Penina Championship - latest comments and reviews

Ray Knowles 2024-05-12
No food / drinks buggy on course, but advised as such by golf shop before round

Eamonn Ryan 2024-04-19
We have played Penina Championship many times over the years and always found it a good challenge. This year the course seems to have suffered from lack of attention, particularly on the tee boxes and fairways. Hopefully these will be addressed and the course will comeback to its former glory.

Amanda Block 2024-04-06
A beautifully set up course but the water all round the course looks stagnant and smells. It is such a shame. Money needs to be spent on the course and the hotel. But enjoyed. Almost don't want to rate it highly as it may stop the owners spending money.

Stefan Kobewka 2024-04-02
A great Henry Cotton layout spoilt by poorly maintained fairways and almost unplayable bunkers… they have not been raked after the heavy prolonged rain and are compacted sand. A real shame but the course just felt a little neglected.

Juha Virta 2024-03-24
An old style course in nice though flat surroundings. Bunkers not as good as they should be. Otherwise course was playing rather well, some faiways and semi rough were patchy.

Eric Deprey 2024-03-14
Nice but a little bit old. Needs an ubgrade

Peter Basford 2024-03-03
Course is a very good layout, tight and tree lined. Fairways and greens in good condition.

Mikko Raunio 2024-02-10
Very good golf course, but sligthly outdated. Need better maintenance.

Ken MacDonald 2024-01-24
Tee's are in poor condition. Greens are not as good as other courses. The water on the course is stagnant, so there is a terrible smell when you are close to these areas.

Simon Hebden 2023-10-20
The course was not at its best. It needs a bit of TLC. We realise the climate has not helped.

Conor O'Brien 2023-10-17
Course was in very poor condition overall. Greens were ok but fairways were a disgrace with no grass cover on large areas of every fairway. Clearly there has been no investment at all in this once great course for the last number of years. Having played and enjoyed this course for many years in the past it saddens me to see it neglected so badly. Will not be booking it again unless it improves greatly and gets back to where it once was.

Trevor Shaw 2023-10-13
The course has a nice layout but unfortunately it wasn’t in the best of condition. When you pay too prices you expect courses to be in good confition.4

Conor Kavanagh 2023-10-11
Nice people...course in very poor condition

Iain Gorrie 2023-10-03
It was nice to play. The greens were good but the fairways very dry and dusty in places. Later in the round I got stuck behind some slow players who wouldn't let me through.

Dan Bodalen 2023-09-25
Good

Brian Macleod 2023-09-14
Course is looking tired . Tee boxes need maintained. Lots of bare patches on fairway and rough. Course layout is good, variety of hole shapes. Pity about condition

Stephen Richard Copley 2023-06-10
Nice to be back at Penina after a few years. Good experience in pro shop, caddy master and in after bar area. Course condition - the greens were ok and running well. The tee boxes and the fairways though were in very por condition and many times you were hitting of bare and uneven area , particularly the tees. A shame really as it’s reputation is being lowered as I had been made aware that this may be the case and sadly was

Michelle Bailey 2023-06-05
the course was very scrappy and not as well maintained as it should be for the price

Steve Jennings 2023-05-13
A course which needs some serious money spending on it. Teed and fairways and surrounding area poor. Greens excellent. Such a shame for what was an iconic course.

Mike Beetlestone 2023-05-12
Potentially a lovely course, but fairways in very poor condition, presumably because of dry weather but also sand in bunkers very poor quality

George Drummond 2023-05-09
A historic course but looking very tired and needs lots of TLC

Chris Fortescue 2023-05-01
Very slow service for lunch causing us to almost miss our tee time, course felt dated and lacked attention. Nowhere near as green as a lot of others we played and as the most expensive would not reccomend.

Tony Osborne 2022-11-28
Penina always a good test as it’s one of the longer courses. Was in good condition mainly. Greens were nice apart from last few which have some disease.

Gordon McCrae 2022-11-06
Not played here for a few years. Sadly it’s seen better days and the course, whilst still a challenge, is tired and the worst state I’ve ever seen it in. Looks like hardly anyone repairs their pitch marks anymore

Martin Punch 2022-11-02
Lovely course but has lost its attraction. Very poor maintenance and condition. Areas around bunkers not maintained with high grass growing on edge of bunkers. Will think twice about playing here again... Gramacho/Pinta better option for the same Rate.

