Tróia Golf — Local services in Grândola

I’ve been coming to Tróia for over 30 years and I still get excited walking over the bridge to the first tee. Yes, there is no doubt that the course is a little frayed at the edges and the soon to be implemented upgrade will be welcomed. For me, this Robert Trent Jones Snr’s masterpiece is still enchanting and a great test of any golfer’s skills (Regardless of handicap or ability) .The hoarde’s of ‘weekend warrior’ golfer’s (from all over Europe and further afield) who arrive each year in Portugal, with their ‘Matching Group shirt’s’ and sleeves of brand new ProV1’s, get ripped off in the South. They play over on overpriced and over used (and inferior IMO) courses, because the clubs can charge what they want. Troia at €90 (€80 if you play later) is almost a third of the €262 being asked at ‘The Old Course’ in Villamoura in this ‘High’ season. There is no comparison in the challenge, beauty or playability of the two. You won’t lose a dozen ProV’s (or Top Flite’s) at Troia, even if you hit it like John Daly (after a week on the Super Bock!) Troia is forgiving, yet demanding and once you’ve played it once, you will be hooked and want to return, again and again. Now that Dunas and Torre are open for business, just down the road near Comporta, this region will prosper and become a must ‘Go to’ area for real golfer’s and even the ‘Boy’s (or Girl’s) on tour’ brigade. Ok, the night life is limited unless you stay in Setubal or Lisbon and come over on the ferry but if your golf trip is more about the golf than falling out of a bar two hours before your tee time, then come here instead of the Algarve. You can get from Albufeira in 2.5 hours if you really need a few late nights but my advice would be to play Troia at least twice in a trip. The course is playing lovely atm. The Green’s are true and the tee’s and fairway’s are in decent condition (They need a little TLC) but are better than most of the courses that I played on in the Algarve throughout September/October. You ARE penalised by not hitting the fairway, but that is part of the game and once you’ve easily found your ball, it should be ‘get it back in play’ time for all but the best and the fool’s! I would advise bringing some sort of yardage assistance, as there are a few distance markers missing on the course and even after seeing the number flash up, you should always ‘Club up’ as the distances are deceiving and you will need to carry the ball ‘in the air’ on most holes due to RTJ bunkering. Lastly, take note of the pin position’s for the day before playing (it is displayed at reception) and refer to the scorecard during the round to identify where on the green the pin is. There can be two/three club differences on some greens! There is some building work at the back of the first green and to the left of the second hole and I assume it’s the beginning of more development in the general area (This won’t affect most) . A massive bonus is the course is underplayed (compared to the Algarve) and you may find that you are almost playing ‘Millionaires golf’ for price of your local course at home. Last but not least, all the staff are extremely friendly, and a special mention to Andreia & her colleague Amanda at reception. It’s always nice to be greeted with smiles before parting with your hard earned Euro’s. Before the upgrades and presumably, increased green fee’s arrive, put this course on your list to play and you won’t be disappointed. Hope this helps a few...

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME. I paid $327€ for my wife and I to play 18(100€ each) , including rental clubs (35€ for pitiful 10club sets that were old and in terrible condition) and a buggy (cart) for 40€. Back home in Oregon, this is a $35/round course during the peak of golf season, that you can walk on to anytime because nobody cares to play there.

We really wanted (when I say we, I mean me) to play golf while in Portugal. We were hoping for a well groomed course with scenic views like website photos show and price reflects, it was no where close. Sadly we drove 1hr20min and wasted 7hrs of one of the two days we were in the country. I would have rather played the same putt putt course 30 times in a row.

The course was in HORRIBLE condition. Tee boxes have no detail information, fairways and greens have divots and weeds everywhere, and the whole course is greatly dehydrated; I’m not even sure if I played on grass or some weird moss species. Cart paths will make you laugh and on-course directions are inaccurate and useless. They only have “distance to pin” markers on roughly 4/18 holes. No on course bathrooms, no water jugs, and no beverage cart. At least let me get drunk while you stick it to me. We rented clubs yet we had to pay for balls AND tees??? Common sense says someone who is renting clubs from out of town (disclosed) will also need balls and tees and therefore should be included in the rental price or mentioned during our pre-arrival communication, I would think.

Overall terrible experience that my wife will surely never let me forget. (So much for future destination golf trips.) Hoping this review will save another hopeful golfer the shame and embarrassment that I feel now. Shame on you Tróia, you heartless wannabe of a course.

The only positives that I have to say are, the lady in the bar who sold me my water was sweet and I’m thankful our cart didn’t die on us through the round.

Google needs to enable a RED X category as a rating, just for...

Good course, not sure how they make money - I was one of at most 10 people golfing on a Friday (noon tee-off). Course is a nice design, but in need of water. Small things that need improvement: signage on the course is terrible. For example, leading up to the 16th green there is nothing to tell you where the next hole is - but some 30 yards past the green I finally found the sign. Others point roughly in the proper direction (but can be off by 90 degrees - really!). Why do you want your guests to guess!? Driving in past the gate beware - there is a 3" piece of metal jutting out of the ground waiting to shred your tires (to lock the gate after hours). How hard is it to fix that? I spent 35 Euros renting clubs - 10 of them. No 3 or 4 iron/hybrid, no 52 or 60 degree wedge. Uggghhh. No water on the course. No toilet on the course. I bought 2 sleeves of balls, but only needed one - couldn't return the other. On course hole maps are sadly lacking in detail. Course map is also lacking in detail, or have details that don't exist (some fairway bunkers shown were not actually on the course). The entire Troia peninsula gas beautiful sand, but I swear the sand bunkers are are compacted. The course doesn't open until 8am!! I prefer to tee off before 7am. I rented a push cart - cheapest cart ever. Maybe 30cm (1 foot) diameter narrow wheels which make it impossible to push through the sand. I hate pulling a cart... Plus the bag would fall off because there are no straps to hold it in place. No beer carts on the course!!! I know, maybe I should have...