Europe's hot new course: Portugal's Dunas course at Terras da Comporta

The course David McLay Kidd designed more than a decade ago is finally ready for its official opening October 5th.

Jason Scott Deegan

September 22, 2023

COMPORTA, Portugal - The new Dunas Course at Terras da Comporta could be a game-changer for golf in Portugal.

Golfers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and other cold-weather European climates have been migrating south to play in sunny Portugal for a generation now, but only recently have Americans started considering a visit. A new, top-ranked course by a highly respected course architect most American golfers know could be what Portugal needs to land on an overseas itinerary.

The Dunas Course, a David McLay Kidd design, is finally ready for its official opening Oct. 5 nearly 15 years after Kidd's original routing was first conceived. At one point nearly a decade ago, Kidd had nine holes ready to be seeded before the original developer went bust.

Enter Vanguard Properties – the largest real estate developer in Portugal - to see the course to fruition. During the pandemic, Kidd returned to make a few tweaks to his earlier work, resulting in a 6,646-meter, par-71 that has been generating buzz ever since drone shots first emerged last year.

A successful soft opening this year has helped build more anticipation. It could already be the best course in a country filled with quite a few good ones. It might not be a stretch, either, to call Dunas the best public/resort course to open in continental Europe in a decade or more.

"David did an amazing job on this property. He captured really well the shape of the land in what he has done," Golf Operations Manager Debora Andrade said. "It's fabulous. There is nothing like this in Portugal. For us, it's very exciting. We are excited to show what we have here, and most of the people who have come here and seen it think that it is a special place."

The Dunas Course channels similar vibes to DMK's Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Wisconsin. It's sandy, hilly and getting firmer and faster every day under the Portuguese sun. In fact, the club's superintendent recently toured Bandon Dunes and Sand Valley to learn insider secrets on how to get the fescue turf running like a links.

There's a handful of dynamic short par 4s where exposed sand forces players to take on a carry to achieve the reward. The par 3s all look like golf postcards.

Its location an hour south of Lisbon makes it easily accessible for a day trip from the city, or by golfers driving down to play in the Algarve. Eventually, the property will become a hub of homes, a hotel and a second course by Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.

The current green fee for Dunas is 175 Euros for a round with a cart and range balls. For a video tour, GolfPass members can check out episode six of our latest series, Golf's Greatest Holes: Portugal. For the rest of our readers, check out the incredible photography below. If golf in Portugal wasn't on your radar before, surely it is now.