Penina Championship Course

Overview: The Sir Henry Cotton Championship Course at Penina is a par-73 parkland layout near Portimão and one of the foundational courses of Algarve golf. Cotton transformed former rice fields into a broad, tree-lined routing with streams, ditches, water hazards, large bunkers, and subtly raised greens. Its character comes from the accumulation of small strategic problems, with the par-73 scorecard creating room for long holes while wooded corridors and sloping approaches steadily punish imprecise placement.

History: The Championship Course was completed and opened in 1966, making Penina the first 18-hole golf course in the Algarve. Cotton’s work helped establish the region as a golf destination, and Penina later hosted the Portuguese Open on ten occasions. The operator describes the transformation of paddy fields and the planting of thousands of trees, so the mature appearance of the course is part of its original development story rather than a natural accident.

Did You Know? Penina’s professional history is unusually concentrated for an Algarve course, with the Portuguese Open returning repeatedly after the layout opened. The course also carries a rare par-73 identity, changing the rhythm of the scorecard and giving its long holes more room to breathe. Its lasting interest lies in how Cotton made a championship course from flat agricultural land without losing its sense of place.