Portugal’s Algarve is liberally
festooned with top-class golf
courses, and you can choose
from an array of gems if you’re
planning to holiday in the region.
However, if you want to push the boat out just a little, then
you simply have to sample what Monte Rei Golf & Country
Club has to offer.
It is just a half-hour from Faro Airport and 10 minutes
from the pretty town of Tavira. Set among 400 hectares of
countryside, it has an air of exclusivity that is well-earned
– after all, when Jack Nicklaus designs a layout it is sure to
attract aficionados from all over the globe.
This pretty-as-a-picture course is the centerpiece of the
resort, and word of mouth alone about the standard has
seen Monte Rei rapidly losing its ‘best kept secret’ status.
If quality is top of your priority list, then Monte Rei will tick
all the boxes – and then some. The course itself is always
in immaculate condition, with greens faster than a billiard
table and sweeping fairways that require serious course
management. With greens this slick, it can be tough if you’re
not on top of your putting game, but there are a variety
of tee boxes so that even higher handicap golfers can get
around without being too daunted.
It’s the type of course that could bring you to your knees if
you go out with the intention of ‘shooting the lights out’,
but if you just accept whatever score the course gives you it
will be one of the most enjoyable rounds you could hope to
have. Anywhere.
Every hole here is well designed, and every shot must be
thought-out (a word of warning about the Index 1 15th hole,
which has a voracious appetite for golf balls. Well… mine, at
least). The penalty for wild abandon is severe around here,
but getting a ‘boring old par’ will never feel as exhilarating.
A birdie? Sure, you may as well turn pro!
Volume 3 • Issue 33
67