February News...

Dear TSGers, this month's newsletter is part one of our two-part special on Golfing in Vilamoura. Today we cover the Laguna Resort with our March Newsletter focusing on Vale De Lobo. Meanwhile, back at TSG HQ, we are sad to report that our four-year partnership with Crown Golf as our official Club Partner is coming to an end at the end of March 2020. This means that we will no longer be able to give away a free round of golf with every Pro membership after this date. So, if you want to take advantage - now is the time to upgrade your TSG account to PRO status.

The good news is that TSG PRO members will still qualify to play at Crown courses at members Guest rates. Sadly, the last 12 month has seen the group sell a number of courses including TSG favourites, Stapleford Abbotts, The Hertfordshire and South Essex (home of this year TSG Masters). However, we would like to thank the Crown group for their support during the last four years, and I wish them well as their business takes a new direction. ‘Til next time...  Ian & The TSG Team

TSG Major's in 2020: The MatchPlayChampionship...

With the US Masters only 5 weeks away, and with our own TSG Masters event already a sell-out, we now turn our attention to the deadline for this years TSG MatchPlay Championship.

Closing date for entries to this event is the 10th MARCH 2020! 

Just add your name to the TSG MatchPlay - Group Page to see your name entered into the draw...

The TSG MatchPlay Championship - Venue to be confirmed - April to Sept (knock-out competition) - Final 6th September - Limited places for only 64 players - Play at The Final Day - Click Here

Golfing in Vilamoura - Part One: Laguna Resort…

In the first of two articles under the heading of ‘Golfing in Vilamoura’, we visited the renowned region of Portugal, Vilamoura. We visited four golf courses including the world-famous, Vale de Lobo and two other local courses, The Laguna and The Millenium.

Golfing in Vilamoura – Getting There:

As with all golf In The Algarve, you will probably be flying using either one of the low-cost airlines or via BA or a Portuguese airline.

My travel partners flew with EasyJet without any hassle, while I was charged £55 by Ryanair for not printing my boarding pass and not checking-in more than two hours prior to my flight. Seriously!

However, my mood quickly lifted when I arrived at Faro airport. As I was golfing in Vilamoura for the first time, I decided to try Uber rather than a traditional transfer service.  Having been quoted 36 euros for a pick-up and drive to Vilamoura, I was very impressed to only pay 21 Euros and Jose was so helpful and polite. For the four day trip, we never paid more than 4 euros to get anywhere in the area.

Golfing in Vilamoura – Accommodation/Room:

Laguna Resort apartments are walking distance from The Dom Pedro courses Including The Laguna, The Millennium and The Victoria (which was host to the Portuguese Masters in Autumn of 2019.) Often on a golf trip, your priority is to pay as little as possible for your accommodation in order to afford more golf. However, we couldn’t have been more impressed with our apartment chosen by golf specialist and TSG travel partner – Golf Escapes. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the layout and decor, twin balcony and two bathrooms, made this as good an apartment as I’ve had the pleasure of staying in, anywhere. On a golf course or not….including Rocco Forte 5star golf complex in Sicily!

Golfing in Vilamoura – Laguna Clubhouse:

Having caught the early flight from Stansted, not wanting to waste any time, we headed for the Laguna resort which is home to the above mentioned, Millennium and Laguna courses. The clubhouse and shop are large and clean and the changing rooms, while not as stunning as Vale De Lobo (see next month’s March newsletter for review), is still a step up from your average UK Clubhouse. There is a large patio area overlooking four holes and they offer both reasonably priced and very tasty sandwiches as well as a full a la Carte menu.

As you know, with any club in Spain or Portugal, there is always a senior golf pro on hand to chat to, who can tell you the history of the place. And it was here I met ‘Joaquin’, who was quick to ask where we were from and how long we were staying. He shared his stories of playing in the UK in his early years. He was also keen to show me some of his vintage golf magazine from the ’80s. I think Senhor Catarina would have happily talked all day but alas, I was due on the tee in 3 mins. As much as I wanted to chat more, I really wanted to play. However, I didn’t miss the opportunity to tell him about The Social Golfer Family but I fear the concept did not translate well. The younger (much younger) staff member listening to our conversation, got it immediately “ah, so it’s like Tinder for golfers”, “not quite” I quickly retorted…but he had a point!

