Golf real estate intrudes on a would-be gem in Portugal at Praia D'el Rey

Beautiful golf courses that fall victim to heavy surrounding real estate are nothing new in golf. Golf is a business, and if you can sell homes on fairways that will profit, so be it.

That’s why we call it “Capitalism” and not “Pretty-golf-course-ism“.

But that doesn’t mean us golf nuts think intrusive real estate ruins great, more natural courses believe it’s right.

What bugs me the most about the Marriott Praia D’El Rey resort on the west coast of Portugal is all the glossy course pictures that show nothing but serene fairways and greens nestled against undisturbed coastline. Yet when you play, you see more cranes than natural shoreline and hear more “clanks!” than waves crashing on beaches.

Some other travel writers I played with likened the build-up to Cabo’s golf resorts in Mexico.
In 2005, Golf World put Praia D’El Rey 13th in continental Europe and 80th on Earth.

Don’t get me wrong, the course - as a golf course - is still very good, but I can’t see it being a Top 100 course anymore. A course where I have to back off shots because of a “clank!” in my setup or backswing doesn’t belong among the elite. I’d rather play Oitavos or the classic Estoril down the road.

But there are great views at Praia D’El Rey too. Holes 12 thru 15 puts you right on the edge of the Atlantic. But simply cock your head to the right and you’ll see cranes, a giant “sales office” banner hanging from a porch and tons of houses (or do we call them villas?).

For now, if you can stomach the occassional “clank!” in your backswing or crane in your sightline, the course is a great play. If not, maybe wait until the course is built up entirely in a few years so at least it won’t be so loud.

By the way…any of you golf travelers should check out TravelGolf.com photo galleries, taken by writers - not PR or marketing people. We aren’t pro photogs, so chances are few shots will make it framed above your fireplace. But we show courses like they are. We take shots of the pretty stuff, but try and catch the ugly, too. I hope all of you considering which courses to play in Vegas, Myrtle Beach or Europe take advantage of this.

*Sometimes flatter courses look unjustly ugly from our photo galleries, I should say, because we can’t jump in helicopters or ladders to get more stunning shots of the hole, like pros do. Getting some elevation and the right sunlight is key to making a golf course look good (not to mention Photoshop).

Oitavos Golf Club an hour down the road in Cascais on the other hand has done its development more tastefully. There is residential development at its Club de Marinha resort, sure, but it’s away from the course mostly. A hotel is set to be built to the left of the 18th in the coming years, but the rest of the housing lies on the course’s perimeter. No cranes, no “clank!", just great, undisturbed Atlantic Ocean views. Europe’s first Audubon sanctuary course, Oitavos has committed to ensuring the natural shoreline stays in tact.

I commend them for that.

If I was a bigtime corporate resort I’d probably build a course any way I can if the cash was there. After all, the kids need their PS3s, right? But I’m not a suit, I’m a golf lover, and it’s a bummer Praia D’El Rey just gets a little worse each time you hear “clank".

You’ll find both stunning views and lots of construction at Praia D’El Rey in Portugal.