John Shpughnessy 2022-10-25
Greens in good condition. Rest of the course a bit rough.

David Coleman 2022-10-22
Course good but not as well maintained as Amendoeira or Vilamoura courses.

Ian Holland 2022-10-20
Course set up was good but bad weather meant we could only play 16 holes

Liam Kearney 2022-10-15
Very good as usual but a little parched due to weather. Facilities well improved

Jim Houlihan 2022-10-12
Lovely course

Malc Kendall 2022-10-09
Course was a definite improvement on last year but still a little scruffy in some areas

Sarah Mugridge 2022-10-03
A bit scruffy looking was expecting a better quality course

Mogens Holst 2022-09-23
We had a fantastic day at Penina.

Ivan Taylor 2022-09-17
Everything was ok.

Andrew Leather 2022-08-11
Service was fine. First visit here for 4 years and was very disappointed with the condition of the tee boxes and fairways. Hope they can restore it to its past glories as it’s a great layout.

Bill Townson 2022-08-07
Service and access to the course excellent. So few playing sailed around. Having grown up around Penina and now making regular visits, its hard to take how run down the whole resort is. Pavements with holes, weeds, exposed cables in lakes, pitch marked greens, varied grasses on greens, worn out tees and threadbare fairways. Place in my heart but.....get the place back to 5 stars. Currently about 3 .

A Erkelens 2022-08-05
GoodCourse

Peter Stott 2022-07-21
We thought that the condition of the course was slightly under par and a littlke scruffy compared to when we've played previously.

Michael millership 2022-07-11
Course not best but booking experience great

Michael Duffy 2022-06-29
Pleasant as always, but gently faded in its beauty. Like all the courses around here, it exhibits a bit of “Long Covid”, by which I mean evidence of maintenance cutbacks and lack of investment. Still my favourite in these parts though. With a year or two of revenue bounce after Covid, hopefully Penina and others can be refreshed.

Gareth Toms 2022-06-23
The course was not in great condition but was ok

Dave Giles 2022-06-15
Very disappointed with course condition. Fairways very bare, tee boxes very bad and uneven, bunkers had very little sand so was like hitting concrete. It maybe classed as a championship course but i would not rate it due to how poorly it is maintained. I give it 3 stars as the greens were in good shape.

Keith Golesworthy 2022-06-10
Always enjoy Penina, but quieter so good to get around at a decent pace. Greens excellent, fairways have been better but it has been dry

Niels Henning Kristiansen 2022-05-30
Very bad fair ways and the the le course are not god looking to much dirth around

George Grant 2022-05-28
Very good

Dave Green 2022-05-25
Played here many times. This year the course was a little bit tired and needs a little bit of looking after to get it back in shape.

Marc Kanzler 2022-05-18
No starter at Tee 1, course has been in better condition

Nick Fry 2022-05-16
We thought the course was really tired and in need of serious investment. In poor condition, too many bare lies on fairways - won’t be going back until improvements happen

Balz Riesterer 2022-04-30
Penina Resort in general not in good condition. Looks run down, minimum of maintenance on the golf course. Greens in better condition than Faireways. Boggy path need repair. Money is needed to update Championship course.

Mark Mackenzie 2022-04-26
Course in good condition, especially the greens which were running true and reasonable quick. Pace of play was very fast and we were round in 4 hours as opposed to the 4.5 to 4.75 hrs for previous rounds. We were finished at 1430 and then had to wait until 1710 for transfer, despite telling first driver that we would be ready for pick up at 1630. I know it is difficult to know how fast you will go round course but maybe there should be a better system for communicating pick up times
Tee Times reply: Hello Mark
Glad you enjoyed the golf course. Sorry for delay on the pick up return. 40 minutes deserves another pint.

Peter Maxfield 2022-03-30
Excellent course and in very good condition

Barry Robson 2022-03-22
Penina Championship course is very ‘tired’ and In need of plenty of TLC.

Elizabeth Tolster 2021-11-22
We found the course interesting but it needs some maintenance - looks untidy and unkempt. The greens were ok, a bit pockmarked in places so your ball bobbles along. The toilet on the course was beyond disgusting, as was the gents toilet in the golf reception. The ladies was quite good.

