PORTUGAL - TAGUS VALLEY - OBIDOS - GOLF

"Praia d’el Rey is reputed to be one of Portugal’s finest. Designed by Cabell Robinson, it is a championship course that boasts marvelous fairways and perfectly manicured greens. Even the bunkers are pro-active: left to their own devices, sunbathers tend to stretch out in them, risking the wrath of Caddie Master, Jim Lambert.

Roughs are made rougher by the presence of a sponge-like grass that insidiously attempts to digest anything that lands in it. Jim advises taking the strokes rather than adding up two-digit scores.

From Number 12 through 15, play is overlooking the Atlantic: sometimes windy, always stunning. The last three holes are all uphill to the 18th green and the way is not without potential disaster. A gap to the 16th green is narrow, requiring painstaking accuracy. Further challenge is added by Number 17, a 523-metre hole that is one of the longest Par 5s in Portugal; 17 is regarded as the most difficult hole on the course.

Before the end of this year, a golf academy with state-of-the-art analysis equipment will be in place. The teaching area will thus be concentrated in one area and it will be an imposing venue for sharpening skills.

Golfers should be aware that Praia d’el Rey’s dress code prohibits the wearing of tennis shoes, jeans, tennis shorts, swimming trunks and t-shirts on the golf course."