Portugal – A World-Class Golf Destination

Jorgen Kirchhoff
Dec 13, 2025
3 min read

Why golfers around the world keep choosing Portugal

Summary

Portugal was just named World’s Best Golf Destination 2025!

For us golfers, this isn’t just a title — it’s a confirmation of the quality, nature, value and atmosphere that define golf here.

Portugal’s Global Golf Recognition

Portugal won the title World’s Best Golf Destination 2025 at the World Golf Awards — one of the industry’s most respected honours.

It’s not the first time Portugal receives this award, and the repeated recognition highlights something:

You should go there! - again?

From dramatic coastal courses to calm resort layouts, the country continues to stand out — not only for design and scenery, but also for consistency and climate.

More Than Golf: A Leading Travel Destination

Portugal’s excellence goes further.

At the World Travel Awards, the country has repeatedly been named:

Europe’s Leading Destination
World’s Leading Destination

These awards confirm that the overall travel experience — the culture, the food, the coastline, the safety, the hospitality — is among the very best anywhere.

For golf travellers, this combination matters.

A great round becomes even better when the days around it feel effortless and inspiring.

What Makes Portugal Special for Golfers

Portugal is a small country at the very edge of southern Europe, with a long west-facing coastline shaped by the Atlantic.

Wild, beautiful and open.

Beaches almost all the way down.

Light, wind, space and nature playing a constant role.

That alone explains part of the appeal.

But it doesn’t explain why Portugal keeps being named one of the world’s best destinations — and one of the world’s best golf destinations.

For me, the answer goes deeper.

What makes Portugal special is the feeling that what you see is what you get.

Not only in the landscapes, but in everyday life.

The Portugal you meet here feels honest.

Away from the big tourist areas, very little is built to impress.

Cafés can look plain, even when they sit in incredible surroundings.

Restaurants may be simple, sometimes even placed along busy roads, without much thought for atmosphere or design.

And yet, they are full of locals.

It’s not about staging an experience.

It’s about living everyday life.

You don’t get a version of Portugal created for visitors.

You get Portugal as it is.

That honesty is hard to define, but easy to feel.

And once you notice it, you understand why so many people keep coming back.

Golf is the exception — and that matters

Golf in Portugal is different.

It’s not a reflection of everyday Portuguese life in the same way cafés, restaurants and towns are.

And that’s important to understand.

If golf courses had simply followed the logic of daily life here, they might have been built next to busy roads, with little focus on atmosphere or design.

That’s not what happened.

Instead, Portugal made deliberate choices.

They invested in great locations, respected architects and long-term quality.

The result is golf courses that work with the landscape, the wind and the light — and that feel thoughtful rather than forced.

That contrast is part of what makes golfing in Portugal special.

You experience the country as it truly is off the course.

And then you step onto courses that are calm, well-designed and world-class.

It’s not a contradiction.

It’s a balance.

And it’s one of the reasons Portugal works so exceptionally well as a golf destination.

How WestGolf Portugal sees it

At WestGolf Portugal, we don’t believe Portugal could be named the world’s best golf destination without also being one of the world’s best destinations.

For us, the perfect golf trip has always been about more than just golf.

We live here. We see the country every day — not as visitors, but as locals.

And that’s why we choose carefully.

We only recommend courses, hotels and places we truly believe in — and nothing we wouldn’t choose ourselves.

Our tips and recommendations are built on honesty, not marketing.

Because showing the real Portugal — as it is — is the best way we know to help you enjoy it.