Pinheiros Altos Golf Course

Pinheiros Altos Golf Course: Description

Located within the well-known Quinta do Lago estate, Pinheiros Altos Golf Course enjoys a solid reputation. Within the golfing world it is known as providing a mental challenge due to well placed hazards.

Bordering the 18,300 hectares of Natural Park of Ria Formosa which provides a habitat for many species of birds and has much interesting vegetation.

Pinheiros Altos is a combination of 27 holes composed by three groups of 9 holes named Oliveiras (Olives), Pinheiros (Pines) and Sobreiros (Corks), respectively. This highly original and distinctive course possesses completely opposing characteristics.

The original 18-hole course of Pinheiros Altos, designed by Californian architect Ronald Fream, was well-known for its contrasting nines. While the first 9-hole are over rolling sandy undergrowth with gentle pine trees, the shorter second 9-hole runs through hills dotted with lakes that present the main obstacle for the golfers on this course. Jorge Santana da Silva, a disciple of famed architect Robert Trent Jones, was selected to design the new holes. The latest are inserted in amongst the original opening nine, with 4 (holes 4 to 7) in the Pinheiros (Pines) 9-hole course, and the remaining new five5 (holes 2 to 6) in a loop called Sobreiros (cork-oaks). All three loops start and end conveniently near the clubhouse area.