2022 Pilgrimage – Portugal’s Silver Coast

The Pilgrimage was back. We had deferred our planned trip from 2020 and were heading out to Portugal’s Silver Coast. The two years of autumn golf in England had been enjoyable, if a little soggy. We were all looking forward to getting back to a warmer (and hopefully dryer) location.

Looking at the forecast, however, I was concerned we would not get to play at all. So much for some winter sun! A week of thunderstorms along Portugal’s Silver Coast cast a literal and metaphorical shadow over the trip. Fortunately, we avoided the thunderstorms and the worst of the rain.

I had read a lot about the resort and in particular the new course at West Cliffs. Ranked behind only Monte Rei in Portugal and 15th in Europe, I had high expectations. As you will see below, it certainly delivered on the visuals and a spectacular setting. From a golf and design perspective, however, I had a few criticisms. More on that in a bit …

Part 1 – West Cliffs

We had two rounds booked on the West Cliffs course. Given the varying handicaps (and limited golf!) that the group had played, this was perhaps foolish. I had been told by a few friends that this was a very challenging course. The primary issue was that if you missed the fairway your ball would likely be lost. Whilst I think it is fair to say that the first round was challenging (wind and rain not helping), it was definitely the right decision to play the course twice.

West Cliffs is a stunning course, set on the Atlantic Coast and created through what used to be dense forest. The imagination that it has taken to lay out the course is astonishing. Cynthia Dye and her team have created a visually impressive and challenging golf course. The course is even more beautiful in the sunshine set against a clear blue sky. The pictures I have added in this post all come from Sunday’s round!

As noted above, I did not enjoy playing the course as much as some of the others in the group. I have, however, reflected on the course a lot since I got back. I still have some reservations, but I think that my opinions were impacted by both (i) the way that I played (i.e. poorly!) and (ii) some unrelated factors which were distracting me (see comments below on the estate). Ultimately, I have decided that I would quite like to go back and play it again. So it can’t have been as bad as I initially thought …

The course

As I mentioned, the course was designed by Cynthia Dye – niece of the legendary Pete Dye. It is even younger than I had realised and opened only in 2017. With that in mind, it felt remarkably well established. The site is huge – it spans over 200 hectares – which means that there are several long walks between the green and the next tee. It really is astonishing to think that this was originally dense pine groves, rolling sand dunes and thick vegetation. Well, the last bit is not too difficult to imagine, as there is still plenty of that left on the course!

The designer did attempt to make the course playable for all abilities – with 5 different tee boxes. Rather than the traditional colours, they just have numbers: 63, 59, 55, 51 and 47. These correlate to the length (in metres) – so variations from 6,930yds to 4,976yds. The combination of the dense vegetation in the waste areas off the fairways and some difficult green complexes still make this a tough course from any of the tee boxes.

My principal concern with the design is that there are too many holes where you have the same challenge – long carry + difficult approach. When I say difficult approach, I mean that if you miss your spot then you will have a very difficult job getting up and down. That could mean missing the green or it could mean just being in the wrong place on the green. The great designers tended to give you a challenge on one of these aspects, but not both (and not on every hole).

Front 9

Holes 1-3

The course opens with a relatively gentle par 4. Its difficulty is mainly that the fairway cambers steeply from left to right. Even if you do get a good drive away, you are unlikely to have a flat stance for your approach. A cracking par 3 follows – it is only a flick down the hill, but it’s not as easy to hit the thin exposed green as it looks!

The third hole looks horrific on the course guide: a huge waste area and housing up the left, with a narrow fairway and a lake all along the right. It’s not as bad as it looks and the widest part of the fairway is actually quite generous. The difficulty is the approach which, if you play up the left (away from the water), is blind over a sand dune. The green is relatively narrow with bunkers and waste areas on the left. As I discovered, the cart path runs between the bunker and the waste area. This is not an easy green to hit.

Holes 4-5

The fourth is probably the only nondescript hole on the front nine. It looks like a tricky tee shot, but it isn’t. As long as you can make the carry over the vegetation (and clear the bunker at 180yds), it is a very wide fairway. The stretch of holes which follow, however, are extremely memorable. The par 3 5th is exquisite. It is a Redan style hole, with a green that runs from front right to back left (albeit with a pretty horrific ridge in the middle) and is well defended with bunkers on the left and a steep runaway at the back.

Holes 6-7

Back to back par 5s follow. One up the hill and the other back down again. The 6th is the easier of the two, with the entire hole visible from the tee box. Again, the landing area is a lot larger than it looks and there is not too much jeopardy for the second shot. The green is fiendish, however, with a ridge running along the middle. The pin, when we played, was back left on a very small shelf. Any approach not within 5 feet of the hole would take one of the contours and get pushed into a very tricky spot.

The 7th is a total contrast. From the tee, you are hoping to get the ball over the ridge and onto the downslope. Too far left and you will be blocked out for the second shot. Too long and you could end in the waste area that separates the fairway. If you have played safe and left the ball at on the flat (at the top of the slope), you will need to hit a long and accurate second shot to clear the waste area and give yourself a chance of getting to the green in 3.

The fairway snakes from left to right, down the hill and then from right to left back up to the green. Again, too far right with the approach and you will have a blind shot to the green. Too far left and. you will be in the huge bunker that separates the fairway from the trees and dunes.

