every shot is either a pitch or a putt — no drivers, no long irons, no excuses. The format strips the game back to its most transferable skills: touch, trajectory, and reading a green. Portugal has a long tradition in the discipline, and the Algarve in particular has produced players capable of competing at the highest international level.

For the visiting golfer, it is also worth knowing that many of the region’s leading resorts offer Pitch & Putt facilities alongside their full-length layouts — a useful option on a rest day, or for travelling companions who are new to the game.

The Algarve remains one of Europe’s most versatile golf destinations, with courses and formats to suit every level. Whether you are chasing a competitive round on one of the region’s championship layouts, or looking for something more relaxed, Tee Times Golf Holidays can put together a package that fits — tee times, hotels, and transfers all taken care of.