Castro Marim Golf & Country Club ****

Designed by Severiano Ballesteros, Quinta do Vale Golf Resort features an 18-hole Championship layout including 6 Par-5´s, 6 Par-4´s and 6 Par-3´s. Magnificently integrated in the landscape and with a luxurious view over the Guadiana River, the course sits into a natural valley always overlooked from the Clubhouse. At Quinta do Vale, players will notice Seve´s creativity as well as his promise: To please everyone no matter what their handicap is. Numerous dogleg holes, wide fairways and obstacles enhance the course quality and its breath-taking surroundings…The challenge waits at Quinta do Vale Golf Resort.

Castro Marim occupies an elevated position, with magnificent views to  the north, towards the ridge of hills which separates the Algarve from  the province of the Alentejo.  To the east, the mighty Guadiana forms  the border with neighboring Spain, while the shimmering Atlantic may be seen to the south. Open in 2001  Three nine hole loops –  designed by Terry Murray - ‘The Grouse’, ‘The Atlantic’ and ‘The Guadiana’ – comprise this attractive Golf & Country Club resort in the eastern Algarve, providing golfers with the enviable  choice of playing either of two,18-hole combinations.  In all three nine hole loops the Tee are in bermuda & cool season mixture, fairways in bermuda and the greens in Penn A 4 .    All three nine’s share the same, basic characteristics, dictated by the  terrain they occupy, epitomizing the often-quoted description:- “following the contours of the land”…  While the holes of the original course wend their way through pine-clad  hillsides, where ball placement is paramount, those of the subsequent nine  ‘The Grouse’ – bring with them a greater sense of space, since  the land is somewhat less wooded.  Here fairways are more generous and the greens markedly larger,  important contributing factors to a greater sense of freedom when teeing off.