Pestana Alto Golf

Henry Cotton’s last course, above Alvor.

Alto Golf was the last course designed by Sir Henry Cotton, the three-times Open champion who helped start Algarve golf at Penina in the 1960s. It opened in 1991 on high ground at Quatro Estradas, just inland from the fishing town of Alvor. Pestana runs it with Gramacho, Vale da Pinta and Silves Golf. It is short by modern standards and one of the cheapest courses in the group. Come for value, an easy-going round and a western Algarve base.

Pestana Alto Golf green fees and tee times.

Book online through Pestana Golf’s booking site, or call the course on +351 282 460 870. The central Pestana Golf line is +351 282 340 900 and the email is info@pestanagolf.com; the office is open 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 9:00 to 17:00 at weekends. The handicap limit is 36 for men and women. Report to the starter at least five minutes before your time. In busy periods the club may put smaller groups together to make up four-balls.

The round, in perspective.

The scorecard shows a par 70 of 5,432 metres from the white tees, 5,178 from the yellows and 4,671 from the reds. Each nine is par 35, and there are three par 5s: the 5th, then the 16th and 18th on the way home. The 3rd, a 400-metre par 4, is stroke index 1. The back nine has three par 3s, the 11th at just 111 metres, and the 13th is a 235-metre par 4 that tempts long hitters. Pestana describes the course as a real challenge, and short holes do not mean easy ones: the rules set a four-and-a-half-hour limit for 18 holes.

Know before you go.

Handicap limit

36 men and women

Round time

Maximum 4 hours 30 minutes

Dress

Golf shoes; no casual shorts, jeans, sleeveless shirts or tracksuits

Buggies

90-degree rule at all times

Twilight

From 15:00

Make the trip work.

Pestana’s three price bands make timing easy: December, January and summer are the cheapest at €73, and March, April and October are the dearest at €131. Twilight from 15:00 costs €45, which is hard to beat in the Algarve. Hire rates are €45 for TaylorMade clubs, €55 for a buggy, €30 for an electric trolley and €10 for a pull trolley; a 50-ball range token is €7. The summer offer of two players and a shared buggy runs June to August, and at a higher rate in late May and September.

Faro airport is about 70 km east, around 50 minutes to an hour on the A22 motorway. The course is at Quinta do Vale, Quatro Estradas, between Alvor and Portimão. Portimão has a railway station on the Algarve line, but a car or taxi is needed for the last stretch. Lagos is about 20 minutes west.

Where it is.

Nearby: 1. Palmares Ocean Living & Golf (6 km) · 2. Pestana Carvoeiro: Vale da Pinta & Gramacho (7 km) · 3. Boavista Golf & Spa (13 km) · 4. Silves Golf (14 km) · 5. Espiche Golf (17 km) · 6. Amendoeira Golf Resort: Faldo Course (19 km)

Somewhere to settle in.

Pestana lists the Alvor Atlântico tourist apartments among its golf properties, and its golf packages can include accommodation. Alvor itself has small hotels and apartments around the old fishing quarter. Praia da Rocha, south of Portimão, has high-rise hotels on a long beach. Carvoeiro, 20 minutes east, suits a group splitting its rounds between Alto and Pestana’s Carvoeiro courses.

Make a trip of it.

Gramacho and Vale da Pinta, Pestana’s pair at Carvoeiro, are on the same price list and about 20 minutes away. Penina, Cotton’s first Algarve course, is a few minutes from Alto. Westwards, Palmares and Boavista at Lagos and Espiche near Luz are under half an hour. Off the course, walk the boardwalk across the Ria de Alvor dunes, and eat grilled fish in Alvor.

Find your season.

Golf runs all year. The cheapest months at Alto are the coolest, December and January, and the hottest, June to August. Spring and October carry the premium rate. The western Algarve is often breezier than the Vilamoura end of the coast.