Penha Longa Golf update 18th May

I haven't updated conditions over the last few weeks as not much has changed. They have been putting more sand down on the fairways and also sanded the greens sometime last week. The rough is getting thicker in preparation for the Open which is making the course tougher to play. The photos above still are a good representation of the course. The vending machine at the 9th likes to swallow money without giving anything in return so buyers beware. Otherwise everything is fine and we are all looking forward to the Open in a few weeks. Looks like the weather will be nice over the next few weeks so wishing you all a pleasant round of golf.

Penha Longa Golf update 25th April

I would like to welcome  Eduardo Johnston da Silva as the new golf director of Penha Longa. Eduardo has been the golf director at Prai del Rey Golf and beach resort in Obidos for the last 12 years so he comes with lots of local experience and we're happy to have him join us.
We played our anniversary tournament today and the course is back to very good condition (see photos above) and the shortage of rakes has been resolved. If you plan on visiting the course over the next few months you won't be disappointed! Book ahead though, as I am sure tee times will start getting booked up as we get into the busy season.
Other courses I recommend for Brendan are: Praia del Rey, Troia and Aroeira Golf Club. They're all nice courses with their own charms.

April 11th Update

The weather was fantastic this weekend, warm and plenty of sun. We once again won our annual match against Forest Little from Ireland.  They had a great time golfing, eating out and drinking the nights away which could have effected the results on the course. Thanks to all the guys for showing us the Irish spirit, we all enjoyed it! There were a few complaints about a small can of beer costing 5.50€ and half a sandwich costing 4.00€ at the half way hut. The new vending machine (conveniently) didn't work leaving no other options, you might want to pack some drinks before you arrive.
The condition of the course is coming along nicely, the ball is rolling and the greens getting faster. There are still lots of rakes missing, we counted 6 bunkers on number 6 sharing 1 rake. We have been told for 6 months they had been ordered, kind of hard to understand what's holding them up, maybe that's part of the reason we have a new director starting this week, hopefully he can quickly resolve the problem. It looks like this week will bring lots of rain once again so I will keep you posted on how the course handles it. Until next week.

Penha Longa golf course conditions 5th April

This last week has brought more sun and the course is starting to shape up. The fairways are in much better condition, the ball is starting to roll and there are a lot more smiles around the course. We are finally getting some good conditions and can say goodbye to winter rules. With another week of more sun on its way, it can only get better. There are still quite a few bunkers without rakes so if anyone from Penha Longa is reading my blog, please head out to the nearest garden centre and load up on rakes as it is quite annoying.

There is still no official word of who our new golf director is, as soon as there's news I'll let you know.

If anyone is planning to play Penha Longa in the near future you won't be disappointed!

In regard to comments recieved today 1st April

Firstly, In response to the questions posted by happy golfer; no I am not practicing my photo skills and I actually play golf on the weekends and take photos as I please. Nowhere in this blog do I mention that I don’t like the course, in fact I love it, when it’s in good condition. As I state in my introduction, I show the course as it is, if you don’t like what you see then direct your anger and frustration towards management, not me. I am quite glad you enjoyed your round but if you think the course is great now, you should’ve seen it a few years ago when I would’ve rated it as the best I had ever played. The comments above yours, outline some golfers disappointment on the conditions of the course and those serious golfers are who I blog for, lots of them have planned their holidays around it to find the course closed or unplayable when they arrive. Read carefully the comments at the bottom of the page, I didn’t write them but if I had, I would be quite embarrassed. Just the fact that the Open was postponed has to tell you something!

We have had a new greens keeper for around a month and as of tomorrow we will have a new golf Director. I can only hope that things improve and we have our championship course back to its former glory soon. As the course improves you will see nicer photos proudly posted. Thanks to the rest of you for your support.

Penha Longa golf course update, March 27th

For all you unfortunate people still suffering of cabin fever, I thought I would rub it in a bit that today’s sun and warm weather brought the shorts and short sleeves out of the closet.

There has been a noticeable increase in tourists around the resort this week, hopefully not too many booked to get a few rounds in on a championship course and see the Open that was scheduled for next week.

