Golf Courses at Dona Filipa Hotel

San Lorenzo Course

San Lorenzo has long been considered by many people to be Portugal's finest course, and is firmly established in the upper echelons of European golf. The course opened in 1988, and was designed by the American architect Joseph Lee.The fortunate creator was blessed with an unimaginably beautiful blank canvas as San Lorenzo sits in the Ria Formosa nature reserve, a vast park which is home to terrific plant and wildlife species.

There are many different styles of golf at San Lorenzo, as you wind through the terrific pines, lakes, and private villas, while the course also works its way out to the coastline.There are countless spectacular holes, like the third, a par-5 towards the ocean which gets the juices flowing, before the course builds up to a magnificent crescendo with the closing stretch; the 17th is a daunting test, while the closing hole is a the classic ‘risk/reward' hole, where the intrepid golfer must strike a good approach shot to reach the spectacular semi-island green.

San Lorenzo's considerable reputation is not for nothing - this terrific course will not disappoint should you visit during your next golf holiday in the Algarve.San Lorenzo is one of the finest golf courses in Portugal, and is attached to Dona Filipa.

Pinheiros Altos

On the fringes of the amazing landscape of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, and adjacent to the Formosa Park Hotel, lies Pinheiros Altos, and excellent golf course that was originally designed by the American, Ronald Fream for its opening in 1992.The original 6,615 yard layout, comprised of the “Pines” and the “Olives” course, received a welcome boost when the renowned Peter McEvoy and Howard Swan reworked many of the holes, sharpening up the design and modernizing it to meet the demands of the modern game.

The predominant characteristic of Pinheiros Altos is that the two nines are vastly different in character; the outward half winds through the lovely pine trees, traversing the sandy turf of the coastline, while the closing stretch is distinctly more undulating, and is punctuated with a number of challenging water hazards.  

A further 9 hole course, the “Corks” was opened in 2008, designed by George Santana Da Silva. The course is the longest of the three and contains a particularly tricky eighth hole.Pinheiros Altos is also fortunate to have a fantastic practice centre, helping to underline it as a quality golfing destination, perfect for a round during your next trip to the Algarve.