Golfing at Álamos Golf – Nature, Challenge, and Relaxation

Today we spent a wonderful day at the Álamos Golf Course – a place that impresses with both its scenic beauty and sporting challenges.

The course is nestled in a hilly landscape, surrounded by cork oaks, almond trees, and small lakes, as well as farmland. The view is simply breathtaking, with a panorama of the mountains and lush surroundings. We especially enjoyed the tranquility here – no noise, just pure nature. The only drawback are the construction ruins.

The construction ruins around the Álamos and Morgado golf courses are remnants of planned construction projects that were left unfinished following the financial crisis of 2008. In the years leading up to the crisis, the Algarve experienced a real estate boom, during which large residential and holiday complexes were often planned near golf courses. Many developers speculated on high demand for luxury apartments and villas from international buyers.

When the crisis hit, many investors and construction companies went bankrupt, and numerous projects were simply abandoned. This explains why one sees such half-finished buildings in the Algarve, particularly in the Morgado and Álamos areas.

Some of these construction ruins have been waiting for years for investors to complete or demolish them. Others are stalled for legal reasons, such as unclear ownership issues or construction permits that were subsequently questioned.

Although these ruins can mar the beautiful impression of the golf courses, there are now efforts to resume some of these projects or repurpose the land for other uses. Until then, they unfortunately remain a testament to the region's turbulent economic past.

Álamos is a par-71 course with a length of 5,673 meters. Although the course is shorter than many others, it still requires a good strategy. The fairways are narrow, and the well-placed bunkers and water hazards demand precise play. The greens were especially in excellent condition, fast and challenging.

Álamos is the sister course of the Morgado Golf Course (which we will be playing next week), located in the Morgado do Reguengo Resort, north of Portimão. The Álamos Golf Course is one of three golf courses in the NAU group, the third being the Salgados Golf Course in Albufeira.

Two large lakes and a great view of the Sierra de Monchique mountains characterize this golf course. Álamos offers a pleasing variety of different holes: there are many undulating fairways and also very demanding greens.

This golf course is shorter than Morgado and has only half the number of bunkers; nevertheless, strategically planted trees complicate the game.

Unfortunately, our game today was somewhat slow as we often had to wait. We took about 4 hours and 45 minutes for the 18 holes. However, this seems to be typical for this time of year. We were lucky to play with two older Frenchmen who were very friendly and created a pleasant atmosphere.

The weather also cooperated, mostly sunny, with a few clouds passing by that provided us with some shade – perfect for a relaxed round.

The Álamos Golf Course fully convinced us. The combination of nature, tranquility, and sporting challenge makes it an attractive golf course in the Algarve. Despite the somewhat lengthy playing time, it was a lovely golf day, and we are looking forward to the next round at the sister course.

At the end of the day, we were also treated to a beautiful sunset at Galé Beach.