Conor kavanagh 2021-10-08
Course in poor condition throughout.. Fairways like a rough...greens patchy. Nice staff though.

Boelscher 2021-09-19
A wonderful course and verry friendly people at reception and at Tee 1 for the Tee Off.

Ann Livingston 2021-08-03
Course in very poor condition. Fairways patchy and first cut bare in parts. Many greens diseased and pitch marks evident. Looks and feels very run down compared with less expensive courses we have played. Very disappointing.

Paul Bailey 2020-03-25
100%

Andy Green 2020-03-09
A classic layout in beautiful surroundings, we all agreed that it was as good as it was described in the brochure. A very pleasant, challenging and enjoyable experience. The golf staff were all very friendly helpful and professional annd a good time was had by all.

peter leicester 2020-02-26
Excellent course but packed with abysmal golfers. They let anyone on meaning rounds are way too slow.

Peter McFarlane 2020-02-20
Friendly welcome. Greens in fantastic condition. Course layout very good. Would recommend to anyone.

Steve Bassi 2020-01-27
Very enjoyable course as always.

Roger Hird 2020-01-21
An excellent experience - all went very well and as expected. The Penina Championship course was in excellent condition

Mr. Kim Breivik 2020-01-17
Lovely course that plays quite long. Ground is softer than most other courses so easier to keep the ball on the green but takes some adjustment.

Riitta Johansson 2019-11-12
Very fast greens, made putting difficult.

Bill McDonald 2019-11-07
Nice course

Ian Stokoe 2019-11-05
Much better condition than when we last visited.

Neil Wendel-Jones 2019-10-15
Everything excellent

Lee Donaldson 2019-10-08
Writing this as a tour organiser, 7 players handicaps 11 to 28. Teed off at 2 pm and not sure what the greens would have been like at the start of the day but looked and played like hundreds of players had been through them that day. Not the best for what we paid and although they won’t do anything about it the course should take this into account when setting their fees. Check in great, very professional welcome but the chance of getting a snack before the round was made so difficult by the unhelpful staff at the bar being able to take food requests, insisting we sit down at a set table, wait for a waiter to bring a menu, to place the order and sit inside when we wanted a simple sandwich and time to look at the facilities. Unviable to find out how long this would take we didn’t bother. All food looked overpriced. On course snack, although the food buggy person was nice, the 4 baguettes took 1.5 hours to deliver and was really disappointing. Again overpriced. The course has nice holes, walkable but a little bit too similar from one to the next. You pay for the history of the course, not the course itself.

Christian Overgaard 2019-10-08
Nice natural and old course. A bit narrow fairways herre and there, but you can allways find your ball among the trees and get on with the recovery shot. Charming place to visit.

Westley Macey 2019-10-01
Very nice course layout greens heavily pitch marked

Patricia Horstead 2019-09-18
Course was playable and we enjoyed our round. Pace of play was slow and the Marshall tried to move it along. Last 4 greens were heavily sanded which we weren’t appraised of.

glenn weston 2019-09-14
very nice course in good conition

Ian Beattie 2019-09-12
Poor meet & greet on arrival, had to find employee to ask where to check in when we arrived, course was great, good but expensive service in bar after golf

Harry Korver 2019-09-10
Friendly staff. Course in good condition though very wet.

Keith Walker 2019-07-31
Lovely course not quite in top condition, but still very enjoyable

Hugh O Farrell 2019-06-25
We enjoyed our 2 rounds on the Championship Course. However the changing room was of poor standard and urgently requires an update.

Terry Jackson 2019-06-23
Greens were good. Fees a bit high for what it is €165 2people with buggy, I understand from regulars that they charge €50 for a buggy which is a rip off,

Fallow 2019-06-03
Enjoyed playing the course which was in very good condition

Eamonn Ryan 2019-05-29
Great course. Enjoyed the experience!

Craig Frame? 2019-05-21
Good golf course, excellent layout, decent condition, greens were a bit slow

Mal McLaughlin 2019-05-03
Great Course but very very slow

Robert Adair 2019-04-26
Very well designed course. Needs a lot of thinking. Given the course's standing, it was a bit scruffy. Greens hard but fair. Not enough sand in some bunkers.

