Golf in Portugal
 Thanks to a mild climate, superbly maintained courses,
and an exciting cultural and night life, Portugal is now one of the world's
most popular golfing destinations, and the Algarve region was recently
declared 'Best Golfing Destination In The World' by the International
Association of Golf Tour Operators.
Winters are mild, summers are warm, and Portugal enjoys
3000 hours of sunshine annually. There are now over 70 courses, many
of championship standard, including some designed by such renowned architects
as Robert Trent Jones Jr, Mackenzie Ross, and Sir Henry Cotton. Green
fees are not as expensive as they would be at quality courses in other
countries.
Although the first course in Portugal was a short-lived
Algarve links, the oldest existing course is Oporto Golf Club. Originally
the Oporto Niblicks Club, it was founded in 1890 by a group of English
port makers. At the beginning of the next century, more clubs sprung
up around Lisbon, also predominantly English in origin.
The Portuguese Open is a regular and well-attended European
Tour Event and the Arnold Palmer designed Victoria Clube de Golfe in
Vilmoura will host the prestigious 2005 World Cup of Golf in November,
with a prize fund of $4 million. There is also the Madeira Island
Open, and Ladies, Senior, Junior and Amateur events.
At the moment Portugal's top golfer is the young Jose-Filipe
Lima, who came third in the 2004 Portugal Open, and has achieved a European
Tour ranking higher than any other Portuguese player in history.
There are a host of tour operators offering trips to Portugal,
and a lot of the best courses are attached to hotels which can offer
'bed and golf' deals. Also worth checking out are the 'golf passports',
deals where you get to play several different courses at reduced rates
(see estorilsintragolf.net for a good deal near Lisbon, and algarvegolfe.com
for the Algarve).
A good way to meet new golfing partners, and hopefully
get to know a few locals would be to take part in an amateur tournament
like the Estoril International Golf Week or the Lisbon Golf Festival.
In the south, the main golfing season is from late autumn
to late spring, on the other hand, coming in the summer would mean you
could enjoy a more relaxed game on under-played courses. The north of
the country is slightly cooler and damper, but is still a great area
for golf.
Most of the courses are clustered around Lisbon and
the Algarve,
but you can find golf in many regions, including the stunning settings
of Madeira and The
Azores.
Although golf in Portugal is usually a very relaxed affair,
it's still always a good idea to ring ahead and book a tee time, check
the handicap restrictions etc. The chances are that if you ring a well
established course, the person that answers the phone will be able to
speak enough English to handle all your enquiries, but just in case they
don't, here's a quick guide to help you out.
Portuguese Golf Lingo
Do you want to play golf? - Queres jogar golf?
Nice shot - Boa tacada
My handicap is ...... O meu handicap .......
Bunker - Bunker
Stream - Ribeiro
Green - Verde
Don't be ridiculous, it was a terrible shot - Que disparate,
foi uma tacada terrivel
Ha ha. I win - Ha ha. Ganhei
Step-By-Step Guide To Booking Your Round Of Golf
When a Portuguese person picks up the phone they will usually say "estou
o que deseja", (literally hello can I help you) and you should
reply "ola o meu nome é (your name) gostava de marcar
um jogo de golf." Which means "Hello my name is so-and-so, I would
like a game of golf."
To ask if you could play golf at a certain time on a certain date you
should say "Desculpe era possivel jogar golf em (Choose a month
from the list below) no dia (Choose a date). The person should
reply "sim" to tell you that's OK, or "não" if it's
not.
To tell the person how many people there are in your party, you need
to say "Ao todo somos (see numbers, below) pessoas."
To ask how much it will cost per person, ask "Qual e o preco por cada
pessoa?". The person should reply "O preco por cada passoa é (see
numbers below)"
To ask whether you can hire a caddy/ buggy/ clubs, say "Era possivel
alugar um; caddy /buggy /tacos de golf." The person should
reply "sim" to say you can, or "não" to say you
can't.
You might be asked your name "Como se chama?" or " Qual é o
seu nome?", and you should reply "Eu chamo-me (name)."
Months meses
January janeiro
February fevereiro
March marco
April abril
May maio
June junho
July julho
August agosto
September setembro
October outubro
November novembro
December dezembro
Times horas
In Portuguese, to say "It is XX o'clock AM/PM" you need to say "são
XX horas da manha/tarde"1 um
2 dois
3 tres
4 quatro
5 cinco
6 seis
7 sete
8 oito
9 nove
10 dez
11 onze
12 douze
Basic
phrases in Portuguese
Madeira & The Azores
There are two courses on Madeira:
Santo da Serra
Tel: 291 550 100
Palheiro
Tel: 219 790 120
There are three courses in The
Azores
Terceira
295 902 444
Sao Miguel
Furnas
Tel: 296 584 341
Batalha
Tel: 296 498 559
Lisbon & Central
Portugal Golf Courses
Algarve
Golf Courses
Northern
Portugal Golf Courses
Golf
in Germany
Book Air Tickets to Portugal
Air
France special offers
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