How Can I Play Dom Pedro Victoria?

One of Europe’s premier golf destinations is Portugal’s Algarve and Vilamoura’s Dom Pedro Victoria is one of its most renowned.

The course is an Arnold Palmer creation, who designed it with tournaments in mind. He achieved his aim, and the course has hosted the Portugal Masters since three years after it opened in 2004. In fact, it even hosted a high-profile tournament before that, the WGC-World Cup in 2005 as it began to become established.

But what makes the course so appropriate for tournaments? It’s partly to do with its punitive water and sand found throughout. Meanwhile, the greens are generally fast, vast and undulating. Overall, the course is fairly flat, particularly on the back nine. However, if you thought your round would become easier as it goes on, the increased frequency of water will make you think otherwise. Strategically placed bunkers are also a regular consideration.

Players have to wait until the penultimate hole to experience the course’s signature hole. It is also the longest on the course at 588 yards. Huge expanses of water, including several waterfalls, sit on the right-hand side. If you negotiate the fairway, the green is also surrounded by water, making it one of the more difficult holes on the course.