Albufeira Golf

Portugal golf – Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course

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Amendoeira O'Connor Golf Course

Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course

Another warm and sunny summer day in the Algarve took Chez Carlos Golf Society to Amendoeira O’Connor Golf Course on 17 July.

We had a group of 20 players all set with intentions of conquering our golf demons and holing putts from ridiculous distances, but the O’Connor Jnr Course had other plans in mind for most.
Aside from a few excellent efforts by a few of our members that deserve commendation, O’Connor defended itself well.

Fraser Graham (39), Ian McAleese (38), and Adrian Fraser Jones (36) were the only 3 that could manage to beat the course and accumulate 36 or more stableford points on the day. Nick Coulson took nearest the pin honours on hole #13.
O’Connor Jnr, as always, was in very good condition tee to green, and the greens themselves were not lightning fast as we have seen them in the past but ran true and consistent and pin placements provided a fair test of skill. As is usual with Amendoeira, the staff and the service they provide from front desk to caddy master is exemplary, efficient, and quite friendly and helpful which is greatly appreciated always by our members.
Included in the special for our group was buckets of balls for the range which has legitimate grass tees and an excellent little practice chipping green for warming up prior to hitting the course.

In my humble opinion, the O’Connor course is a fair test to all levels of talent or lack thereof. Short hitters will be pushed to their limits to get there, and long hitters will be dealt with accordingly for errant tee shots.
Around the greens requires some nifty shot making to produce scores. Measuring by attendance from our membership, it is quite apparent that O’Connor Jnr is one of our group’s favourites in the Algarve.
The course is without a doubt top notch and the service is second to none at Algarve golf courses. If I had a peeve, it is with the GPS on the buggies that restricts their pace in critical areas around the course, which is understandable and acceptable. Having the caddy master explain this to patrons as they assign buggies would be appropriate so they understand their buggy is not dying on them as they proceed to the first tee box when it activates built in slow speed restrictions.
Also, the buggies are coded not to work at all in the parking lot, which makes little sense when players go to load up their clubs from their vehicles and is an annoyance that seemed unanimous amongst our group.
Several times as I wait for our members near the caddy master station, I have witnessed patrons approach the desk upset their buggy died in the parking lot only to have them made aware of the circumstances at that time.
Saying that if this is the only complaint one can make about their Amendoeira O’Connor Jnr experience, it is quite petty.
This golf course is one of Chez Carlos Golf Society’s favourites and quality of course and golf experience for value is as good or better than most in the Algarve.

You can also read other posts about Golf in Portugal:
Trade Circuit at Old Course in Vilamoura
Seniors Golf – Portugal vs Andalusia
Vale do Lobo Ocean Course

Portugal golf holidays – Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve Portugal

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Salgados Golf Course. Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve

Salgados Golf Course

Golf Holidays Breaks in Algarve

The Algarve, being the most southern province of Portugal, offers a semi-tropical climate, a cold winter and hot, but very pleasant summers, providing conditions for fantastic golf breaks all year round. There are 39 Golf Courses in the Algarve from west to east and almost all of them offer several options for multiple games, “golf packages”, where the player gets advantageous discounts. We have the example of dynamic packages that start from 2 or 3 rounds and offer an additional discount, such as the Vilamoura golf courses or the Amendoeira Resort. Vilamoura also offers Taylor made packages on its 5 golf courses, the traditional Old Course, the emblematic Victoria golf course and the popular Pinhal, Millennium and Laguna golf courses owned by the Dom Pedro group and therefore the options are many and with different types of discounts. A Group of 8 or more golfers have a free round for 1 player. Golf professionals also benefit from amenities and special conditions.

Quinta do Lago also offers combinations of 3, 5 or more rounds on its three golf courses, Laranjal, Quinta do Lago South and North, offering one free player in 16 and special conditions for the golf professionals.

Vale do Lobo on the two golf courses, Ocean and Royal also offer 1 free player in 8, a package of 3 rounds with 1 free round, excellent for those who want to play more than one round of golf at Vale do Lobo golf courses in the centre of the Algarve.

For the best golf holiday, we at Tee Times Golf Agency have around 60 golf packages to choose from all golf courses in the Algarve.

The most important areas of the Algarve for your golf holidays are Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo, Quinta do Lago, Lagos, Portimao Carvoeiro and Tavira, all of them have a set of very important Golf Courses such as Palmares, Boavista and Espiche, in Lagos.

