There’s nothing straightforward about the challenging course at the brand new Westin golf resort near Portugal’s Silver Coast, as Guy Fiorita discovers

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… well that’s just the way it goes at Westin’s new CampoReal Golf Resort & Spa. Why? Simply because there are so many different ways to play their course, and most of them turn out to be wrong.

Before playing at CampoReal it’s important to know you shouldn’t be discouraged by your first round score – especially if you are not playing with someone in the know. This is a course that plays a lot better the second time around, once you’ve learned a few of its tricks.

That does not mean you’ll eat up the course on your second go, though. Donald Steel’s design leaves much room for the imagination and, as golf director Manuel Gomes told me, he still is finding new ways of playing some of the holes.

CampoReal is not a long golf course but it does move a lot: both up and down and left and right. The front nine is the hilliest part and probably the most difficult. This is where you come upon a few blind shots (hole six), as well as some very tempting places to cut a corner (the doglegs of holes five and seven). The front nine also has a few holes where water comes into play (the first, second and ninth), although it is never too much of a difficulty.

The back nine runs over flatter terrain, is a bit more open and is slightly shorter than the front. The ones to watch here are the 15th – with its small creek running across the fairway and along the right side of the green – and the par-five, 18th hole with a two-tiered fairway and a bunkerguarded elevated green.

But, no matter how you score, no blame can be placed on the course conditions: the fairways are immaculate and the greens impeccable. But – you have probably guessed already – due to the terrain, I’d only recommend walking the course to the very fit or masochistic. The rest should take a buggy.

I played the course twice in two days and, though I did better the second day, there were still a lot of shots I’d like to play again – and that is a sure sign of a good course.

The Westin CampoReal Golf Resort & Spa
Rua do Campo
2565-779 Turcifal, Portugal
(+351) 261 950 200
Hotel reservations: 0800 325 95959
golfe.reserves@camporeal.pt
www.westin.com/camporeal

THE WESTIN CAMPOREAL GOLF RESORT & SPA

Inaugurated	2005
Yellow tees	5,510 metres
Designer	Donald Steel
Red tees	4,745 metres
Number of holes	18
Green fees	Weekdays €85, weekends and holidays €100, buggy rental €30
Par	72
Length	White tees 6,009 metres
Open	All year

 

Ideal playing season: Year-round or early mornings and late afternoons in the summer months

The hotel: Westin CampoReal Golf Resort & Spa is located 40 minutes north of Lisbon. Rooms start from €130per room per night. The price is based on two people sharing a standard room and does not include additional per-room, per-night charges that may be imposed, or local taxes.

THE HOLE(S)

The 6th hole at CampoReal gives players the most trouble, especially the first time out. Here you are faced with a two-tiered fairway divided by a drop-off area filled with brush and rocks. From the tee you have to hit towards the coloured stake in the middle of the fairway and from there down onto the green. The problem is, if you go too long off the tee you end up down in the crevice and too short you leave yourself a blind shot to the green.

THE VIEW

There are a lot of great views from the course but my favourites are from the 4th and the 17th tees. Both are set high above the rest of the golf course and afford great views of the rolling, vineyard-covered countryside.

THE WATERING HOLE

After the round, take a seat in the shade of the enormous pine on the terrace of the Clubhouse Bar with a glass of Ginja D’Obidos, a local cherry liquor. Then sit back, relax and watch the other foursomes struggle their way up the final fairway. The sweetness of the cherries coupled with the 20 per cent alcohol content will surely help to sooth your ego after the round.