We experienced more rain this week so there wasn’t a noticeable difference in the course from last week. (Photos posted below) There has been more work done in preparation to get the course up to scratch for the Open, with evidence of slice tining and sand being applied on the more problematic holes.

The ball still isn’t getting much roll. The greens are still playing slower than normal due to slight sanding over the last few weeks. We’ve also noticed rakes missing from some of the bunkers, quite annoying to say the least. The forecast shows good weather ahead so hopefully we’ll see improvements daily.

I’d be happy to receive comments and feedback directly or by email letting me know your thoughts and if you find these updates useful. To see more photos from today click on the link on the menu bar above.

 Practice area (click photos to enlarge)

 2nd fairway

2nd tire tracks

6th tee box

 6th tire tracks in fairway

7th green looking back

 6th green from 8th

 10th tee looking great

 14th fairway looking good

14th green repairs healing up

 15th tee

16th tee

 17th par 3

 18th GUR improving

19th in site

Worth the wait

Penha Longa golf course update, March 21st

The sun has been shining over the last week and with highs reaching close to 20 the Atlantic course is starting to firm up. The balls are starting to bounce on most holes with only a few plugged balls throughout the round. There is evidence of a lot of work being carried out over the last week, see photos March 21 on menu bar above, click photo for enlarged image. The wild boar holes have been fixed as well as the tire tracks on the 6th. Plenty of sand has been added around the course especially on the problem holes. Some sanding of the greens has also taken place and they are playing much slower than last week and there was no evidence of hollow tining on greens or fairways. As you can see clearly on the photos, the 18th is still slightly wet. It’s amazing how a new drain can be bone dry and 2 meters further, fairways sopping wet! The scarring on the fairways where the drainage was installed also takes away from the course’s beauty (see photos). The driving range is still in pretty bad shape and unappetizing. It is still mind boggling to me that 2 million was spent on renovations, see the article at the bottom of this page from golfblogger UK. I just hope the new greens keeper (who apparently has quite a resume) can get the course back to its former glory! All in all the day was quite pleasant, despite the fact that Tonster (an Irishman with a practice swing that would scare a Canadian Lumberjack) and weekend golfer got their asses kicked by 2 laid back, easy going, straight down the middle Portuguese members, (names withheld) who have obviously been working on their game elsewhere over the last few months, so beers were on us! If you are teeing up over the next week you should be fine, I am sure the course will improve by the day so you may be pleasantly surprised.

Practice area click on photo to enlarge

1st green from 18

3rd, Scars from Drainage repairs

5th tee par 3

6th just past tee

7th green

8th fairway good part

8th fairway sanding

9th drainage scars

11th green looking back

12 green showing signs of distress

13th tee

14th fairway

15th tee

16th fairway quite rough

18th drain, surrounding area not draining and requiring sand

Driving range still in quite bad condition

Penha Longa golf course update, March 13th

The Atlantic course is now fully open, see photos by clicking on photo tab on menu bar located above. The good weather since the last post has helped immensely. Keep in mind that the photos were taken on Saturday and the course is improving by the day. There is still a lot of work to be done (as you can see) and we still need another few weeks of sun to get it up to scratch.


The course was a bit sluggish going and was not all that enjoyable. The greens are in great condition and the tee areas the best I have seen in years. The driving range is slightly wet (as you can see) and we found ourselves dealing with a lot of plugged balls in the fairway. I am sure if the weather holds up, the balls will stop plugging and we might even get some added yards with some roll this week. I thought it would be of interest to add some photos of the clubhouse where the hamburgers are great and the beer cold. I must say the 19th hole was the most enjoyable of the day. Lets hope next week's golf is better.

Driving range, click on photo to enlarge

2nd fairway

3rd green

4th wild boar damage

4th fairway

4th green

6th fairway

6th tractor rut

6th fairway sand

6th looking for plugged ball

7th tee par 3

8th fairway

9th tee

9th drain repairs

10th green

12th tee

12th greenside bunker

12th green

13th tee

14th tee

14th green repairs

15th tee par 3

16th tee

18th fairway

Practice green