Penina
Maestro’s masterpiece..
It is a fairly flat parkland type of course, with many bunkers, almost
four hundred thousand trees, several lakes, spacious greens and a vast
tee area, making this a real championship course.
Course Information.
The first golf course to be built in the Algarve, the Penina Championship
Course is considered to be Sir Henry Cotton's masterpiece and has hosted
the Portuguese Open on several occasions.
Sir Henry Cotton, the three-times winner of the British Open, who later
became an architect of golf courses, was one of the first to recognise
the Algarve's huge potential as a golfing destination. The quality and
success of this course was to encourage the building of many other courses
in the region. During his lifetime, Sir Henry Cotton was a regular player
at Penina, where his caddie was a donkey by the name of Pacifico...
"Penina is one of the finest golf setups there is anywhere”
Sir Henry Cotton
The Championship Course was completely rebuilt in 1995, although it
has retained most of its original features. It is a fairly flat parkland
type of course, with many bunkers, almost four hundred thousand trees,
several lakes, spacious greens and a vast tee area, making this a real
championship course. The Portuguese Opens of 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978,
1982, 1998, 1999 and 2000 were all held here. Penina also has another
two nine-hole courses, both designed by Sir Henry Cotton: the Resort
Course, par 35 (2,987 metres); and the Academy Course. par 30 (1,851
metres).