Region - ANA Routelab

Golf in Portugal
“With large events, Portugal would claim
its position as a destination that is
sought after on a global scale”
country to stand its ground as a golf destination. The offer should be
reinforced and the best way to do that is to sell Portugal as a golf
destination and not merely isolated regions. Any golfer drives two
hours to play in high quality golf courses, and with excellent roads
time travel between the different regions of the country is short.
What are the country’s strong points to practice golf?
First there’s the weather, than the quality of the golf courses, the
cuisine, the roads and the environmental sustainability of the
courses.
Do we lack important events to promote our destinations?
There’s no doubt about that. Over the last 5 years, and since the
World Cup, the Portuguese government has been making a considerable
effort in that sense. The major golf events have high media
coverage and are an excellent approach to promote the country as a
touristic destination. With large events such as the Ryder Cup,
Portugal would claim its position as a destination that is sought after
on a global scale, namely by the enlargement of the spectrum of
issuing countries.
How many players do you have each year in Portugal?
There are 15,000 golfers in the FPG. And there are around 300.000
golfers that visit the country only to play golf.
FPG has the ambitious goal of reaching 100.000 golfers in Portugal
until 2020. What does it take to reach that goal?
To take golf around the country using road shows, to provide equipment
for schools that are located nearby golf courses, to train the
teachers in such schools and create attractive conditions in the golf
courses for those people that wish to continue practicing the
sport.
Why is Portugal the best destination to host Ryder Cup?
First and foremost, the weather is excellent. Then there's a high
quality project that will develop an 18-hole golf course in an area
around 340 acres and that will allow the creation of the support
infrastructures for the organisation of the Ryder Cup, an unparalleled
location, especially when compared to the other competitors
and there’s also the strategic need to host such a competition from
the touristic point of view.
The choice of Tom Fazio and the European Golf Design for the architectures
of the golf course clearly shows that innovative capacity of
the Portuguese application. It is the only golf course to have such as
a partnership with the aim of providing the best possible golf course
for the Ryder Cup.
And lastly we’re confident that the fact that this is the only country
which is a true golf destination will influence the decision. As D.
Jaime Ortiz-Patiño said, “Who’s going to travel to play golf in Madrid,
Paris, Munich or Rotterdam?
Currently, who plays golf in Portugal? Is it possible to trace a profile
of the golfers?
Portugal still holds some prejudice concerning golf. This sport can be
played by anyone and the costs are far from what the majority of the
Portuguese population thinks. As any other product, there’s top of
the game and lower levels, and Portugal has a much diversified offer,
namely in Lisbon and the northern region.
It’s important that the public knows this and the golf courses have a
vital role if they wish to advertise the sport in their community.
Portugal needs to be a country for golfers but also a country of
golfers.
14 PORTUGAL TRAVEL NEWS - GOLF - 2011