Antony,
Quite a bit of variety available within the local minibus transfer system... All the courses have a feeling of space - not hemmed in with villas! All have good facilities inc pro shops & drinks and are very welcoming.
Pinhal - Big warm-up range. Lots of pine trees as the name suggests but quite open. Usually in decent condition. Nice lay-out but you only want to play it once per trip.
Millennium & Laguna - Two big practice greens & a good range. Two courses next to each other with Laguna having more water. Not too many trees and what there are tend to show you the definition of the holes.
Victoria - Hosted the Portugal Open a few times. Fabulous practice facilities. Vast, well designed open course with few trees and large expanses of water. Good if you're being sensible but can swallow tons of balls if you tend to go for heroics. Some long par4's.
Villamoura Old Course - My personal fav. Not perhaps thee most manicured but a good test. Shorter than the others but more mature. Trees are allowed to grow naturally and can get in the way. Good tight greens but receptive. Nice verandah for coffee & drinks.
Vila Sol - 27 holes in 3 loops with some really tasty items. Some have fairways in valleys with trees on the side slopes.
All in all, I love this area. The marina, the courses, the hotels, the sun, it's all great.
JT

Thanks JT for your help, will be getting 2 rounds booked this afternoon, roll on Easter Bank holiday!!!

Hi Antony,

I've played a few in Vilamoura over the years as I absolutely love the place.... Golf In my opinion does tend to be a bit pricey here but when in Rome and all that...... The "Old Course" most will tell you is a must play and I'd definitely agree with this.....Played it a number of times and love it.........."Victoria" would be MY top pick in Vilamoura though.....Lovely ( Arnold Palmer design) course that hosts the Portugal Masters every year since 2007.

Other courses that I have played were Pinhal and also Vila Sol. Both enjoyable and nice tracks also, though Pinhal I found very tight with lots of tight driving holes.

There are two others side by side and I think actually share the same clubhouse, Laguna and Millenium course. These I believe are also ok ( I've not played either of) but not as good as the first ones I mentioned.

Of course there are plenty more if you venture further afield, but most if not all of the above are within range of free shuttle bus etc,,, depending on where you are staying etc...

Hope this is of some help ...

D.

Not in Vilamoura area but played Monte Rei a couple of years ago. Fantastic course, brilliant facilities and service!

Victoria is my favourite as I have also seen the European tour their, plus 11-15 are great holes and 18 is a true test off the back tees.
Old course is also a great test and pretty inland course!
The shuttles are good just make sure you organise the shuttle back or it can be a bit of a wait.
Best part is the 19th hole on the marina!

Victoria
Old Course
Laguna
Millennium
Pinhal in that order.
Vale de lobo isn’t that far away.
Alberfeira is a better night out than around the marina.
Enjoy

I think everyone has mentioned the golf courses in Vilamoura, they are all good courses for differing reasons, from an easy walk after a heavy night to challenging even the lowest handicaped players.

Victoria and The Old Course are my favorites, together with Vila Sol, which has some very strange holes.

But Quinta do Lago, Vale do Lobo and San Lorenzo are not far away and they are all fantastic courses as well.

The Old Course is really enjoyable. A bit Wentworthy but easier. Lovely condition. Not overly tough either. A very good warm up course.

But hope you have time to make the journey to Monte Rei. Blimey that’s an amazing facility and tough track. But worth it.

I was lucky enough the play the Old Course three times a few years ago, I really enjoyed playing that course, which is why I returned to it, I can't comment on the others.
One tip, if you're playing on your own you're likely to get matched up with others, hopefully you'll get lucky and team up with some golfers of a reasonable standard, I was unlucky the once and spent most of the round in the rough looking for other players balls!!