Spain & Portugal

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Real Club Valderrama is the centrepiece, the only course outside Britain and America ever to have hosted the Ryder Cup, ranked number one in continental Europe since the late 1980s and in the world's top 100 every year since 1990. Its cork-lined fairways, precise demands, and immaculate conditioning set a standard that every course in southern Spain measures itself against. Real Club Sotogrande opened in 1964 as Robert Trent Jones's first European design and remained one of his five personal favourites among more than 500 courses he built in his lifetime. La Reserva climbs through Andalusian hills above the Sotogrande estate, Cabell Robinson's undulating layout offering panoramic views of the Mediterranean and Gibraltar. San Roque's Old Course brings Seve Ballesteros into the itinerary directly. Dave Thomas designed the layout but Ballesteros reshaped every bunker on the course, his touch evident throughout 18 holes set on a forested aristocratic estate with views of the sea through the cork oaks. And Finca Cortesin, host of the 2023 Solheim Cup and home to one of Europe's longest championship layouts, completes an itinerary of five courses so varied in character and so consistent in quality that it rivals any golf trip on the continent.

The sunshine is guaranteed. The golf is extraordinary. The only question is how long to stay.

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The south remains exceptional. Quinta do Lago has hosted the Portuguese Open multiple times on a resort that has been one of Europe's most celebrated golf destinations since Andre Jordan first developed the 550-hectare estate in the early 1970s. Vale do Lobo sits alongside it on the Ria Formosa, two courses of genuine championship quality on a coastline of pine trees, golden cliffs, and the Atlantic beyond. Vilamoura, the largest purpose-built resort in Europe, has been producing great golf since the 1960s across a collection of courses that range from the historic to the recently redesigned. Finca Cortesin rounds out the southern circuit with a 2023 Solheim Cup host course of rare ambition and a five-star resort to match. Monte Rei is Jack Nicklaus's only Signature course in Portugal, consistently ranked number one in the country since opening in 2007, set on 1,000 acres between the Serra do Caldeirão mountains and the Atlantic.

An hour north of Lisbon, the Silver Coast has emerged as Portugal's most exciting new golf region. Oitavos Dunes sits on the Estoril Coast within the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, ranked 55th in the world by Golf Magazine, its three distinct landscapes of umbrella pines, dunes, and open Atlantic coastline producing one of the most varied and beautiful rounds in southern Europe. Praia D'El Rey plays through pine forest and dunes above a golden Atlantic beach, Cabell Robinson's design regularly voted among the top courses in Portugal since opening in 1997. And West Cliffs, the first Dye family course in Portugal, opened in 2017 directly alongside it on a 200-hectare property of rolling sand dunes and coastal vegetation, with the Atlantic visible from every hole.

Two regions. Year-round sunshine. Golf that keeps getting better the further you explore.