Quinta do Lago South, be prepare for some great improvements on this beautiful golf course next time you book to play it

Quinta do Lago South

Quinta do Lago South

Quinta do Lago South

Thank you for your patience and co-operation in responding and adapting to the changing circumstances throughout these last challenging weeks. We at Quinta do Lago pride ourselves on the quality of our customer service and social responsibility and so it’s wonderful to see this being shared with tour operator partners.

Now, as we begin to take steps toward reopening and safely welcoming guests back to the resort, I am pleased to give details of the investment and developments in golf at Quinta do Lago, that is currently underway.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been, and continues to be, challenging for all of us. But, while the world is in shutdown, here at Quinta do Lago we are using this time to invest in and improve the facilities and unrivalled experience we offer to our residents and guests as Europe’s premier luxury golf and lifestyle resort.

I am pleased to announce that we will invest €7 million into upgrades of our golf courses, most notably the South Course, over the coming months.

These improvements will be carried out with sustainable goals in mind and our team work with the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) Foundation to further enhance our environmental stewardship.

Quinta do Lago North

Quinta do Lago North

Golfers can expect improvements to the iconic par-72 South Course such as:

– All fairways, bunkers, tees and green surrounds of the South Course will be revamped as well as subtle changes being made to a number of holes to enhance the playing experience.

– Installation of state-of-the-art pumps in the lake around the 16th green will maximise resort efficiency and reduce power output by 20 per cent.

– New irrigation pumps installed around the greens will give more control of irrigation water, increase efficiency and, ultimately, reduce the use of nonrenewable resources and pesticides.

– To help provide a consistent playing experience, all the fairways, approaches, greens collars and tees will be resurfaced with a hybrid Bermudagrass.

– All 48 bunkers on the course will be trimmed to their original size, with new drainage and sand added and compacted, while several bunkers currently within the pine tree canopy will be adjusted to give access to the green and two bunkers relocated to favour the modern game.

– The lakes on the third and 17th holes will be upgraded with new retaining walls giving a sharp modern look consistent with the other lakes on the course; the fairway on the eighth hole will be softened and a number of pine trees relocated to allow greater access to the green; the 16th hole is to be improved by bringing the lake into play behind the green, adding drama to the closing holes.

– A planting scheme of native species adopted across the course to increase the biodiversity of flora and fauna.

Laranjal Golf Course

Laranjal Golf Course

The South Course has played an integral part in the history of the resort and holds a special place in the hearts of so many of our residents and guests. As an eight-time host of the Portuguese Open, it is truly an iconic golfing venue and the enhancement programme that we’ve devised will help to ensure that it strengthens its position at the forefront of European golf.

The upgrade to this world-class layout is due to be completed for reopening on the 1st September, and bookings for this period are open.

Without doubt, golfers will miss the South Course over the next few months. But, during these recent weeks of closure, we have been busy priming and preparing the North and Laranjal Courses – which underwent a €9.6 m renovation in October 2014 – to give their annual aeration work early and ensure that they will remain open and in pristine condition for the remainder of the year.

In addition, we are proud to offer golfers access to our new fleet of Club Car ‘Tempo’ electric buggies and look forward to the reopening of our clubhouses, following a modern and sophisticated makeover.

This, together with the incredible golf, leisure and lifestyle facilities at Quinta do Lago, all approved “Clean & Safe” by the Turismo de Portugal, we are certain that golfers will be able to enjoy time with us over the summer – and that the improvements to the South Course will be worth the wait.

We appreciate the patience of our loyal golfing community during this time and look forward to welcoming them back at Quinta do Lago.

Golf: Seniors – South Circuit, Opening

Golf: Seniors - South Circuit, Opening. Pinheiros Altos Golf Course

Golf Seniors

Today was the Opening Tournament of the Southern Circuit of the Seniors Golfers National Association. It was at Pinheiros Altos (Quinta do Lago) and brought together 60 players from 24 portuguese clubs in the continent and the Azores. Excellent sunny day, without wind, and Pinheiros Altos golf course presented itself in good condition.