Golfing in Vilamoura – Day one – Millennium:

We opted to play the newest course, The Millennium, on our first day. We had been advised it was flat and a good way to break yourself into a four-day tour.

Wow! I loved this course. With gentle undulation, playable fairways and although narrow for many courses in the Algarve, it was more forgiving than most of England’s courses. This is the newer of the two courses – it was immaculate. Dry fairways, fine grass, a plethora of shady areas and not a single pitch mark to be found on any green until the 17th hole. The greenkeepers should be warmly applauded for preparing this course so well.

Note: the greens here are ‘lightning-fast’, so be prepared to three-putt a lot until you’ve been here a few days. My only criticism would be that some of the tee boxes are not entirely flat, so place your tee peg wisely. That said, each hole is very different and you would have to play this track many times before you got bored. We teed off at 2 pm (walking) and were finished by 6 pm (sunset in February). I will definitely return here. 

18 holes – Cost = 71 euros

Golfing in Vilamoura – Day two – Laguna:

On returning to The Clubhouse on day two, we choose to play late morning at 11 am on Laguna. The temperature was 19c, there was a cool breeze, but the strong sunshine still meant the need for sunscreen. Yet by 3.30 pm I was pulling on a light jumper e.g perfect golf weather.

This course, despite being less distance on the card than the Millennium and with shorter distances between holes, it’s less forgiving, so took 40 minutes more to play. One thing I do like here is the club’s insistence on how long you should take to go round. Something many clubs in the UK should adopt. I know this a constant bone of contention all around the world but IMHO, it’s just considerate and good manners to keep up the pace of play. If you’re holding up the groups behind, let them through. But back to the golf…

Golfing in Vilamoura – Food:

You are never going to be short of choice for beautifully prepared, fresh and fragrant food in Portugal with seafood and steak in abundance... READ MORE

TSG Player of the Month (sponsored by www.2fore1.co.uk)

Mark O'Neill - Eastbourne Downs GC in with an EXCEPTIONAL Stableford score = 43. 

Well done to Mark. This is his FIRST win on the TSG Leaderboard. For this accolade, you receive the TSG GREEN towel and automatically qualify for the TSG Masters 2020!

H'cap change: 25.5 to 20.7                                                     BUY YOUR OWN TSG TOWEL

For further details, email us at info@golf-escapes.com or click on the link below. Or CALL a member of the team on 01342 811 777

DONT FORGET EVERY TSG PRO MEMBER GETS A FREE £25 voucher with Golf Escapes!

(mention at time of booking to qualify!)

Course Review of the Month: Waterhall GC, Brighton, East Sussex, UK

"Excellent views (probably)..."

It wasn't really tricky finding Waterhall GC, as my GPS pretty much led me to the front door, but seeing it was another matter. The mist meant that greens were often hidden until the last minute (which gave me a perfect excuse for my score!). This was a shame though, as from what I could tell there are some excellent holes and wonderful views.

The course plays out in two loops, first returning you to the clubhouse at the 7th, and then you don't see it again until the 18th (in the weather we had today, we almost never saw it at all!). This isn't a flat course, I barely even remember a flat hole, so if you have any issues with climbs then maybe give it a miss.

The holes I remember most are the 9th, 10th, and (I think) the 14th. All of them involve a climb to the green, and I imagine all are very pleasing on the eye in good weather. There's been a lot of wet weather over the previous couple of months, and the expectation might well have been a course that's been struggling to cope. This is especially so given that it rained throughout our round. However, apart from a number of very damp tees, thanks to the chalk base it was pretty much water off a duck's back.

The greens, which were frequently small, scarcely look troubled by the rain. Most of the fairways were very generous, and I imagine that it's a course that people can score well on. The bunkers didn't look especially great though.

The shame is that this course is due to close by the council at the end of March due to poor numbers. It's one I'd happily travel to play. My hope is to play it again over the next couple of months and maybe see it on a sunny day. I imagine it's well worth seeing.

Nev Smith - Berkshire (H'cap 22)