Amendoeira Golf Resort - Faldo & O'Connor Jnr.

Few resort complexes in the Algarve arrived with as much architectural ambition as Amendoeira, which opened its 2 courses in 2008 on a broad inland estate near Alcantarilha. The Faldo course — designed by Sir Nick Faldo through his Faldo Design practice — carries the methodical, cerebral fingerprints of a 6-time major champion: wide corridors that tighten strategically, large undulating greens that reward precise approach angles, and a layout that flatters the casual resort visitor while quietly punishing the inattentive. The companion course, designed by Christy O'Connor Jnr., offers a more openly scenic and flowing experience, weaving through cork oaks and the almond trees that give the resort its name (amendoeira means almond tree in Portuguese).

Alcantarilha sits in the western Algarve interior, far enough from the coast to feel removed from the crowded beachfront strip yet still within easy reach of Albufeira and the A22. The terrain is rolling and rural, the light sharp, and the summers reliably hot and dry.

As a resort property, Amendoeira is built for destination golf — the kind of trip where you play both courses back to back over a couple of days and compare notes at dinner.