Algarve golf - Tips for a first timer?

Going to Portugal soon, just wondering if anyone has tips for a bunch of lads going on their first golf holiday?

Courses are Alamos, Salgados and Morgado, which are all around Salgado Dunas Suites. More looking for gneral tips on what to bring, packing the clubs, last minute items etc. Is there anything you wish someone had said to you before your first trip away?

Kingswood Rover

yep, leave the clubs at home and enjoy relaxing on the beach reading a book on your todd while your mates struggle to find the course, play cream cracker ed with huge hangovers.

slave1

Pray for good weather, I was holding off joining a group of mates heading out a few weeks back until I could see the forecast.
Weather turned out brutal, they couldn't play the first day with rain and other days was long trousers and rain jackets.
Unlucky perhaps but even that part of the world is not certain for good weather at this time of the year.

I took the money I'd set aside and myself and herself got a week in Tenerife instead with money left over, shorts and t shirt morning, noon and night and not a drop of rain.

Hope it goes well for you though, make sure your Golf GPS is up to date is about all I can add

dan_ep82

I don't use a carry case, I bring my cart bag. I didn't have one the first time so winged it, have done it a few times since with no problems.

Take all the heads off that you can and bunch them close. Wrap a towel around the necks for support and something long ( brush handle) in the middle incase it gets turned end up. Golf shoes,golf balls etc into the bag and whatever else you want to stuff in for the holiday.

Sun cream, sounds obvious but if you get burnt bad enough ( ankles etc) your golf is done. Keep sticking it on during the day.

prawnsambo

dan_ep82 wrote: »

I don't use a carry case, I bring my cart bag. I didn't have one the first time so winged it, have done it a few times since with no problems.

Take all the heads off that you can and bunch them close. Wrap a towel around the necks for support and something long ( brush handle) in the middle incase it gets turned end up. Golf shoes,golf balls etc into the bag and whatever else you want to stuff in for the holiday.

Sun cream, sounds obvious but if you get burnt bad enough ( ankles etc) your golf is done. Keep sticking it on during the day.

I've done something similar except I use one of those travel bags - cheap enough and a cart bag inside which I can fit two sets of clubs into. Irons cable tied together in threes with cable ties, heads off anything that can be removed and shafts cable tied in threes. All of that plus shoes and a collapsible 'Sunday' bag can go in there and still get under the 23Kg weight limit. Few towels helps obviously, but I've flown to Portugal and the USA like that without any problems.

searay

Deleted User wrote: »

Going to Portugal soon, just wondering if anyone has tips for a bunch of lads going on their first golf holiday?

Courses are Alamos, Salgados and Morgado, which are all around Salgado Dunas Suites. More looking for gneral tips on what to bring, packing the clubs, last minute items etc. Is there anything you wish someone had said to you before your first trip away?

Having the transfers included rather than car hire and searching for courses saves a lot of grief and can be cheaper. You also get in and out of the airport quicker. Even google maps doesn't always lead to the right entrances of courses.

I don't know the courses you are playing but Find out which ones are hilly and are best with buggys and try book in advance. Last year, one course was looking for €70 per buggy as the owner thinks real golfers carry.

thewobbler

Download Uber. It’s genujnely half the price of normal taxis on the Algarve. They have Uber XLs too... for 6 people.

It’s much easier to play golf a little tipsy than a little hungover. If you’re drinking heavily at nighttime, remember drinks carts will be driving around. Stay topped up. Trust me, it’s much easier.

The courses are not as good as Ireland. They just aren’t. But they’ve got that big yellow thing in the sky and it’s ****en wonderful.

Take mosquito spray and use it. You don’t know the buggers are eating you until half of you is eaten.

You will have at least one five hour round. Take a chill pill. If you want to score heavily, go back home and play your home course. You’re on holiday. Stare at the sun. Have another beer.

At this time of year, Saturday nights should be busy in any resort town. Other nights will be quiet enough.

Salgados is good fun but is literally full of water. Take a few balls extra.

If you burn easy i’d recommend a sun hat over a baseball cap. Doesn’t look as good, but you’ll still have ears 5 hours later.

Russman

I’d echo all that’s been said above.
Suncream and insect repellent in the golf bag. Two caps as one will still be sweaty from the day before. Sunglasses too, a good pair make a huge difference imho.
If you really want to travel light, you could probably get away with 8/9 clubs. Plenty of golf balls for Salgados, as mentioned above it’s literally full of water, I’d swear there’s more water than grass !! You’ll enjoy Morgado, it’s up in the hills and is very good.

searay

searay wrote: »

Having the transfers included rather than car hire and searching for courses saves a lot of grief and can be cheaper. You also get in and out of the airport quicker. Even google maps doesn't always lead to the right entrances of courses.

I don't know the courses you are playing but Find out which ones are hilly and are best with buggys and try book in advance

The deal we got includes transfers to all courses and buggies on all courses, thank god. Good advice though. I’ve been to the Algarve previously, though never on a golf holiday.

thewobbler wrote: »

Salgados is good fun but is literally full of water. Take a few balls extra.

If you burn easy i’d recommend a sun hat over a baseball cap. Doesn’t look as good, but you’ll still have ears 5 hours later.

Good call on the sun hat. I’d heard about the water on Salgados alright.

dan_ep82 wrote: »

I don't use a carry case, I bring my cart bag. I didn't have one the first time so winged it, have done it a few times since with no problems.

