Quinta do Lago

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Quinta do Lago
QuintaDoLagoLogo.png


Quinta do Lago.jpg
An aerial view of the resort
Portugal location map.svg
Icona golf.svg
Location in Portugal
Quinta do Lago
Club information
Coordinates 37°02′42″N8°01′08″W / 37.045°N 8.019°W / 37.045; -8.019
Location Algarve, Portugal
Established1974; 50 years ago
TypePrivate
Total holes54
Events hosted Portuguese Open
Website www.quintadolago.com
North Course
Designed by Rocky Roquemore
William Mitchell
Joseph Lee
Par 72
Length6,126 metres
South Course
Designed by William Mitchell
Par 72
Length6,488 metres
Laranjal
Designed by Santana da Silva
Par 72
Length6,480 metres

Quinta do Lago is a golf resort in Almancil, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Quinta do Lago comprises one of the three corners of the Golden Triangle of the Algarve's most affluent communities.

Contents

The community hosted the Portuguese Open, part of the PGA European Tour, in 1976, 1984–1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, and most recently in 2001.

History

Quinta do Lago was founded in 1971 by Polish-Brazilian property developer André Jordan, three years after the end of Salazar's rule.

The original 550-hectare site, "Quinta dos Ramalhos" (Ramalhos Estate), contained the ruins of an old farmhouse (today "Casa Velha", having been rebuilt as a restaurant in 1972), a stone pine forest adjacent to both the Ria Formosa and the growing resort of Vale do Lobo which had been founded eight years earlier. Jordan's company, Planal, acquired the property on 20 December 1971. The Pinto de Magalhães family previously owned the large beach-lined estate for over 300 years. Within three years, a bridge to the beach had been built, the lake was created over the salt flats, and 27 holes of golf designed by architect William F. Mitchell had been completed.

Following the 1974 Carnation revolution, Andre Jordan returned to Brazil, leaving the Portuguese state to manage. In 1974, revolutionary leader Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho presided over the golf courses' inauguration; in 1976, the Portuguese Open was held in Quinta do Lago for the first time.

In 1981, Portuguese politics stabilised, and Quinta do Lago management was returned to Planal, and Jordan returned to Portugal. [1] The Portuguese Open was again held in Quinta do Lago in 1984–86. In 1986, the Four Seasons Country Club opened in the heart of Quinta, followed by the Four Seasons Fairways; neither resort is related to the Canadian Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group.

In 1987, Jordan sold the resort (i.e. Planal, the holding company) to a consortium of British shareholders headed by Roger Abraham, a former banker at Chase Manhattan Bank, and food entrepreneur David Thompson. By 1989, Abraham had withdrawn, and Thompson headed the resort alone. The Portuguese Open was held in the resort again in 1988-90 and 2001.

In 1998, Planal was acquired by Irish billionaire Denis O'Brien.

Golf courses

North Course

Quinta do Lago North Course (meters)
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
BlackM: 72.8 / 133342196523370312334501165369311234547337240515537614031744530286140
GoldM: 70.1 / 128 W: 76.1 / 136321166500349290300482139320286732543734038013135011328741027735640
SilverM: 66.0 / 119 W: 71.1 / 12528613245031426527537111228024852303813063431223218025834723884873
GreenM: 64.6 / 116 W: 69.2 / 122269123450298242215328922802297230381280306882908025834722604557
Par435444534364544343453672
SI 151191513717312104616218148

South Course

Quinta do Lago South Course (meters)
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
BlackM: 73.6 / 138368500387171500348175363355316740618446032538319637251041332496416
GoldM: 71.0 / 133 W: 77.5 / 139332480360138480315155340320292037515142528535016032249037029285848
SilverM: 67.3 / 125 W: 72.9 / 129307415285113435290127307285256432811238025531812527040233825285092
GreenM: 66.6 / 124 W: 72.0 / 128307415285105435249127307285251532811238025527612525935433824274942
Par454354344364354434543672
SI 137517191531161612182814410

Laranjal Course

Quinta do Lago Laranjal Course (meters)
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
BlackM: 74.3 / 136325210400355402198520210555317539533519545539052023133344833026477
GoldM: 71.1 / 130 W: 77.3 / 142300170375325376174471162492284536228815244035847820528142529895834
SilverM: 67.1 / 122 W: 72.4 / 132247115305285342133424128445242432524511139329542814723537425534977
GreenM: 65.8 / 119 W: 70.8 / 128210115296285322108404128406227430024511137026842811723535124254699
Red21010420120122510830183320175322220011128220632611723529219913744
Par434443535354435453453772
SI 151159317113761810164821412

See also

References

  1. Rodgers, Paul (3 August 1996). "'I've lived through half a dozen coups and putsches so I wasn't frightened'". The Independent .