In net, Joaquim Mata Martins, from Beja, won with 38 points.

Gross: Steve Juster, Palmares, 29 points

Ladies: Nieves Moreno, 33 points

Senior Masters: Alfredo Aires, 34 points

Guests: Feliz Caetanop, 27 points

The first tournament of the Order of Merit of the Circuit will be on February 1st in Morgado do Reguengo golf course (Portimão).

Source: Valdemar Afonso

11th World Kids Golf

World Kids Golf - Peter Hov, the 2019 World Kids Golf Champion, and Custódio Moreno from the IPDJ Algarve Delegation- Photo by Ramiro de Jesus

Peter Hov, the 2019 World Kids Golf Champion, and Custódio Moreno from the IPDJ Algarve Delegation. Photo by Ramiro de Jesus

World Kids Golf

Peter Hov Champion 5 Portuguese Titles

The Portuguese players had a blast at the 11th World Kids Golf, with five Portuguese titles among the 11 trophies in play at the Amendoeira Golf Resort in Silves, but the Norwegian Peter Hov was the champion of the oldest junior international golf tournament in Portugal.

Francisco Reis (Under-9), João Crasi Alves (Under-12), Inês Belchior (Under-12), Tomas Mician (Under-16) and Filipa Capelo (Under-18) were the Portuguese winners in the tournament organized by the Amendoeira Golf Resort, featuring 80 players from 14 countries.

Francisco Reis (Under 9) scored 61 stableford gross points and his first round of 5 under Par of the O’Connor Course was the best result among players from the purple tees.

The young player of Orizonte Lisbon Golf is the current No. 1 in the Drive Challenge Under-10 ranking in the Tagus Region. Francisco Reis won the four tournaments he played in 2019 in this junior tour of the Portuguese Golf Federation. But this time he faced only foreign rivals he beat by 13 points the Englishman Luke Walton.

Joao Crasi Alves scored 1 under the O’Connor Course Par, on both the first and third rounds (37 stableford gross points), and he was the only one of the 22 Under-12 players to surpass the 100 points (107 total).

World Kids Golf - Eleanor, the Under-10 Champion, and Mark Lichtenhein. Photo by Ramiro de Jesus

Eleanor, the Under-10 Champion, and Mark Lichtenhein. Photo by Ramiro de Jesus

The Vilamoura Golf Club player is also No. 1 in the Southern Drive Challenge Under-12 ranking, with three titles won. But even better, on the Drive Tour, the main FPG junior tour, he is No. 2 in the national ranking, with a tournament won at Penina. In the World Kids Golf, João Crasi Alves beat the Portuguese António Trindade by 8 points.

Inês Belchior – who, besides being a golfer, is also a softball athlete – earned her second World Kids Golf title. The Quinta do Peru Golf & Country Club player had already the best at the U-10 in 2017. Last year she was runner-up in the Under-12 and now she has won the Under-12. On the second day she scored her best result, 9 over Par on the O’Connor Course, converting her only 2 birdies of the tournament.

Tomas Mician scored the best result of the whole tournament, with 11 strokes (gross) under the Faldo Course Par. His -8 second round was the tournament highlight. The Vilamoura Golf Club‘s Portuguese-Slovak played from the yellow marks and beat by 2 the Scottish Jamie Mann (-9), also from Vilamoura.

Nelson Cavalheiro, the PGA Portugal vice-president, said at the awards ceremony, regarding this boy’s Under-16 tournament: “These guys can really play.” And indeed, either of them played three consecutive rounds under Par!

Tomas Mician is the No. 1 FPG Drive Tour ranking in the Under-16, with titles at Penina, Ribagolfe and Belas. «I really wanted to win this World Kids Golf and it was a goal I wanted to achieve,» said the Portuguese with Slovakian parents.

World Kids Golf - Filipa Capelo U18 Champion. Photo by Carla Guerreiro

Filipa Capelo U18 Champion. Photo by Carla Guerreiro

Filipa Capelo said fairwell to one of her favorite tournaments. «It has a family atmosphere where I meet a lot of friends. My mother loves it because we stay here and she goes to the pool while I play. Here I can play, train and have fun, a combination that is not usual in other tournaments».