Portimao has the legendary Penina Golf Course designed by Sir Henry Cotton and the excellent Morgado and Alamos Golf Courses, set in a peaceful environment at the foot of the Monchique mountains. The Morgado golf course, more demanding, recently home of the Portuguese Open and the Alamos golf course shorter but very demanding golf course in the short game, very wavy greens. Two good options in the region. In Carvoeiro, we have the Vale da Pinta & Gramacho golf courses and in Albufeira, the Salgados golf course is a lot of fun and not too far to the north after the highway, golf players can find the amazing Amendoeira Resort, Faldo and O´Connor golf courses and the popular Silves golf course.

In the Tavira area, in the eastern part of the Algarve, we have the best golf course in Portugal, and one of the best in Europe, the Monte Rei North golf course with the signature of Jack Nicklaus.

A little further south two excellent golf courses, Quinta da Ria & Quinta de Cima, plus the Benamor and Castro Marim golf courses, both very popular and pleasant to play and a course designed by the legendary Severiano Ballesteros that is Quinta do Vale, complement the golf offer in Tavira which is quite comprehensive and suitable for all types of players and provide also some great golf holidays in that part of the Algarve.

Clean Beach Operation Starts in Albufeira

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Clean Beach Operation Starts in Albufeira

Clean Beach Operation Starts in Albufeira

Albufeira, Silves and Lagoa. The initiative of Zoomarine, the “Clean Beach Operation 2019”, will simultaneously involve these municipalities with the aim of sensitizing the population to the importance of the sustainability of marine ecosystems. The action takes place on May 12 in Albufeira and will feature the Salgados and Galé – Oeste beaches.

The “Clean Beach Operation” began in 2017, in conjunction with the “Operation Green Mountain” and is part of the “Together We Protect” environmental responsibility initiative. It aims to remove, over several kilometers and at the level of the coastal strip and seabed, debris resulting from human action, increasingly present on our beaches.

With about 30 kilometers of coastline, cut by beautiful beaches, all with blue flag, the maximum symbol of environmental quality, the Municipality of Albufeira did not want to miss “associate with this initiative, of particular significance when the bathing season is about to begin with.”

In Albufeira, the action will take place on Salgados and Galé – Oeste beach, where dozens of volunteers are expected in the morning, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:00 a.m., in which many friendly hands are expected to release the sand of plastic, cigarette stubs, cans, remnants of fishing gear, parts of vessels, pieces of appliances, among other hazardous wastes. The company Águas do Algarve also joined the initiative, similar to the “ODS Alliance” – Objectives for the Sustainable Development of Portugal.

Clean Beach Operation Starts in Albufeira. Beach with Blue Flag

Beach with Blue Flag

This year, the initiative triples its action, since it now includes the beaches of three Algarve counties, Silves, Albufeira and Lagoa. Volunteers interested in participating in the “Clean Beach Operation” should register online at http://weprotect.zoomarine.pt/en/, between April 8 and May 10, with the first 150 participants officially marking the presence in each county will be entitled to a commemorative t-shirt. All participants will also have the right to a morning snack, a digital diploma and, above all, the happy memories of an action that fills our hearts while emptying the beaches of waste that should never have arrived there.

With the awareness of environmental responsibilities and with the urge to be the best place to live for its residents and the best destination for holidaymakers, Algarve is committed to introducing effective measures aimed to protect the environment. reducing the amount of non-reusable plastic is just one of them. For this end, most of the hotels in the area are decided at reducing the use of plastic objects by their customers. One of the initiatives is the elimination of plastic straws and the introduction of an ecological paper option. Another measure concerns the replacement of disposable plastic cups, reusable cups or paper cups. Also, additional measures are being implemented in the accommodation areas, like placing of liquid soap, shower gel and shampoo dispensers in the bathrooms instead of small bottles, in order to substantially reduce the plastic used. Finally, awareness-raising actions will be developed for customers to always return the keys to the rooms and solutions will be developed that allow the digital opening of the doors instead of the current plastic cards.

Clean Beach Operation Starts in Albufeira.

Clean Beach Operation

Golf Courses near by: Salgados, Silves, Vale da Pinta, Gramacho
Hotels near by : Nau Hotels, Vila Galé Náutico, Pestana Levante, Vila Vita Park