Anyone playing golf in Portugal will have the experience imprinted on their memory, and they’ll be sure to want to return. Why? Excellent courses in dazzling scenery, a mild climate all year round and the hospitality and friendliness of qualified pros.

There are around eighty golf courses, with different layouts and levels of difficulty. But the greatest challenge is to resist the beauty and light of the surrounding landscape and remain focused. There are ocean-facing greens, flanked by cliffs and white sand dunes; and others framed by lakes and mountains, where the fragrances of flowers and herbs blend in a blur of sensations.

Many have been designed by famous architects, such as Henry Cotton, Rocky Roquemore and Arnold Palmer, and they all share environmental quality and harmoniously blend into the landscape.

The Algarve and Lisbon coasts are well-known destinations amongst more experienced players and have been awarded a number of international prizes. They host some of the major events on the professional circuits, a case in point being Madeira with its mountain courses. There’s also golf to be played in the countryside in the Azores, but it was in Porto and the North that it all started, since the oldest golf course in mainland Europe is in Espinho.

Whether matches are relaxed or hard-fought, they always end up in the Club House or the restaurant… for a “sport” in which the Portuguese excel: socialising.