Completely redesigned by four-time major winner Ernie Els, The Els Club Vilamoura was created to offer championship conditions all year round.
The course reflects Els’ design philosophy, combining natural beauty with strategic challenge and playability. With elegant water features, sculpted bunkers and seamless integration with the surrounding landscape, it provides a setting worthy of top level competition.
” The second shots, I like to start playing with you a bit, greens at angles and so forth. I like a certain style of bunker, so you’ll see that at Vilamoura. Golf course design is like your signature; it’s a personal thing …“
ERNIE ELS
This past July, the Algarve welcomed a new era of golfing excellence with the opening of the Els Club Vilamoura, the region’s first private members’ club. Spearheaded by four time Major Champion Ernie Els, the project breathes new life into the former Victoria Course (once a celebrated stop on the DP World Tour) and reimagines it as a world class venue designed to challenge, inspire, and captivate golfers at every level.
Working alongside renowned architect Greg Letsche, Ernie Els has completely redefined former Victoria Golf course layout, introducing fresh hole designs and reversing the routing of the back nine to create a course that feels entirely new, while retaining the dramatic setting that made Vilamoura iconic. Early feedback has been, in Els’ own words, “overwhelmingly positive.”
Complementing the course is a state of the art practice facility, tailored for serious golfers preparing for the challenges ahead.
Among the highlights is what Els himself describes as one of the course’s most memorable additions, the PAR 5 11th hole, stretching 560 yards from the championship tees. With water guarding the left side of the fairway, a stream hugging the green complex, and wind often in play, this hole epitomises the perfect risk reward balance that defines Els’ design philosophy.
From its striking new holes to its unforgettable playing experience, the Els Club Vilamoura is poised to become the Algarve’s premier destination for those seeking not just a round of Golf, but a world class golfing legacy.
Article credit; INGOLF.pt https://www.ingolf.pt