Parque da Floresta Golf and Leisure Resort

If your golf is made more enjoyable by either liking to walk & carry or walk & pull a trolley then Parque da Floresta will be a hit. I’m an active golfer and in the Algarve only the Parque da Floresta course makes me sweat and my legs ache. It’s a good and enjoyable ‘yomp’ that I recommend unreservedly and will be more memorable than some of the more well known Algarve courses. The now shortened par 4 1st hole has the right hand side gorge hazard but a good drive will set you up for a birdie opportunity. The approach shot on the par 4 2nd is the key shot and I recommend taking a club less for this. Trust your yardage on the par 3 3rd as the front bunker awaits any under clubbing. The 4th is a par 5 with trees to your left and OOB to your right, and the 2nd shot is the key here as the fairway narrows as it approaches the green. Whilst they say the short par 3 5th is the signature hole, over the years the view has got less appealing with the large villa developments. The blind tee shot par 4 6th is a love it or hate it hole but with courage and direction from the tee is another birdie opportunity. The 7th is an uphill par 3 that has a long green so check the pin location before choosing your club. The 8th is a par 4 that drops down toward the green. The front 9 ends with a very difficult par 5 that will have you thinking about the long, uphill approach. Anybody walking off this hole with a gross par deserves to buy a round of drinks. After a challenging walk from green to next tee box, the back 9 opens with a well bunkered par 5 and is then followed by along par 3 and an uphill par 5. Then after come some interesting holes played from raised tee. If playing early watch out in this part for wild boar as whilst now unfortunately they’re uncommon, they do roam this area. Other back 9 note worthy holes are a par 3 over water to a long but thin green, and the drivable par 4 16th. The final hole makes its way up to the club house passing the large villas owned by some famous footballers and business people. As I said at the start, if you like golf because of the walk then you’ll enjoy Parque da Floresta. It’s a challenge as you’ll use every club in your bag, the fairway lies are never flat and the greens are fast. In fact I even go so far as to say that if you’re staying in the more tourist areas of the Algarve that Parque da Floresta is worth the drive down the motorway & N125 to get to. The course does become easier the second time you play and the members are extremely welcoming. For any non-golfers in your party the surrounding area offers the dramatic Atlantic west coast and of course the western tip of mainland Europe.

this is a beautiful course, there are not many flat lies even on the fairways. we played 5 rounds in march and the weather was great, the greens are scarey fast, the par 3 fourth hole is about 100 yrds downhill just a flick with a wedge, you try and hit it and stay on it. the 9th par 5 the hardest hole ive played. on one round we went out before a members sunday competition, i did par a couple of holes on the front 9 the heard that nobody in the comp had got a par on the front 9 that day. this is a challenging course bu if you hit the shot you meant to its very fair. hoping to go back in october.

A stunning golf course with some spectacular holes. Needs to be played twice to completly appreciate it. When you walk out to the first tee and see the stunning scenery you just know your round of golf is going to be special and it certainly is.

Great course. We have really enjoyed the course with the large amount of differencees in heights. We played it twice and a soon as you start to know the course a little it is getting even more interesting for taking the shortest way...

When we approached the course, we thought"what have we let ourselves in for here then?! When we had played a few holes, we were very pleased at our decision to play one of the less well recognised courses on the Algarve.The Greens were superb, probably some of the best we played on (we were there in the middle of Summer) and we played some 'recognised' courses such as Vila Sol, Quinta da Lago and Vale da Pinta. There were never two holes alike and i loved the par 5 down the hill and into the valley. I think it was the 14th. I loved the course and would definately recommend it.

The course is quite testing, but probably plays a little easier than it looks at first sight. Play the course at least twice before forming an opinion. And beware the wind, as this can make the whole experience a lottery.

A course that a buggy is a must as a exceeding hilly course.\r\nA very interesting holes particulary the 9th, a long par 5 that finishes with an elevated green about 80ft above your head.