Holes 8-9

The closing par 4s to the front nine both deliver different challenges. The 8th is a well designed hole with the fairway running diagonally from bottom right to top left in front of you. It is a true risk-reward tee shot, with plenty of room to the right and straight but a long second or aim at the bunker on the left and have a short flick with your approach. The further left you aim, however, the longer the carry and (as noted above) if you don’t clear the vegetation, your ball is lost.

The 9th is another short par 4, but this time the jeopardy is water. The design is a sharp dog-leg – the further you hit your drive, the less water you have to carry for your approach. The green here, however, is ridiculous. It is on three tiers, with a tiny front section and curiously this seems to be a popular spot for the pin. If you leave the ball above the hole (which you will unless you are either very lucky or very good), then is almost impossible to keep the ball on the green when putting to this bottom tier. We played in very soft and wet conditions – cannot imagine how difficult that would have been in the summer! On this occasion, for some gentle match-play it was quite entertaining …

Back 9

There is then a long walk back over the road and up to the clubhouse. I don’t know whether there is a half-way hut in the summer, but there was nowhere open when we played. Given that we were over 2hr30 into the round by now, I would have thought that somewhere to pick up some snacks would have been worthwhile. I’d say that you could have gone into the clubhouse, but the service (whilst very polite) was laid-back … Anyway, that is a minor gripe and it is quickly forgotten when you get to the 10th tee box.

Holes 10-12

The vista from the 10th is one of the best on the course. It’s quite a daunting tee shot, as the vegetation seems to stretch out much further than it does. Again, the second time playing the hole is much easier – just clear the vegetation and you will find some fairway unless you are really wild! The approach is (relatively) straight forward and the green is generous (if undulating).

The 11th looks a lot easier than it is. Everything seems to draw you left, but that is the one place you can’t go. There is plenty of room to the right and this is the only way that you will have a good approach.

I found that the par 3s on the front 9 were exquisite and was a little disappointed with the two on the back 9. The 12th is quite nicely framed, but is otherwise dull. That said, it comes as a bit of light relief in the context.

Holes 13-15

As you reach the top of the climb to the 13th tee box, the view behind is rather more appealing than that in front. This is a daunting tee shot on the first look – a narrow gap with what appears to be a very slender fairway. Again, once you know, there is much more space than it first appears. The hole winds up the hill and plays its full length. Its two tiered green is similar to the 6th, with a little collection area in the top left. The view back down the hole is breathtaking.

The same can be said for the 14th tee box. This is a short par 4 which provides good contrast to the two par 5s between which is it placed. There is a slightly curious mound in the middle of the fairway, just before the green, which does provide some interest to the hole.

Another impressive view from the 15th tee box greets you following a further climb. This par 5 again has a wide fairway with a safe option (left) and an aggressive option to the right. There is more room right than we had anticipated, thinking that one of the tee shots had disappeared into the trees, only to find it on the right edge of the fairway. A word of warning for your approach – if you are on the right side of the fairway in the lay-up area, you will have the ball way below your feet.

Holes 16-17

We played both the back tees and the normal tees on the 16th. The game was over on Sunday when we reached it, so had to have a try off the tips. From the path it seemed that this would be a totally blind tee shot over a huge dune to a tiny green. Think the 6th at Lahinch … Only difference here was that there was not margin for error – if you missed the green left, your ball was dead and if you missed right you would have a blind shot chipping over a mound onto the downslope. The normal tees were a rather more normal proposition, but it was for me the weakest of the par 3s.

The 17th elicited quite a few opinions. It has a 90 degree dog-leg to the right and it is very difficult to work out the optimum strategy. Unlike the 9th, there is a huge dune that runs down the right side of the fairway and so the “heroic” shot is totally blind. It is a long carry to get to the corner and if you are too far right, you will be left with little option but to lay-up. I found the design of this hole a little bit too quirky. It was the sort of hole which could punish a good shot as well as a bad one.

Closing hole

The 18th however was something else. They definitely left the best until last. I could have gone and played this hole another few times. The view is extraordinary, brilliantly framing the hole with the Atlantic beyond and the elegant clubhouse on the left. As had become expected, it looked like there was only a small area of fairway to aim at. Again, if you could clear the mound straight ahead, there was loads of space (left and right). The further down the left you go, the better chance you have of hitting the downslope. We played in very soft conditions, but you could still get some decent run if you got hold of your drive.

A lake protects the green on the right side. If you have taken the tiger line up the left, then there is less water to carry. The plateau on the right side of the fairway will give you a flat stance, but require a long accurate shot to hit the green.

From above, the green looks pretty flat, but as ever it is subtly contoured and protected with run-offs on all sides. It is a great closing hole.

Clubhouse and final thoughts

The clubhouse is modern and sleek. The food is extremely good and actually represents pretty decent value. The staff were helpful and relaxed (which is a necessity dealing with large groups!). The only issue was getting to and from the course. If you do not have your own car and are relying on the shuttles from Praia D’El Rey, beware they can be very unreliable. On both occasions, we were rushing for our tee times due to the failure of the resort to provide the transport we requested. I appreciate it is a complimentary service, but nonetheless it did not meet the 5-star standards that were in evidence elsewhere.

The course is good, but it will not be for everyone. Personally, I am not a fan of long walks and slow golf. We walked the course both times, but very few others did and it was really aimed at buggies. The other problem is the ease with which you can lose balls. I completely accept that the fairways are generous, but if you are even slightly off the ball is gone. We were playing matchplay and had a “local rule” that meant no provisionals. If we hadn’t done that the rounds would have been even longer.

For our middle round, we played the resort course at Praia D’El Rey. Some thoughts on the course and the accommodation to follow in Part 2 …