Course Information.
Pine Cliffs was opened in 1990 and is one of Portugal's most original
golf courses, built on the edge of some spectacular cliffs overlooking
the beautiful Algarve beaches.
The nine-hole course is not very long — there are only two holes
longer than 360 metres — yet despite this it presents an interesting
challenge to golfers, whatever their handicap. Designed by Martin Hawtree
and built in a pine wood on the edge of cliffs overlooking the beach,
the course opens with two quite easy holes, although the difficulties
increase at the third hole.
After playing the long par 5 fifth hole comes the crown
jewel: a par 3, which, played from a championship tee that is built
on the edge of a ravine, requires a 205-metre carrying shot over the
beach and onto a deep but narrow green.
"This is not a course to play in a hurry. It’s necessary
to take time to savour the peace and magnitude of the place." Martin
Hawtree, course architect.
The Pine Cliffs course hosted the Portuguese Ladies Open in 1988. Incidentally,
for several years, the club's president was the famous British motor-racing
driver Nigel Mansell, the former Formula One world champion, who is
also a keen golfing enthusiast and lover of the Algarve.