Quinta do Lago (North) - Algarve - Portugal

My family and I have been visiting the Algarve for many years whether playing golf or just holidaying. This region of Portugal is blessed with many courses mostly resort type but two or three stand above the rest. The North at Quinta do Lago is the weaker of the two courses at Quinta and although it had recently been re-designed by Paul McGinley I feel that it has not improved greatly. There is plenty of variety in the holes but the routing is very disjointed as there are numerous long walks from tee to green which breaks up the round. A few holes standout such as the 3rd a long uphill par 5 and 6 the short par 4 which makes you think which club to pull from tee. The back 9 is a little better hole 10 is a nice short par 4 and the par 3 14th can be tricky from the elevated tee. The 18th is probably the best hole on the North a sweeping par 5 which doglegs from left to right followed by a second shot down to a well guarded green which slopes wickedly from back to front. There are far worse courses in The Algarve and I would always be happy playing Quinta North but you cannot help feeling that a more could be achieved with the design considering the terrain.

Great golf course with some beautiful holes, not quite as nice as the south course but still great to play, great condition and fantastic facilities. Well worth playing if you get the chance

Played this in May 2018 and it's great fun and in excellent condition - especially the greens. Although walkable, it's quite a trek because of the layout in amongst the villas. I'm struggling to remember any of the holes, but would happily return to play again.

We really enjoyed both Quinta do Lago courses, easily walking both in the day unlike Val do Lobo which really requires buggies.

A lovely place to play golf, with bowl fairways encouraging you to really rip fairway woods on a couple of par 5's, and the trees stopping your ball and allowing play from the needles if you stray wide.

Like the South just a bit below San Lorenzo, but a great day's golf.

A nice course to start a 7 days and 6 rounds Tour. I am writting this only after having played borth North and South so as not to compare them with the other 4 to come.

North Course is one of those courses you can't say it was designed, but one where the designer seems to have received a routing and taking advantage of a nice piece of land he created some very interesting holes. It isn't long, it isn't tough and it is yet a lot of fun to play where score will not come easy on those greens. There grain will show those usual bright and dark contrasts where you need to identify when it is slow (usually never!), when fast and when VERY fast! Breaks are a real challenge to read and it is there where you will make your score here.

It is not easy to have a drivable opener, but it is a great hole (go to the range before starting!), par 5 3rd is a nice 3 shooter. 7th another good hole, reachable in 2 but needing a precise tee shot. 12th is maybe the best hole on the course and it only depends on how brave the line you take is, but designer gives you a lay up and mid iron option which will work for those protecting the scorecard! Both short par 3s on the back 9 are great, especially 16th where with a short pin you could come back 20 yds short. Reachable par 4 17th is a good birdie option but also a disaster one if not precise. I found 18th not the best finisher, a short par 5 that if hosting a Pro event should be a par 4.

Service at every point is great and food at 19th hole as well. One in all a great alternative for holiday golf.

The last of the Quintas on the final day of our trip and a great day out at the north course was had. The rankings have this right as the north is definitely not as good as the south but a ninth more established that Laranjal. Firstly the service was great from the pro shop, to the starter, to the marshal on the course that sat on the 4 ball in front of us and made them hurry and finally the bar staff.

I really enjoyed the course and felt it asked a lot of questions of you. It could be argued that off the yellows in certain places it is short, but this was enough for me having played some courses on the trip that were very long. The greens were great, the fairways true and the fairness is there as when you miss the fairway you in the main will find your ball but will have to play out.

I believe I gave Laranjal a 4 and South a 5 ideally would like to give this a 4.5, but as not quite a 5 for me will have to settle on the 4 ball.

Having just come back from a weeks holiday in the Algarve.The course was in great condition; the greenkeeper placed the pins in some of the most difficult positions possible (especially given the big undulations) and the greens were by far the quickest greens we played on all week (which takes some getting used to).

This was my first round since the 2014 changes to the course – previously I had three rounds on North so I was very keen to see the updates. The opening hole is a memorable start; 345 yards and downhill, so the distance on most drives will flatter leaving only a short pitch in. The first big change comes at the 2nd hole, still a par-3 but now with a lot of water in play down the right-side – this pushes tee shots a little left and with a very undulating green, par is not easy. The long par-5 3rd just lacks a little excitement for me, just a bit of a straight slog really. The 5th however is great; only 312 metres but dog-legging left with opportunities to take on the left-side trees and go direct to the green – very clever. The middle section of the course (6th to the 11th) in my opinion is ok without standing-out but from the 12th to the final green, this is where the course comes alive. The 12th has water all down the left and has to be crossed to reach the green which is surrounded by a huge dune making a great viewing amphitheatre. The 15th is my pick of the holes on the course; the SI-2, 376 metres long and dog-legging right to a raised green – a very good-looking strong hole. The par-3 16th is an all-carry short to mid-iron to one of the best greens at the resort. The par-5 final hole is strong also, driving over water, you need to favour the left-side to set-up the easiest positional shot to attack another raised green. Overall thoughts on the new North – much improved and a much tougher course now. Some of the promotion around last year’s opening suggested that this is Quinta’s new #1 – not for me if I am honest, yes much better but the South is still the course that will be first choice for me. The rankings of the Algarve’s #9 and Portugal’s #16 are little low and the gap between South and North should close but the order should remain the same.

Played the newly revamped North last week. In my humble opinion it now plays better than its sister course the South. The greens were truly outstanding , very very fast and as smooth as a babies bottom. I would say they were exceptional. The par three's are now well bunkered and are visually very pleasing. The fours play well and are again very well bunkered. A true pleasure to play.

Played the newly re-designed North course on the opening day having previously play it in its old guise several years ago. I believe that this may now be the number #1 course in Portugal alongside Monte Rei. The layout remains similar to the original design with the exception of a few totally new creations. The improvements are mainly from the fantastic attention to detail in the bunker positioning, run-off areas around the greens & quality of the fairways. The routing is still quite haphazard cutting back & forth between roads but it’s a small price to pay for such a great track. The only drawback is that carts must stick to the paths (unlike Monte Rei) which I feel significantly reduces the whole experience of a round. Walk or take a trolley if you are able... however the GPS system in the carts is excellent! Now the North course is better than its sister it will be great to see how the re-design of the south turns out.