Michael Mullins 2019-04-23
It is just ok. Boring course Nothing exceptional. Still a good challenge

Mathew Astall 2019-04-17
Excellent condition. Look forward to returning.

Einar Magnusson 2018-11-05
Everything good the courses and servis.

Kevin Ephgrave 2018-10-26
Unfortunately didn't get to play whole round due to weather. Also very delayed from first tee due to slow and late arrivals in groups before us - even at 9am. Clear some in those groups could not play golf to any standard. 3 hours to play 9 holes, so very slow. won't be rushing back.

Jim Houlihan 2018-10-23
Lovely golf course and a real challenge. I will play again when back in the area

Dave Cooksey 2018-10-19
Very good course in good condition

Michael Cox 2018-10-11
Course is not in great shape too much traffic on the greens and unfortunately the visitors are not repairing their pitch marks and the course is starting to look its age but nevertheless it was a good experience.

Nick Jones 2018-10-07
Fabulous

Vincent Brennan 2018-10-04
I have been coming to the Algarve for 14 years now and have often played Penina as it is a great course. They used to ask for handicap certs which we didn't mind as we are all good golfers. Now it appears they will allow anyone on the golf course. As a result play has become really slow. We spoke to a ranger on the day and he just said it's all backed up because the course is full but when we got to the back nine we could see a large gap ahead of us. Even if there was no gap, this meant the golf course had put too many people out and didn't adhere to the 10 minute time slots. There is an academy course there for high handicappers and people with no handicap. The course should encourage or insist that these golfers use it instead of the Championship course. There was a lot of pitch marks left on the greens which were probably left by golfers who should have been on the academy course.

Stuart Massey 2018-09-18
All went very smooth great course one for the traditionalists

Steven lloyd 2018-09-16
Very enjoyable day ! Course good but not as good has either vale do lobo which was my favourite ! Or the Faldo !

Ruud van Henten 2018-09-08
Beautiful golf course. Waiting times ok

Mr Alan Cherry 2018-07-10
Excellent

Colin Thaw 2018-05-06
A tough but enjoyable round of golf in a very pleasant setting. Tee times provided an excellent service which was matched by Penina staff. Pleasant bar service provided in the ‘19th’ too.

Fieke 2018-05-03
Very nice and well maintained golf course. Very beautiful nature. Service was very good. We arrived a little bit earlier, and we could start straight away. Greens were fast, fairways were broad. For both a single handicap and for handicap of 20 a very nice course!

keith waldron 2018-04-17
when turning up at the pro shop they were ready with my Teetimes.pt booking info. They seemed to know who we were before we presented the Teetimes.pt voucher

Ian Morgan 2018-04-17
Rather disappointing, untidy. Very wet in comparison with other golf courses along the Algarve. Poor changing facilities.

Delaume Catherine 2018-04-15
A great course and very nice people

Franck Vetil 2018-04-03
tres beau terrain, bien entretenu, des greens roulants des fairway en super etat, on a pris du plasirs

Christopher Walder 2018-03-31
Excellent

Michael McKenna 2018-03-26
Fine golf course fairways needed growth some every bare lies.

Stephen Stock 2018-02-26
Slow round behind pros having a practice round preparing for pro tournament next day.

Michael J K Sanders 2018-01-27
Having played Penina, probably, 20 times in the past but not for the last 10 years, I was very disappointed with it’s presentation. Greens were as good as ever but the overall presentation was very scruffy.

Roberta alder 2018-01-16
Beautiful golf course. Traditional layout. Beautiful big greens in great condition.. wish it was more affordable as I would play it all the time.

Steve Bassi 2018-01-15
A great course, although the fairways and green surroundings were a bit scruffy, would play again.

Jan Vermeesch 2018-01-10
A bit dull golf-course without too many challenges or variations. Won't visit again. Great practise grounds however.

Yvonne Lee 2017-11-08
First time on the course. Not in a very good condition

David Phillips 2017-10-26
Was expecting better but still enjoyed

Mark Barnish 2017-10-20
Excellent professional set up course full but not overbooked so reasonable time for round. Course was a little tired in places and needs more attention to details

Martin Gallagher 2017-10-17
Played here many times, longest round I've ever played here at 5.5 hours

Neil williamson 2017-10-14
First time we've played Penina. Liked the course but condition wasn't great . Probably due to a lot of golf being played at the end of a busy year. Didn't realise there would be no buggies available either.

