Description:
Pine Cliffs Golf Course sits on the clifftop above Praia da Falésia, near Albufeira, laid out through a pine forest with the Atlantic on one side and the resort's gardens on the other. Opened in 1991, the course was designed by the British architect Martin Hawtree, who built it around the pines and the cliff edge rather than reshaping either. Nigel Mansell served as an early president of the golf club, a small but genuine mark of its pedigree.
It's a nine-hole course, most often played twice for a full round, and the short yardage doesn't make it easy. Fairways run tight through the trees, calling for accuracy over length. The par-3 6th, the Devil's Parlour, is the hole everyone comes to play: a tee shot of close to 200 metres carrying a ravine to a narrow green above the beach, with the wind off the Atlantic adding its own complication.
Facilities include a golf academy with resident PGA professionals, a driving range with multiple flag positions, a chipping and pitching area, a large putting green, and a well-stocked pro shop. The Club House and Corda Café offer a terrace looking out over the course and the sea. Buggies aren't available here, but the course is flat enough that most golfers won't miss them. For a short, scenic round with one genuinely famous hole, Pine Cliffs earns its place on any Algarve itinerary.

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