Vale do Lobo

Vale do Lobo

200px Vale do Lobo beach
Club information
Location	Algarve, Portugal
Established	1968
Type	Private
Total holes	36
Tournaments hosted	Portuguese Open (2002–03)
Website	www.valedolobo.com
Royal Course
Designed by	Rocky Roquemore
Par	72
Length	6,059 metres
Ocean Course
Designed by	Sir Henry Cotton
Par	73
Length	6,137 metres

Vale do Lobo is a golf resort located in the Algarve region of Southern Portugal. The resort has two golf courses, the Royal and the Ocean, and hosted the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003. Vale do Lobo is the first of the three corners of what is today known as Algarve's Golden Triangle.

History

Vale do Lobo was among the first tourist resorts to be built in Portugal, having been catalysed by the Estado Novo's decision in 1962 to build Faro Airport following the success in the 1950s of luxury Spanish resorts such as Torremolinos. In 1962, Trust House Forte acquired the land which became Vale do Lobo with the intention of turning it into a luxury resort. At the time, the region was a stone pine forest with a sand beach. Townhouses and villas were built for tourists and permanent foreign residents. An 18 hole golf course designed by Henry Cotton was built and Vale do Lobo quickly become a popular destination with the British market. In 1968, Trust House Forte and Costain Group opened the first five-star hotel in the Algarve, the Dona Filipa, named after Philippa of Lancaster, whose marriage to John I of Portugal confirmed the 700-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.

In 1977 the Dutch entrepreneur Sander van Gelder acquired the resort out of receivership, after it had struggled financially following the 1974 Carnation Revolution. Venlo-born van Gelder had just sold his jewellery store chain Schaap en Citroen to insurance company Amev in the previous year, having acquired the chain eight years previously in 1969. He had originally intended to acquire a plot of land in the area and ended up taking the opportunity to acquire the whole resort. The resort was run under van Gelder's ownership for the next 30 years, adding another 18 hole golf course and many facilities including bars, restaurants, and shops. The resort hosted the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003.

In 2006 a combination of Portuguese and international investors together with the Portuguese state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos acquired the development from van Gelder, installing Diogo Gaspar Ferreira as CEO.

Ocean Course

Score Card

Hole	Par	Whites Length	Yellows Length	Reds Length
1	4	429mt / 469yd	399mt / 436yd	359mt / 393yd
2	4	347mt / 379yd	286mt / 313yd	257mt / 281yd
3	5	497mt / 544yd	457mt / 500yd	409mt / 447yd
4	4	381mt / 417yd	368mt / 402yd	336mt / 367yd
5	3	198mt / 217yd	165mt / 180yd	142mt / 155yd
6	5	416mt / 455yd	410mt / 448yd	358mt / 392yd
7	3	171mt / 187yd	166mt / 182yd	149mt / 163yd
8	5	385mt / 421yd	374mt / 409yd	305mt / 334yd
9	4	347mt / 379yd	326mt / 357yd	304mt / 332yd
Out	37	2732mt / 3468yd	2951mt / 3227yd	2619mt / 2864yd
10	5	445mt / 487yd	435mt / 476yd	418mt / 457yd
11	4	413mt / 452yd	386mt / 422yd	355mt / 388yd
12	4	379mt / 414yd	292mt / 319yd	273mt / 299yd
13	3	144mt / 157yd	135mt / 148yd	94mt / 103yd
14	4	346mt / 378yd	344mt / 376yd	332mt / 363yd
15	3	195mt / 213yd	180mt / 197yd	137mt / 150yd
16	5	483mt / 528yd	433mt / 474yd	409mt / 447yd
17	3	144mt / 157yd	135mt / 148yd	126mt / 138yd
18	5	411mt / 449yd	376mt / 411yd	340mt / 372yd
In	36	2732mt / 3237yd	2716mt / 2970yd	2484mt / 2717yd
Total	73	6131mt / 6705yd	5667mt / 6198yd	5103mt / 5581yd

See also

• List of golf courses in Portugal

External links

• Vale do Lobo – official site
• [2] – Where to stay
• Faro Airport Transfers to Vale do Lobo