Take all the heads off that you can and bunch them close. Wrap a towel around the necks for support and something long ( brush handle) in the middle incase it gets turned end up. Golf shoes,golf balls etc into the bag and whatever else you want to stuff in for the holiday.

A couple of people recommended removing club heads…is it really that simple a task to take them off and re-attach? I was thinking of using my ball retriever instead of a brush handle. Might be useful once I get over there as well. Towels in between is a great shout.

The Premier Man

Was out there Easter weekend and played those 3 courses and stayed at salgados. Morgado and alamos are about half an hour away and are both on the one site with a shared clubhouse. The 2 courses are world's apart though, morgado is wide open whereas alamos is tight and very hilly. Both are nice courses with alamos imo the better of the 2.there is a great driving range there aswell. As someone already said salgados has a huge amount of water so bring plenty of balls. It is a serious test of ball striking as anything slightly off is wet. The greens there are incredible though, very close to the best I've ever played. It doesn't have a driving range just a big net but does have decent pitching, chipping and putting areas. Where you are staying is roughly 10 - 15 mins from old town albufeira and will cost bout €15 in a taxi and a bit cheaper with uber. We had an apartment in salgados which was top class with 7 pools within 100 yards. There isn't a whole lot around salgados except for the golf course, hotels, apartments and a small supermarket so any nightlife or pubs old town is your best bet. We rented the clubs out there which we couldn't fault but did bring rangefinders, tees, towels, balls etc with us in our carry on

prawnsambo

Deleted User wrote: »

A couple of people recommended removing club heads…is it really that simple a task to take them off and re-attach? I was thinking of using my ball retriever instead of a brush handle. Might be useful once I get over there as well. Towels in between is a great shout.

Depends on your clubs. Most modern drivers, hybrids and fairways have adjustable loft settings which involve taking off the heads with a special tool. You can see the screw in this pic of a TM hybrid. Usually a torx type screw.

prawnsambo

Btw, sweaty hats can be washed. Just give them a good soaking in a basin of warm water and hang them out to dry.

searay

The Premier Man wrote: »

Was out there Easter weekend and played those 3 courses and stayed at salgados. Morgado and alamos are about half an hour away and are both on the one site with a shared clubhouse. The 2 courses are world's apart though, morgado is wide open whereas alamos is tight and very hilly. Both are nice courses with alamos imo the better of the 2.there is a great driving range there aswell. As someone already said salgados has a huge amount of water so bring plenty of balls. It is a serious test of ball striking as anything slightly off is wet. The greens there are incredible though, very close to the best I've ever played. It doesn't have a driving range just a big net but does have decent pitching, chipping and putting areas. Where you are staying is roughly 10 - 15 mins from old town albufeira and will cost bout €15 in a taxi and a bit cheaper with uber. We had an apartment in salgados which was top class with 7 pools within 100 yards. There isn't a whole lot around salgados except for the golf course, hotels, apartments and a small supermarket so any nightlife or pubs old town is your best bet. We rented the clubs out there which we couldn't fault but did bring rangefinders, tees, towels, balls etc with us in our carry on

Old town albufeira is good for nightlife and restaurants. There’s also an area nearby known as the strip which was full of stags and hens when we were there. Not my cup of tea but will appeal to some.

boban z

8 of us go there every year. Great Craic. Heading in 2 weeks. Cant wait
We stay 4 night and play 4 or 5 rounds.
Our age group range from 37 to 50.

As the previous posted mentioned 'the old town' is a nice spot. Relaxed but with a bit of life.
the strip on the other hand is more lively but it is enjoyable.
We tend to do one big night on the strip. Usually the Saturday night as its the busiest. We always do Fancy dress that night with a different theme each year. Gets great reaction from everyone.
One year we all dressed up as different referees (football, Boxing, Basketball etc) and low and behold Matt Clattenberg happed to be there. Got some great photos.
The strip is not for everyone. Lots of young people who cant Handel there drink or don't know when to stop. Can get messy at times. Only gets going after midnight. Don't go there at 9 expecting it to be lively.
Vilamoura is also an option for a night out. Not as mad as albuferia but full of golfers.

Advise:
Try and get transport sorted before you go s much as possible. And expect to pay €30 for taxi to the action but between 4 that's only €7.50 each so not too bad. Your paying less for drink than you would in Ireland so that helps.

Fully agree with one of the earlier posters about the drink on the course. Normally after a night out I can manage the first 9 holes before the horrors hit. Only way to rectify it is to hit the beer cart and hit it hard. A few beers later and you can stand up and hit the ball without thinking.

I always bring my own clubs and never have had any issues. I always get them insure before I go. Works out at about €10. Happy to pay if for piece of mind.

Also if your drinking heavily don't skip meal times and drink gallons of water. The sun and dehydration are a bad combination.

Expect long rounds 5 hrs plus at times. Have a beer and enjoy the sun and don't let the slow play get to you.
Always get buggies

Enjoy

thewobbler

Boban you’ve the making of a Ryder Cup against my society right there.

Apart for the dressing up but I think we’d be well matched.

ForeRight

Who do you insure your clubs with when travelling away with them?

boban z

ForeRight wrote: »

Who do you insure your clubs with when travelling away with them?

there are a few options. Multitip.com justcover.ie and all the health cover places do it VHI etc. If you already have health insurance you should be able to get a smaller quote.

Just checked there and coming in a bit more expensive than usual but all insurance are going up