- Palmares Ocean Living & Golf has completed a summer improvement programme.
- Wider fairways, resurfaced tees, rebuilt bunkers, short game area and a larger putting green.
- Changes to irrigation are intended to cut the area the resort waters by 20 per cent.
Palmares Ocean Living & Golf has finished a programme of upgrades to its 27 holes and practice facilities. The work softens how the Western Algarve layout defends its greens and reduces how much of the property needs watering.
The Alvor, Lagos and Praia loops were all renovated over the summer. The work covered conditioning, playing surfaces and landscaping. A new short game area and a larger putting green have been built, the greenkeeping fleet has been replaced, and maintenance and irrigation practices are being changed.
The resort is managed by Details – Hospitality, Sports, Leisure, Portugal’s largest golf course operator. Nuno Sepulveda, the company’s co-CEO, gave the reason for the work:
“As the management company, we took a hard look at the resort and it was clear this was what was needed to bring the golf course back up to the standards that a place like Palmares deserves.”
What has changed on the course?
Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects (RTJ II) has been involved in the project.
“We’ve increased the ‘fun factor’ for golfers of all skill levels by widening fairways and incorporating short grass as a defence instead of sand bunkers on many green complexes,” said Bruce Charlton, the firm’s president. “We’ve also updated tee surfaces and bunkers.”
All the tees are being resurfaced with a grass the resort says is better suited to the Algarve climate. Every bunker is being rebuilt with new sand, and some are being moved and reshaped in line with Trent Jones Jr’s original design strategy.
The changes are more noticeable than what was expected when we played the Almond Blossom Tournament at Palmares in January. At that point no major changes to the course design were planned, and investment was focused on water efficiency. That visit found tightly mown, well-drained fairways, consistent bunkers and very quick, sometimes fiercely undulating greens, despite the Algarve’s wettest January in a decade.
Cutting the irrigated area
Water efficiency is still central to the project. The greenkeeping team will concentrate watering on the primary playing surfaces, with the aim of reducing the irrigated area by 20 per cent. The resort expects this to lower operating costs as well as water use.
The course and the wider resort
Palmares opened as an 18-hole course designed by Harry Pennink in 1975. Trent Jones Jr later redesigned some of the existing holes and added a third nine. The three loops start and finish beside the elevated clubhouse and run down towards Meia Praia and the Bay of Lagos. The Alvor is mainly parkland, the Lagos mixes parkland and links, and the Praia crosses the railway line to play links-style golf among the dunes.
The 200-hectare resort has also opened Signature Residences and a new signature restaurant, Preceito, in 2026. Its clubhouse, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning RCR Arquitectes, was named World’s Best Clubhouse at the 2025 World Golf Awards. Palmares has also joined the European Tour Destinations network. Portugal’s first JW Marriott hotel is due to open at the resort in 2028.
Gonzaga Liniers, who became general manager as the renovation got under way, said he expects Palmares to be positioned as one of Europe’s best golf destinations within two years.
Part of a wider Details programme
Details, which is owned by Arrow Global, has been renovating courses across its portfolio. In September, Monte Rei’s Nicklaus-designed North Course reopened after a six-month renovation of its greens, bunkers, irrigation and practice facilities. Sepulveda said it “made perfect sense for Palmares to be next.”
Palmares is one of 13 golf venues managed by Details. The others include Vilamoura Golf, PGA Aroeira Lisboa, Troia Golf, Monte Rei, San Lorenzo, Vale Pisão and, since the company took on its first project outside Portugal, the former Donnafugata resort in Sicily.
For more information on Palmares Ocean Living & Golf, click HERE.
Related: Monte Rei North Course Reopens After Six-Month Algarve Renovation
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.