Güllering Axel 2017-10-14
Penina championsship is a Great course, Not easy with water and lots of Bunkers Around the Greens. But the course needs more professionel care.

Daniel Kirwan 2017-10-13
Nice course ..

Paul Maxwell 2017-10-09
some of greens not good but as ever a quality course

Mr Ian Littlejohn 2017-10-02
Top class course, and design makes it very similar to an English parkland course. A very good test

Denise Earley 2017-09-30
Again staff very nice but the course is showing a lot of wear and tear

Erich Renz 2017-09-26
werden wir nicht mehr spielen

Doug Smith 2017-08-13
This is a course not to be missed. The oldest course on the Algarve designed by Henry Cotton. It is like treading on hallowed ground. Beautiful design and mature. The greens were in excellent condition but some of the fairways were not in the best shape, hence the need for pick and place. Nevertheless the golf experience here is second to none.

Ray Lloyd 2017-07-09
Not as nice as it used to be but still one to add to the list.

Martin Punch 2017-05-16
Excellent course in great location

Jeff Bull 2017-04-18
We all enjoyed Penina golf course, even thougha little tired in places and could do with some investment. Off course for a supposed 5* establishment was dreadful. Service without a smile, did not have any food, and beer had RUN OUT. Would not return.

Sarah 2017-04-15
A bit untidy in parts

Simon Till 2017-04-13
Another favourite and again lived up to our expectations

Gerry Malone 2017-04-12
Tough course but would like to play it again.

John Lovett 2017-04-11
Wonderful experience, course was in excellent condition, and the weather perfect. Staff were attentive and helpful, overall a great day.

Lynn fletcher 2016-11-01
Excellent well kept and a good challenge

Marcus Williamson 2016-10-31
Penina was a course I've wanted to play for sometime & the layout didn't disappoint.The whole Penina experiance was good,Sir Henry Cotton designed.The course does however show that it's very overplayed & like most courses suffers from PITCH marks un-repaired (a pet hate)

Derek Thomas 2016-10-14
Not impressed

mike williams 2016-10-09
As always a pleasure to play.

Denis Earley 2016-10-02
Enjoyed the course some great holes

Bill Stubbins 2016-09-28
Very good course Excellent reception staff Should remove large (hidden) buried rock in bunker at hole 16. It nearly broke my club. Not very professional for such a course

Neil Burton 2016-09-23
Good, but course condition poor in places

Cheryl Myles 2016-09-17
Emailed separately because we really had a very poor experience. Waiting an hour for a buggy and there were so many people on the course it was very very slow. Yes it was a challenge but I wasn't particularly impressed with the course either.

Malcolm MacDonald 2016-09-16
Disappointing the course is in need of work to bring it up to its old standard. This was the most expensive course of the 6 we played and definitely the worst condition. With regards to the bar snacks awful.

John Graham 2016-09-12
Penina was ok , I enjoyed the fact that the course was long with some good set out holes , however we felt that overall each hole was similar

Geoff Corton 2016-07-30
Very long and difficult course but thoroughly enjpyable challenge.

PAUL BUTTERWORTH 2016-06-30
previously played in October 2015 and found the course scruffy and poorly maintained. Couldn't be more different this time (june 2016). great condition and well looked after. breakfast is expensive if your not a resident at the hotel, but the omelettes are well worth a try. will definitely be playing again.

Peter Watson 2016-05-05
Played the course for the third time and was a nice change from the more modern layout of the other courses played. The course needs some attention in places particularly some bare areas along the fairways and the bunkers.

stephen evans 2016-03-18
A bit scruffy in places, with the front nine offering nothing over a standard UK course. A few to many up and down parallel fairways for my liking. Greens where the best of the week. The back nine was a better challenge.

Neil McLeod 2016-02-04
Played Penina at the end of January. The course was extremely wet underfoot with every shot picking up mud on the ball. The course is without doubt well designed and mature but they will have to vastly improve fairway drainage and install pumps in certain areas to get this boggy ground sorted out. All the other pestana courses I played were dry under foot and were a pleasure to play. I would not play Penina again until they get this issue sorted

dave cooksey 2015-10-23
Good course

Robert Hopcroft 2015-10-19
Very good