Palmares Golf????

[dodger]

Can anyone help out here....??

Yesterday I took a drive along and was shocked to discover that the place is closed.Now it appears that a new 9 is being built and is due to open Spring 2010 but as I stood in the car park and looks down toward the shore holes it looked like the new holes are going in down there but to the right and before the railway line?? It also appears that there is not a hope in hell of ANY play before 2010 finishes and by the looks of the progress that has been made (or lack of!). To me it looked like the place had run out of money and I was surprised by the lack of info up at the club and online.The whole area around the clubhouse was disgusting to say the least!

Could someone tell me what the hell is happening to one of my favourites on the Algarve please?

Thanks, a very worried Dodger!

[widge]

I was there last spring and they had already closed 5 holes without forwarning us.

Apparently a £300m hotel and spa development is under construction plus another 18 holes.

I agree completion by May 2010 looks highly unlikely..............all golfers stay clear!

[dodger]

Who the hell is purchasing all these new apartments springing up next to Golf Developments???

Not a hope in hell of golf at Palmares IMO until at least September 2010.

Perhaps someone out there knows the actual story behind this?

[SJ & RE]

Is this the golf place that I mentioned a while back,that had awful service, really expensive horrid food,bad mannered staff who will only speak and serve men and push the ladies to one side, that has a real steep rutted illkempt hill that goes down to a pretty beach with a railway line that lies adjacent to the beach, all in the middle of nowhere.
If it is the place, all I can say is GOOD, I am pleased it is closed, hated the place.
My husband said the golf was fair though, however the day he booked and played, there were no buggies, even though he had booked and paid for one. Nightmare to get a refund, let alone getting on the course. The only saving grace was that the clothes shop had a really good line in golfing clothes, a lovely leather chair with a gorgeous friendly cat curled up on it.
Who would want to live in an area like that, gross.

[dodger]

Any golf club that does away with women is high up on my list...why are they not helping in the kitchen anyways?!

It is hardly in the middle of nowhere tho but it does sound like Palmares you are trying to describe,a bit of a strange wish for someone to hope that a place does go tits up,I do hope if you have a business nobody ever thinks that of yours!

[SJ & RE]

Haa haa, No it was the attitude of the staff that really annoyed me. However I did hear a few gruntles about the place, costs, attitude, service, etc from even a few men. Perhaps if it were taken over by a more friendly owner I would not be so damming of the place.

[tomgibson]

For many many years this used to be my favourite course on the entire Algarve. It was always well kept, the staff were friendly and helpful and the club house, overlooking the putting green, oozed charm and character.

Then along came progress and a number of changes in the ownership and guess what. Staff changes, price increases and a very take it or leave it attitude.

Now, apart from the extra holes they are putting in there is to be a new 5 star hotel, luxury villas etc etc. What I simply cannot understand is - who is going to occupy all this 5 star luxury?

Sadly Palmares is being turned into yet another golf development.

I shall just have to remember all the games I played there, the stunning views, the people that I met from all over the world, because I won't be going back.

[EMM]

The same thing is going to happen at the Morgado complex , one of our favourites.
Apart from the golf, quiet location ( before the motorpark ) scenery it is also a haven for wildlife, flamingos, in the summer, hares , rabbits, wild boar, eagles and hundred of storks who roost there, how long can this last once major construction starts.
The roads are already in.

It is the same company who own Salgados and its surrounding developments, need I say any more.

[SAM SPARKLE]

Well, it's about time the roads to Morgado have been fixed. However, I was aware that the plans to build a Hotel etc there where always part of the master plan, not an afterthought.

[widge]

I don't know who's financing all this development? I played at Amandoeiro just before Christmas and over 4 days we only saw a handful of other golfers. Rumours circulating on the internet suggest that Oceanico's bankers are about to wind them up if they can't find alternative finance.

[cereza]

For many many years this used to be my favourite course on the entire Algarve. It was always well kept, the staff were friendly and helpful and the club house, overlooking the putting green, oozed charm and character.

Then along came progress and a number of changes in the ownership and guess what. Staff changes, price increases and a very take it or leave it attitude.

Now, apart from the extra holes they are putting in there is to be a new 5 star hotel, luxury villas etc etc. What I simply cannot understand is - who is going to occupy all this 5 star luxury?

Sadly Palmares is being turned into yet another golf development.

I shall just have to remember all the games I played there, the stunning views, the people that I met from all over the world, because I won't be going back.

I couldn't have put it better

[EMM]

The new roads to Morgado are not open yet so we can still pretend to be rally drivers ( don,t tell the hire car company ).

It is one of the economic facts that the golf courses can only survive with property sales.

[dodger]

EMM I looked in at Morgado last week and the construction is underway and roads looked nearly done but were not in operation....what I would say is that the condition of the course looked dreadful to say the least!

I enquired on prices for our trip in June and I was given as quick as a flash a deal for 70 euros for 2 with a buggy!!
What does that tell you? To me it tells me that a) they are desperate for your cash and possibly b)i t aint going to be in great nick for thoses prices.

I think the whole of the Algarve really needs to watch out or it could just end up going tits up.

Kinda wishing we had agreed to head back to Girona again in light of what I was presented with last week alone!

[EMM]

The morgado courses use Bermuda grass which dies back in the winter hence the appearance .
They get frosts in the valley. ( its can also get V hot in the summer )

They huge amount of rain has flooded the bunkers and obviously made many of the fairways wet as well.

The deal you were quoted is their normal summer price which is why we play there.

[dodger]

EMM I know that is the case re the grass used but I am actually referring to the state of the tees,fairways (littered with divots) and the awful looking greens.

The deal in 2009 for the time we were there (June) was 90 Euros for 2 so there has been a decent reduction.

We all love cheap deals but I would be thinking twice after witnessing what I have.