12 The Els Club Vilamoura in Portugal has opened for play with a new golf course by Ernie Els Design. The club, owned by investment management company Arrow Global, is the Algarve region’s first private golf club. The new layout has been built on the site of the former Victoria golf course, an Arnold Palmer design that hosted the Portugal Masters on the DP World Tour between 2007 and 2022. It closed in 2023 shortly after Arrow Global acquired five golf courses and three hotels in the resort of Vilamoura. The project began in December 2023 with contractor ProGolf clearing existing infrastructure and turf. Work has included new greens, bunkers, tees; reshaping playing surfaces; sandcapping; regrassing; new irrigation; and new drainage. “People might recognise the setting here, but they won’t recognise this golf course,” said Els. “It’s completely new. Greg [Letsche, Els’ senior design associate] decided very early on that we were going to reverse the back nine routings and create some new golf holes. “There are a lot of great holes on this golf course, a lot of memorable holes that are going to make golfers want to come back again and again. One standout hole is the par-five eleventh, which measures 560 yards from the tips. It looks incredible and strategically I’d say it’s got that perfect balance of risk and reward, with water down the left on your tee shot and a stream nestled against the right-hand side of the green complex. Wind also comes into play here. It’s a great hole.” The course has been grassed with Tahoma 31 bermuda, which was selected ‘ Tournament-ready’ Els Club Vilamoura opens in Portugal TEE BOX
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=