Lisbon's Golf Coast in Portugal honored "Best European golf destination" by industry peers

The pros in the European golf travel industry have spoken, and this year the best spot for golf in Europe is Portugal’s other golf destination.

The International Association for Golf Tour Operators, 1000 members strong, voted and awarded the prize to the Lisbon Golf Coast.

The coastline, which encompasses Estoril, Sintra Golf Coast, Costa Azul Golfe and Golfoeste, features 22 golf courses - about a dozen less than the Algarve - and incredible weather year round. The historic capital city of Lisbon, Cintra and Atlantic coastline and other attractions give the area an added edge.

“In the Algarve, you’ve got 35 great courses, all in great shape. At the end of the day you go to the pub and have a beer, and that’s it,” Oitavos Golf Club’s Frederico Champalimaud told me on WorldGolf.com Sweet Spots. “In Lisbon, it’s one of the most historical cities in all of Europe. With Sintra, the Estoril casino, racetrack. Most major events in Portugal happen within 30 miles of our golf course. You can mix culture, history and golf.”

And surfers totally dig the coast’s gnarley waves, dude.

Over half of visitors to the area surveyed said they intended to return, and 99.8% would recommend the region to a friend - two factors weighed heavily in the vote. Many Scandinavians and Brits with lots of extra cash to throw around (must be nice having a strong currency…jerks) is their main demographic, too.

Having recently visited the coast myself, I would have to say that the golf is certainly world class, starting with Oitavos and then classic Estoril and then Praia D’El Rey (great course, crummy construction). The people of the Lisbon area take great pride in welcoming their guests. Hotels like the Mirage (a bigger, business class hotel) and the incredibly cozy Albatroz Hotel, the front-runner in where I’ll spend my honeymoon eventually, are friendly and polished.

This isn’t your Scotland, Myrtle Beach, Algarve trip where it’s all golf, all the time. But when you are on the course, it certainly isn’t conceding much.

Other regions to receive nominations this year are the Algarve (2005 winner), six destinations in Spain, three in Ireland and three in Scotland.

Taking home the “undiscovered” award was the mighty Czech Republic in Central Europe.

Oitavos anchors the award-winning Lisbon Golf Coast region.