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

Penha Longa Golf course update March 8th

Here we are once again expecting 1 to 2 inches of rain over the next 24 hours. I am informed that we have a new greens keeper at Penha Longa. I must say the greens are looking fantastic! We did a little inspection yesterday and even putted on a few of the greens and were quite impressed! The areas around the greens are also looking great and well manicured but unfortunately not the same can be said for other parts of the course. There seems to be the ongoing problem of grass not growing as well as it should over the new drainage installed around the course. The color of the grass is different and you can clearly see the lines where they have been installed. Considering they were put in over 6 months ago and we have had so much rain since, you'd think it would have matted well by now! We also inspected fairways 6 and 8, where most of the problems seem to be and you cant walk across the fairways without sinking a few inches. There were also tire tracks around 12 inches deep that have just been left there. You'd think they would fix them by hand before it dries and causes more damage. Holes 6,7 and 8 of the Atlantic are still closed with 6, 7 and 8 of the Monastery replacing them, free buggy's are on offer. Good news is,looks like sun is on the way and that should definitely help, lets see what this week brings, bye for now.

Penha Longa Golf course update, March 6th

With the Portuguese Open less than a month away, some of the members have been questioning whether the course will be in good enough condition to host the event??? It has been in terrible condition for 3 months. After a year and a half of renovations (supposedly costing around 2 million euros) the course is probably in the worst shape ever! The lack of sand on the course is one of the major reasons. Although there has been more rain in the last 3 months than we can remember, it seems all the other courses we have played in the area are in excellent condition. The promise of sand and hollow tining never came to fruition and now the course is losing money hand over fist because of it. It is so wet that on some of the fairways it is impossible for the tractors to get out to cut the grass, never mind hollow tining! The new drainage installed during the renovations obviously are doing next to nothing! The condition of the course, as well as the loss of green fees over the last 6 months hasn't been good all 'round. If Penha Longa does host the event it will be more likely due to good weather and not the large amount spent on renovations. Follow my blog for a weekly update on the condition of the course.