The first golf course was created in Portugal in 1890. The sport was introduced by the British when British wine exporters settled in the country. It is in the Oporto Region that the story begins, more precisely in Espinho, where the Oporto Golf Course is. This golf course is Europe’s second oldest and hosts the Skeffington Cup every year since 1891 without ever having been postponed or cancelled. This tournament is played during the Espinho Golf Week where contestants compete for three famous cups: the Skeffington, the Kendell and the Dockery.

Thanks to its good weather, Portugal is a great wedding destination to play golf all year-round.

Some courses have been designed by world-renowned architects such as Henry Cotton, Rocky Roquemore and Arnold Palmer, that is why with about 80 courses throughout the country, most of them are famous worldwide. Also because of their high quality, good conditions and beautiful landscapes, it is so pleasant to play in Portugal welcoming every year thousands of golf players, even in winter.

Moreover, the Madeira Island Open, an annual European golf tournament played on this Portuguese island, hosts several contestants from the whole continent. 

During the World Travel Awards 2013, Portugal received the prize of Best Golf Destination in the World.

The regions of Algarve and Lisbon are the most sought for playing golf, however it is in the Algarve where you will find more variety of golf courses. This beautiful region has been elected twice (in 2000 and 2005) as the Best Golf Destination in the world. In 1995, the San Lorenzo course in the Algarve, was considered the second best European course.

The Lisbon Region counts about a dozen golf courses one of them being the Tróia Golf Course, considered by many to be Portugal's most difficult. In Sintra, you will find Penha Longa, a very high quality course which has hosted twice the Portuguese Open also called the Estoril Open de Portugal, an annual men’s golf tournament. But undoubtedly one of the finest courses in the region is the Oitavos Dunes, located within the Sintra and Cascais Natural Park and created by the renowned American designer Arthur Hills. The glass-front clubhouse is wonderful offering a view of the whole golf course and the sea with every hole having a spectacular view of the Atlantic Ocean, one of them is even set up towards the Cabo da Roca, Europe’s westernmost point.

The Oitavos Dunes’ course offers three kinds of environment: a forested area, dunes and coastal area. Moreover, sustainability is the priority of the Quinta da Marinha Oitavos Golf which has been the 1^st Golf course in Europe and the 2^nd one in the world to be a Certified Gold Audubon Signature Sanctuary, the highest distinction awarded by Audubon International, a prestigious non-profit environmental management program based in New-York. Oitavos Dunes is also ranked 33 in Europe by Golf World, the American golf Magazine.

With all this diversity in terms of ambience, landscape and difficulty levels, Portugal is the place to be when it comes to playing golf. So if you dream of a Portuguese wedding on a green, you now know where to go!