Aroeira 1 - Lisbon & Centre - Portugal

The Aroeira estate is an Orizonte Lisbon Golf facility located just over ten kilometres as the crow flies from another Orizonte course at Quinta do Peru, where I played the day before I teed it up here. The two courses might be relatively near neighbours but they felt worlds apart from one another in how they looked and played – that said, from what I saw of Aroeira II next door, even it looked quite different to Aroeira I.

The course was designed by Frank Pennink and opened in 1973 and it’s hard to believe a couple of national Opens were held here during the mid-1990s on a track of such modest length measuring just over 6,000 metres from the back tees. There’s an intimate feel to a game of golf here due to the narrow, tree-lined fairways but the playing corridors are never oppressively constricting.

The front nine is rock solid – my notes read “not a single weak hole on the card so far” – and I especially liked the right doglegged 2nd (rated stroke index 1) and downhill par three 8th, with out of bounds to the right of the hole. The back nine was even better, probably the best of the six nines that I played over three days.

Holes 10, 11, 14 and 15 all gained top marks, with the par three 14th easily identified as the star of the show. A very short par three played slightly downhill to a green that sits behind a long coffin bunker on the corner of a small lake, it’s as pretty a short hole as I’ve come across in a long time – and not one of our 4-ball group made par on what looked such a benign little hole from the tee.

I know these reviews should concentrate solely on the course but it would be remiss of me not to mention the lovely timber-framed single level clubhouse which serves the Aroeira I course. Somewhat Alpine-like in appearance and fronted by a simple wooden decked patio, this homely, welcoming building complements the course perfectly, providing exactly the right ambience for after golf relaxation.

Jim McCann

Played Aroeira 1 on Monday 4th April. Swapped our tee time to the afternoon to avoid the torrential rain that had been falling for almost 24 hours. Pro shop staff very helpful and flexible. Given the wet conditions it was remarkable how well the course had drained - lovely sandy turf on the fairways and very decent greens. Absolutely no qualms on course conditioning beyond the slightly scruffy teeing areas. The course plays through tall pines with large villas set well back. Plenty room off the tee and, generally, all trouble set out clearly for the golfer to see. As a result, the course could be argued to be enjoyable but slightly dull. Exceptions on the front 9 are the sweeping dog-leg 2nd, the challenging long par 3 8th and the undulating par 5 9th. The back 9 is a little more interesting with a plunging approach to the par 4 11th needing to avoid water cutting in to the left of the green. The dinky par 3 14th over the same pond is also good fun. Very pleasant holiday golf and, if you time things right, the course can be very quiet enabling a speedy ramble through the trees.

- We stayed at an apartment on Aroeira resort which was very nice, no complaints at all 10 out of 10. - The clubhouse is worth a stop after 18 for a drink/lunch.- The golf course is a nice design with some nice holes, but it is looking rather dated. - The tees are terrible without a flat lie, worst than a Pitch and Putt course- The fairways were very patchy in places with no grass or just sand. Bunkers were in great condition.- The greens are left very lush meaning they are hard to read and all different speeds with no true roll. They can't even be bothered with simple dew removal, so if you play early in the morning, hit that putt hard !!!

An tree lined course spoilt by its lack of care. Greens were patchy and many tees so poor that a level lie was almost impossible. Many holes are very "samey" the pick being the 2cnd. a long par 4 around a lake.In need of some TLC

Revisited Aroeira I, after a 6 year absence.It is still a lovely course meandering through the trees, and a decent test. However, there were signs of a lack of care and attention,particularly on the tees which were often very rough.A lovely place to play golf on a winter day, and the criticisms of the clubhouse, are, in our view, unfounded. We had an excellent lunch.

Just came from playing both courses this week. There are both fantastic golf courses in the middle of a natural park close to the beach south of Lisbon. Aroeira I is very well mantained with top quqlity fairways, greens and bunkers. Aroeira II is longer, fairways are less generous size wise, has plenty of water and is not as well mantained, but is a fair golf test. I strongly recommend playing both courses, you will enjoy not matter your playing skills,

Great course, shame about the club house. Played both this and Aroeira II in June 2012. Both are great courses, lots of different holes, both tree lined (Aroeira II probably has twice as many trees) and lots of water. Downside is that the facilities do not come anywhere close to the standard required. We asked for the lunch menu and were told that wasn't one, we could get jamburgers or beef steaks. very small terrace area and no umbrellas. Possibly the most disappointing club house i have ever come across. Having said that, definitely worth playing the courses but don't plan on hanging around afterwards for a meal!

Before I got here I wasn't expecting big things for the price. The course is very nice set in the woodlands, plenty of shade. You need to be accurate of the tee or your ball is most likely lost in the woodland. The fairways were in good condition and they were moving the tee's half way through the day which was good. I will be definitely going back to play this course again.

Played this course in Sept 2009 on our annual society golf trip. Nice track, with dog legs featuring on many holes. Main danger was off the fairways, go wrong and your ball was probably lost or best a short punch back in play. Greens were decent and overall the course was in good condition. The course lacked some feature holes and I would say it's sister course A II is bit more interesting. Beware the clubhouse closes early enough, you might just miss the kitchen if you tee of in the afternoon.

Aroeira 1 is perhaps my favourite course in the Lisbon area (and Lisbon had stacks of great courses). There's a vrey English feel to this layout which is perhaps no surprise as it was a great English architect that laid it out. There are no weak holes on No.1, just good hole after good hole. Perhaps the back nine is the best for me as there is a little more elevation change here but the front is good too. The first three of the one-shot holes on the card are exceptional too... perhaps the best collection of par threes in Portugal are resident here at Aroeira.