I am due to arrive in CVO with some friends on the 11th June for 2 weeks. Despite the fact all the guys who are going are pretty awful at golf and certainly handicap-less, we all very much enjoy the sport and play regularly in the UK.

On this basis, all of the best (and therefore I am assuming, most expensive) courses will be wasted on us. Can anyone recommend any courses which are at the lower end of the scale on which people of our ability would not stand out too much?!

Any tips are much appreciated.

Hi Rob, Vale de Milho is your best bet, its a glorified 9 hole (nothing biggger than a 7 iron required) pitch and putt. Clubs are available for rent and if you bring one of those free map thingys with you, I believe they will give you some discount on the green fee.

Thanks Sam

Is there anything si,ilar close to Lagos - does anyone know? Thanks in advance for any further advice.

Is there anything similar close to Lagos - does anyone know? Thanks in advance for any further advice. (corrected spelling in last post- oops!)

I believe Boavista is the best there, Parque da Floresta is expensive and there is no big choice around.

The only problem with val de milho is that most off the people who play ther have no idea of the rules of the game and the course itself will let you play if you turn up with a spade and wearing a pair of speedo's. The course would be perfect if it was run properly. For you and your friends i would reccomend gramacho but probably give pinta a miss. Just remember that it is a nice gesture to allow faster players play through, which is an ever growing problem in golf not just the algarve. play early or if your brave nine holes at midday is very quiet but also very hot. Golf in the algarve is rapidly getting ruined by the courses just wanting money so they cram tee times close together and peoples lack of knowledge of the rules of the game. Enjoy it and don't let faster players ruin your game just let them through and get them out of your way.

Swanny

Thank you very much for the info, Swanny. I think what you suggest sounds best for us - although I say none of us are any good, we can all hit the ball and certainly know the rules of the game. Besides, I'm not sure I suit a pair of Speedos very well

If anyone else has any other suggestions of courses we could perhaps play on which are not too over-priced (and as such perhaps not of the highest of standards) it would be much appreciated.

Rob

Hello Rob, hope I am not to late with this. Take Swanny's advice and use a proper golf course. Vale De Milo needs to re-think, I think!
At this time of year there are deals to be had.
Parque Da Floresta (tough track) is not too expensive 49euro and if you have then they do a 2for one ie rack price 70 euro for 2 people.
Palmares (great course) is currently offering 2 players after 2pm 125euro including buggy.
Boa Vista (delightful but hard greens) can be booked over the internet for 51 euro each or they have a deal for 8 or more players 85euro includes coffee and bacon bun, driving range, buggies,round of golf then a 3 course meal.
Alto always has offers give them a ring.
Gramacho and Pinta are after your cash though I have to say both are great courses.
In short at this time of year you should not have a problem finding good value golf on some of the best courses in Europe.
Cheers,
Ian

Surprised that Salgados has not been mentioned as it does offer the best value we have paid as little as 32 euros for a round in the summer.
It may not be upr to th same std as the Pestana courses and you will need to bring out an average of 2 balls /hole ( lots of water ).

Once again, thank you all very much for this great information.

There are plenty of courses that novice golfers could find easy enough to play but I would say that Gramacho and Salgados would be good,Salgados has no rough but has a hell of a lot of water but is fantastic fun to play and Gramacho doesn't have too much in the way of brutal hazards.

Also, noone's mentioned the 9 hole REsort course at Penina. We've just come back and played about 5/6 times and enjoyed every time. Also only lost 3 balls in total! Penina also has the Academy 9 hole course but the Resort is more tricky. I know what you mean about not being very good, neither are we and we don't play back here either. Would love to but just don't have the time.

Penina is just along from lagos as well so not too far if that's where you're staying.

Mac is spot on, but have to say that I was asked to produce my Handicap certificate when I played there. That's why I didn't mention it (resort course) in my previous post.

Sam

Wow, that's one reason we thought about playing there as we don't have a handicap (certificate that is!). In the 5/6 times we played there, we were never asked for one.