“Best Golf Destination in Europe” and “Best Golf Destination in the World” are the awards that Portugal received for the third year running from World Golf Awards in 2016.

These awards confirm Portugal as an ideal destination for playing golf and distinguish it from other countries with a tradition in this sport, such as England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales.

Portugal has a mild climate with excellent conditions for this sport throughout the year. It also offers a large number of courses, most of which are located in protected areas, with stunning views and characteristics to suit different levels of difficulty.

The central Algarve region – also known as the golden triangle, in a reference to the luxury and exclusivity that is the image of the region between Vilamoura, Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo – also offers the best facilities for playing golf. These courses combine links and fairways with cliffs, lakes and bunkers, providing holes of the highest standard.

Many of the courses were designed by famous architects, including Robert Trent Jones Jr, Jack Nicklaus, Arthur Hills, Nick Faldo, Severiano Ballesteros, Henry Cotton, Rocky Roquemore or Arnold Palmer, who designed the award-winning Oceânico Victoria, a symbol of Portuguese golf, where the Portugal Masters has been played since it was first held in 2007. What they all have in common is beauty, environmental quality and harmonious integration with nature.

There are currently 91 golf courses in Portugal, of which 66 have 18 or 27 holes. The Algarve is the region with most courses (44%), but the story of golf in Portugal began in Porto and the North, since the second oldest golf course in continental Europe can be found in Espinho.