Terras da Comporta · Carvalhal, Grândola · Costa Alentejana
Dunas
Photographs: James Hogg · courtesy of Terras da Comporta
In 2023 this was named the best new course in the world and in Europe, and it now tops the ranking in Portugal. A genuine links over eighty-four hectares of natural sandy terrain, on the edge of the Sado Estuary Natural Reserve, an hour south of Lisbon. There's nothing else quite like it in mainland Portugal. David McLay-Kidd — the man behind Bandon Dunes — drew it up, and it opened on 5 October 2023: par 71 over 6,646 metres from the back tees, with a slope of 140 and a course rating of 74.4. Those numbers say what it is: from the back, a genuinely hard course. And then there are six sets of tees, the shortest just 3,847 metres, so the same round plays comfortably at a high handicap. Around it, everything a week needs: a 310-metre driving range, a short-game area, its own academy and a restaurant open from eight in the morning. And ten minutes away is Torre, the house's second course, which makes thirty-six holes without ever getting in the car.
This isn't a private club or a gated resort: you book a tee time and you play. A course with this record open to visitors isn't the norm, and there's nothing else quite like it in our catalogue. For the golfer who travels for the course, not the hotel, this is the trip.
How it's played
Terras da Comporta has no lodging of its own, so accommodation is chosen separately and the trip is put together as a whole. There are five ways to play, across both courses:
One round of 18 holes
Two rounds, same course
Three, four or five rounds
Unlimited golf
Nine holes
Tell us who's travelling, how many of you, and how many rounds you want, and we'll put together the whole trip — hotel, outings and transfers — with a firm price.