Golf Round-Up
54
Qu in ta do L a g o S o u th
MAKEOVER In 2020, when many golf courses in the Algarve were operating within budget constraints, Quinta do Lago’s owner, Irishman Dennis O’Brien, took the opposite approach and invested 7 million euros in a complete overhaul of Quinta do Lago South. The clubhouse serving both North and South courses was also given a stylish makeover and a new fleet of electric buggies purchased. “Obviously Covid 19 was not something we would have wished for but we decided to make the best of a bad situation,” says Golf Director, Brian Evans. “The pandemic gave us the opportunity to close the course for six months – something that for a popular course like Quinta do Lago South would have been unthinkable under normal circumstances.”
Being 45 years old, the course was in need of renovation. When it was built, little thought was given to environmental concerns such as water preservation and limiting the use of pesticides. The recent renovation has addressed these issues. The footprint of the fairways has been reduced with a lot of the grass being taken up and replaced with brown pine bark. This reduces water consumption and has the advantage of providing better definition of where the fairways start and finish. And as Brian points out, the dark bark makes it easier to find any balls that stray off line, which has the advantage of speeding up play. Another environmentally friendly change was the reseeding of the fairways, green surrounds and tees
F O U R S E A S O N S FA I R WAY S M A G A Z I N E
