Penina Golf & Resort

Penina Hotel & Golf Resort in Portimão was the first golf resort built in the Algarve, and its Sir Henry Cotton Championship Course, designed and completed in 1966 by three-times British Open champion Sir Henry Cotton, was the region's first 18-hole course. The par 73 layout plays 6,273 metres from the white tees, with a course rating of 73.7 and slope of 138, down to 5,140 metres and a rating of 73.2 off the red tees. Its unusual grouping of four par 5s in pairs at the start and end of the back nine produces a par 38 back nine against a par 35 front, and the course has hosted the Portuguese Open five times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2006) along with the Daily Telegraph Seniors' Match Play event in 2001. Alongside the Championship Course, Penina has a Resort Course that can be played as 9 holes (par 35) or as 18 (par 71) by combining two loops of the same nine, following the same design principles Cotton laid down; and a 9-hole, par 30 Academy Course that weaves through the Championship Course's fairways, though as of this audit the Academy Course is listed on Penina's own site as currently closed. The resort's golf facilities include the Penina Golf Academy for tuition, and dining options across several restaurants and bars, including Sagres Restaurant, Le Grill Restaurant, L'Arlecchino and the Sir Henry Cotton Club. Tee times can be booked through the resort's GolfSwitch online booking system, and the resort also runs its own Golf Pro & Students Package and seasonal Golf Offers & Packages.