Lagos Golf

Palmares Experience – Friday 25th November’11

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This was another visit to Palmares this year for the complete 27 holes for a return match between the Society and Rod Yates’ Lagos team. Strong turnout with x32 players enabled us to fix eight football matches with the chance to win one point for your team on each of the nine holes – full handicap stableford. This way your pairing were virtually always in the game.

Early start this time at 09.00 so as to ensure we all got round. Thanks again to Rod for arranging the ‘picnic’ of food which was enjoyed out on the course.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for the time of year – blue skies and sunny with no wind made for truly magnificent playing conditions. We were all clear by 4.30pm to re-assemble at a local beach bar on Meia Praia for the some well deserved liquid refreshment. A delightful meal of piri-piri chicken, grilled fish & salad rounded the day of perfectly. Shame the result was not better for us!

Tee 1
ADY & ANNIE -3 v ALAN & KEN -0
SHANE & CLIVE -2½ v BILLY & ROB -½
TOM & JIM -0 v ROD & PAT -3
TOMMY & DELL -1 v KARL & ROGER -2

Tee10
JIM & MARK -2 v IAN & MICK -1
SIMON & RUSS -2 v JOHN & MORMAN -1
PETER & PETER -0 v KEITH & ANDY -3
JIM & SINCLAIR -0 v MIGUEL & TOM -3

Results: Win to Lagos
Vilamoura 10½ Lagos 13½

Nearest The Pin: Tommy Jensen, Andy Nicholls & Jim Drover

Onyria Palmares Experience – Monday 4th July 2011

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After an 18 month closure Onyria Palmares officially reopened in June 2011. Designer Robert Trent Jones Jr has totally remodelled the course creating a mixture of parkland with links and an additional 9 holes.

It is now a three nine hole loop – Alvor, Lagos and Paria. The ‘Alvor’ takes the player on a parkland journey with the holes sloping upward and then dropping into a valley – it incorporates the signature hole 4th. ‘Lagos’ starts to blend parkland and heathland together accompanied with views over Meia Praia beach to the Atlantic Ocean and Lagos town – truly spectacular!

It is only till you come to the ‘Praia’ loop that you start to recall the old Palmares layout in the dunes. The two short Par 4’s over the railway line are now a 514mts Par 5 and the long Par 5 running parallel to the coast is still there but sculptured to form a massive 548mts Par 5 followed now by a 198mts Par 3 before traversing over the railway line. Once again, it is these holes that experience the full force of the wind rushing off land to the ocean. It plays harder than before, whatever few trees and shelter that were there have gone.

A match was accepted by the Society to take on some players from Lagos; a few of whom were familiar and had played in our Society events before. Each side arrived with 6 players and we were booked to play at 09.30am for the full 27 holes. After a few introductions and a coffee we partnered up and ventured into the unknown. Format was aggregate betterball stableford matchplay. After the’ Alvor’ and ‘Lagos’ 18 holes opponents were switched. Sadly, the Society was squarely beaten 5.5pts to 3.5pts, if only team Ferreira & Hall had won one its games!

Our thanks go to Rod Yates of ‘Algarve Golf Club Hire’ for raising a team and for afterwards for taking us down to a stunning beach bar on Meia Praia for post drink refreshments.

It truly is an experience to play here with such a variety of holes complimented with arguably the best scenery and views of any golf course in Portugal. Let us hope the planned villa construction will not spoil its magnificence. Play it while you can.

Onyria Palmares Beach & Golf Resort – Midweek Game

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On occasion the Society plays a midweek game if there are anxious golfers looking around for a game. The all new Onyria Palmares Golf Course near Lagos had just opened so it was fitting that we should give it a try. The ‘old’ Palmares was opened in 1975 and was a firm favourite for many golfers over the years as it had some of the best views from any golf course in Portugal and to play down to the Ocean was something special not to mention the scent of orange tree blossom blowing across the course.

The new owners tasked Robert Trent Jones Jr with refreshing a true classic. The first phase sees 18 holes operational this month. The layout is truly impressive though at the moment you have to tolerate that you are in a construction site as the additional nine holes do not come into play till next year. The condition is excellent; it just needs to mature and only time will do that as it did with the old one.

“Onyria Palmares Golf Course is special on so many levels. The expansive ocean views, dramatic elevation changes, quintessential Mediterranean intimate valleys, and expansive dunes land have blessed us with the environment to craft a golf course with an enormous depth of character and challenge’ describes Robert Trent Jones Jr – the Society agrees.

We can’t wait to try the new nine as part of it plays across the railway line that so many of us are familiar with. Glancing down to it from the clubhouse, which itself will be rebuilt, the whole project looks stunning set to a backdrop of a still blue ocean. A warm welcome awaits all that go and visit.