Pro's Playing Tips
The opening hole (381 meters, par 4) is actually somewhat complicated with a very tall pine tree about 50 meters before the green, making the line in difficult. The green is humpbacked and fast. A par here would really be a nice start. The sixth is an elaborate par 5, with views inland to the Loulé hills. The championship tee has been extended and elevated, making this hole a real challenge for pro's and low handicappers. A good drive here will be short of the lake which cuts into the middle of the fairway. The second shot must then carry the water - a distance of some 130 meters. The "safe" way round is to drive to the right, avoiding the fairway bunkers potentially within reach.

In the second nine, the fourteenth is a difficult par 5. With a good drive and second shot, the green comes into view, but so, too, does the lake which protects it. The green is two tiered, inclined towards the direction of play and protected by overhanging trees. At the eighteenth, the drive is blind, and should take you over the plateau seen from the tee. Too far left and the second shot to the green is over the trees - even over the top of the hospitality tent. Hole nineteen - the first of the new nine holes - is 488 meters. The fairway is relatively narrow, continuing Steel's architectural concept for Vila Sol. The massive par-5 twenty-third is 524 meters, wending its way through intrusive pines. The finishing hole is a par 4. It skirts two lakes in its dog-leg left approach to a substantial green. It is a golf hole worthy of Steel's innovative skills.