The Best Lisbon Golf Courses

• Lisbon was the most visited region in Portugal in 2022 accounting for nearly 5.4 million visitors, (as reported by Statista.com), however, golfing in the area is relatively undiscovered compared to the Algarve.
• The Lisbon Golf Coast is home to more than twenty magnificent golf courses, showcasing a variety of designs by some of the world's most famous golf architects. These courses are distributed across several regions within a range of no more than 35 kilometers
• This region offers some of the finest links golf courses outside of England and Scotland.
• Want to escape the British weather? From March to November, golf holidays Portugal are fantastic, with temperatures ideal for year-round play.
• Terras da Comporta – Dunas Golf Course won awards for Europe’s and the World’s best new Golf Course in 2023 at the World Golf Awards.

1. Troia Golf Course
2. West Cliffs Links
3. Oitavos Dunes
4. Penha Longa Atlantico
5. Aroeira Pines
6. Dunas Course at Terras da Comporta

This golf course has long been one of my favourites. Set in the middle of the Troia peninsular, this Robert Trent Jones Snr design is really very stunning and great fun to play. Located 20 miles or so, south of Lisbon, Troia Golf Course is not the easiest to get to. In-fact you will need a short ferry ride after taking the highway from Setubal. But the trip is absolutely worthwhile. 

Every hole has charm and character and intelligent golf is the only way to get around the large pines, bunkers, dunes and green positions. I have always likened Troia to a combination of Torrey Pines and Pinehurst course number 2, which is some comparison to make. The front 9 has a run of exquisite sea holes and you will find your camera seeing plenty of action whilst playing this superb and very challenging golf course. 

The West Cliffs Golf course is another recent addition to the Dye Portfolio and is a genuine championship golf course meandering its way alongside the Atlantic Ocean, offering panoramas from each fairway either facing the ocean or towards and across the Obidos Lagoon. 

The golf course measures 7,003 yards from the Championship back tees, which are designed for the better golfer. However, the golf course is more than a test for golfers of all capacities, with five sets of tees, delivering each hole a unique viewpoint and challenge.

West Cliffs sits just North of the fabulous Praia D’El Rey Golf Resort and can be packaged with Praia D’El Rey, Royal Obidos and Bom Sucesso. 

Although many will favour the more forgiving golf at Praia D’El Rey and Royal Obidos, sometimes you must take on a challenge and although scoring is tough on West Cliffs, the scenery, design and whole experience makes this golf course one of my most loved in Portugal. 

The Oitavos Dunes golf course is the first in Europe and the second in the world to be given Audubon International's Gold Signature Sanctuary accreditation. This Lisbon golf course is 18 holes offering breath-taking views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sintra. The Course was used for the unofficial money team golf event on the European Tour – The Golf Sixes. 

The presence of spacious fairways may create an illusion of ease, but it is the subsequent shot towards tightly guarded greens that is the true test of skill. Although a high-ticket green fee, including a round of golf at Oitavos Dunes would undoubtedly enhance the quality of your golf getaway in Lisbon.

The course layout is similar to that the classic links of Scotland. It has an open, links-like aspect and a turf feel to it. The winds from the Atlantic Ocean have an impact on every hole. Oitavos Dunes was built to retain and preserve the land's unique aspects while protecting the indigenous fauna and flora in order to produce an 18-hole treasure."

Two years after its 1992 opening, the Robert Trent Jones Jr.–designed 18-hole Penha Longa Atlantic course hosted the Portuguese Open. Jones makes excellent use of the contours, resulting in unique and thrilling views on every hole. In particular, the panoramas towards the Atlantic Ocean and the seaside cities of Cascais and Estoril are breath-taking, and the course itself has an excellent flow. This is one course that I always insist on playing when staying in Cascais although I would always use a buggy as the walks between tees and greens are lengthy. 

Combine this with the Cascais golf passport and play nearby Estoril Golf Course, Quinta da Marinha and Belas Clube de Campo. 

Tucked in a pine forest adjacent to the seaside town of Caparica and just 15 Miles from Lisbon, the distinctive estate of Aroeira features two golf courses and several magnificent residences.

Opening in 1973, Frank Pennink's Aroeira Pines Classic (formerly Aroeira I) was lovingly dubbed the "Wentworth of Lisbon" by the British press, and it's obvious to understand the reason.

The 6,650-yard course snakes its way between towering pine forest corridors while being encircled by environment and wildlife. Players must be precise with their tee shots to improve their probability of hitting the greens in regulation.

In addition to hosting numerous competitions for the LPGA, the course was the setting of the 1996 and 1997 Portuguese Open and, in 2013. 

This brand-new golf course has been highly anticipated since news broke that the brand-new Terras da Comporta resort was going to have two brand new championship golf courses offering the potential of making European top 100 status. The news that the Dunas course was going to be designed by the renowned golf course architect David McLay Kid hit the golf world by storm. David has always had somewhat of a cult status in the world of golf course architecture having worked on and been involved in some of the most high-profile new golf courses globally.

Dunas is true Links Golf, unique in Portugal and in almost most of continental Europe. An instant success picking up multiple awards as the “World’s best new golf course” “Europe’s Best New Golf Course” as well as already ranking at number 9 for the top 100 European golf courses. 

The Dunas Course, which measures more over 7,205 yards from the back tees, is designed for championship golf and will undoubtedly play host to prestigious professional competitions in the future. It has the perfect balance of sand, dunes, and prestige fairways, there really is no other golf course in Portugal quite like it. It is big, Bold, and beautiful with plenty of risky holes where precision is imperative. Although not on too many people radar just yet, expect to hear big things from this golf course, I really do believe has the potential the be Continental Europe’s very best golf course.