The 2018 World Kids Golf Champion at the Under-16, has now triumphed as well at the Under-18 level. It was Filipa’s third title of the year, after those achieved at Penina and Belas on the Drive Tour. It was, however, a tasty win, because only three weeks ago she returned from a four-month injuries to both Achilles tendons.

The player of Quinta do Lago may not comeback to defend her title at the Amendoeira Golf Resort next year: «I have been coming to this tournament since I was a Under-12 and had a 36 handicap. Now I have 4 and I will improve, but it is possible that I have been her for the last time. Next year I am going to play and study in the United States and so it is likely that the next summer I will have to take another tournament options, but of course I will miss it.

This year’s foreign champions were English Ffion Richardson (Under-9), Eleanor Lichtenhein (Under-10) and Aaron Moody (Under-10), Spanish Alexander Amey (Under-14), German Emilie von Finckentsein and Norwegian Peter Hov.

Ffion Richardson and Peter Hov came for the first time to the World Kids Golf; Aaron Moody had lost last year with his compatriot Jack Dirkin in the Under-9, and this time he beat the same rival and friend in the Under-10; Eleanor Lichtenhein had won in the Under-9 in 2017, in 2018 she cameback injured in one leg and could not play and this year took the Under-10; and Emilie von Finckentsein was the best in Under-16 a year after being the Under-14 champion.

The World Kids Golf champion is always the Under-18 winner, so the cup was handed to Peter Hov by Custódio Moreno, from the Algarve Department of the Portuguese Institute for Sport and Youth (IPDJ).

World Kids Golf - João Crasi Alves, Under-12 Champion. Photo by Carla Guerreiro

João Crasi Alves, Under-12 Champion. Photo by Carla Guerreiro

By winning the tournament – in a close challenge with Portuguese Lucas Lopes Azinheiro, who was only 2 strokes behind –, the Norwegian will show up for the first time at the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He will be able, as well, to play the Portugal Pro Golf Tour tournament which will take place on the Faldo Course in 2020. This €10,000 prize-money event will feature players from the Challenge Tour and other professional tours and it will be a unique occasion for Peter Hov to test himself against a much higher competition.

«It far above what I dreamed. I really wanted this first point in the world ranking and I am really going to try to comeback to play with the pros,» said the Norwegian, who intends to «play some more European Golf Association tournaments in the future».

The prize giving ceremony presented dignataries such as Mark Lichtenhein (Chairman of the Ladies European Tour), Ana Gabin (Director of the FPG Algarve Delegation), Custódio Moreno (Director of the Algarve IPDJ), Sérgio Duarte (General Manager of the Amendoeira Golf Resort), Tiago Francisco (golf director at the Amendoeira Golf Resort) and Nelson Cavalheiro (tournament director and local Pro).

The 11th World Kids Golf winners, after three rounds, were as follows:

Under-9, Ffion Richardson (England) with 38 stableford gross points (rounds of 9, 15 and 14) and Francisco Reis (Portugal) with 60 (23 + 17 + 21);
Under-10, Eleanor Lichtenhein (England) with 68 points stableford gross (24 + 22 + 22) and Aaron Moody (England) with 97 (31 + 34 + 32);
Under-12, Inês Belchior (Portugal) with 78 points stableford gross (23 + 28 + 27) and João Crasi Alves (Portugal) with 107 (37 + 33 + 37);
Under-14 Alexander Amey (Spain) with 222 strokes (73 + 73 + 76), 6 over Par;
Under-16, Emilie von Finckenstein (Germany) had 225 strokes (73 + 77 + 75), 9 over Par, and Tomas Mician (Portugal) with 205 (71 + 64 + 70), 11 under Par;
Under-18, Filipa Capelo (Portugal) with 230 strokes (76 + 78 +76), 14 over Par, and Peter Hov (Norway) with 222 strokes (69 + 75 + 78), 6 over Par