GOLF ESCAPES
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
FOCUS ON<br />
Portugal<br />
A theme of quality on and off the course runs through the three key areas of this golf-rich country.<br />
It is easy to let Portugal slip from your<br />
mind as you ponder a golf break for<br />
2015. You’ve probably been there several<br />
times and know what to expect in the<br />
Algarve and possibly Lisbon too.<br />
Familiarity can breed if not contempt then<br />
complacency and a bit of apathy towards an<br />
old favourite.<br />
With lots of exciting new destinations –<br />
many of which we detail in this supplement<br />
– the traditional destinations can seem a<br />
little less adventurous.<br />
But sometimes what you know is best. It’s<br />
a bit like going to a different supermarket,<br />
just because you’re tired of the same one<br />
you’ve been going to for weeks on end.<br />
Trouble is, you go to the new one and soon<br />
realise there was a reason (probably lots of<br />
them) that you went to the old one; it was<br />
better. In many respects Portugal is the old<br />
supermarket; you know it (or at least you<br />
think you do) but trying to beat it is a very<br />
difficult task indeed. Few, if any, areas in<br />
Europe can match what the Algarve,<br />
Lisbon and Porto can offer.<br />
It’s true there was a time when golf in the<br />
Algarve seemed to be getting very<br />
expensive, but that’s not the case now. They<br />
do exist – but you can play on the Algarve<br />
on a reasonable budget. The same goes for<br />
increasingly-popular Lisbon.<br />
Both areas, and Porto, are especially well<br />
equipped to satisfy the needs of golfers.<br />
The fact the game is barely played at local<br />
level, means the clubs and courses are<br />
almost exclusively for visitors’ use.<br />
It means Portuguese venues simply have<br />
to provide quality, because the competition<br />
is so high. This internal pressure on the<br />
market is added to by the fact that where<br />
once they only had Spain to worry about,<br />
Portugal now has destinations as diverse as<br />
Belek and Dubai to contend with.<br />
Being popular tourist areas, when you are<br />
not playing golf you can laze by the pool,<br />
enjoy some water sports, soak up the sun on<br />
the beach or take day trips to heritage sites,<br />
water parks or bustling city centres.
Change language