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Penina
Penina is 45 Miles from Casa Esperanca but is well worth the trip for
any golfer. Penina is truly a championship course of remarkable
quality.
Founded: 1966
Architect: Sir Henry Cotton
Holes: 18
Length: 6273 mtrs Yellow
Par: 73
The Penina course created by Sir Henry Cotton, is now a monument to his
memory. Penina was the first course to be built in the Algarve and it
was inaugurated by the President of the Republic in 1966. The area
used to be a rice-field and it is now surrounded by tall, wide-trunked,
trees.
Cotton used the drainage ditches of the rice-field to define fairways
in some places, and hazards in others. He enlarged them at strategic
places modifying their banks by raising them and concealing the water
hazards from the less cautious golfers. More than 360,000 trees were
planted, dividing fairways, defining greens, giving a different
character to each hole.
In front of the hotel, a new nine hole course called Resort course (ex
- Monchique) was created later on, to satisfy the needs of more and
more clients and to allow for maintenance on the main course. A small
layout with very short holes for beginners, the Academia course (ex -
Quinta), was also built, among the fairways of the Championship
course. The extensive driving-range is very well managed and there is
also a huge putting-green with an area of about 1000 square metres,
making Penina a superior quality practice centre.
The par of the Penina course is 73 (35+38) with the second nine both
beginning and finishing with two consecutive par 5's, which is not
usual. The first hole, a 41 l -metre par 4, almost long enough to be a
conventional 5, is rather difficult and has a green which is more than
35 metres long, requiring careful choice of the approach iron to be
played. To close the first nine there is another hole over 400 metres
long with a dogleg to the left and also a long double tiered green,
well defended by three bunkers. The l3th hole, a 208-metre par 3 lies
alongside a lake, with a bunker defending the right of the green, and
is one of Penina's challenging holes.
For Further information on Penina please visit the Official Website by
clicking the following link
www.lemeridien-penina.com
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