Amendoeira Faldo Course

A real challenge. I don’t think Mr Faldo was in a very forgiving mood when he designed this one😀

Awesome course, we play it twice throughout our stay and really enjoy the challenge. It's a must play course if you visit the Algarve. Our Sunday round however, was particularly slow, a group of 1 man and 3 women in front fell a hole behind right from the off. I pointed this out to the starter who said one of his colleagues would be on the course to ask them to let us through. Unfortunately this didn't happen. The problem is that some of the tee boxes are a considerable distance apart and no-one ever seems to be queuing on the tee, its just when they get to the fairway things slow down. All that said, we will be back next year. Looking forward to it already !

Classic Faldo course. Tough and undulating huge drops and slopes. Great challenge make sure you grab a buggy!

Faldo course is the harder of the two courses you need buggies because of the distance between green to tee and it is hilly (but great scenery)

The rounds were quick but we were the first group out each morning, the greens were sanded one morning but with the watering system soon bedded in. but towards the end of a season this is to be expected. The green staff were very courteous standing aside to let you play through.

Stunning course. Painfully slow pace of play though. We had to call the Marshall in at one point to speed up groups ahead but they didn't make much difference. Bunkers weren't in best condition. Don't let any of this put you off though, the views and layout are breathtaking.

The course itself was superb and very well kept. The greens were true and each tee made you think about which club to use. On a bad note. For the 2 rounds we played on this course we had to wait an hour each time for buggies. This caused us to rush some of the holes and not finish on one day

course was hard but enjoyable.

Tougher than the O’Connor, the yellow tees were forward this year making it considerably easier than last year, good test of golf

This was the better of the two courses and the greens were better. The pace of play though was very slow indeed and took 4 1/2 hours to get around with buggies - some people on the course with trollies because no buggies available. The staff admitted they didn't have enough buggies for the demand - we were delayed by 50 minutes from our tee time day 1 - 30-40 minutes most days!

More challenging than the O'Connor course and the greens were in much better condition. Fantastic views and enjoyable to play.

More challenging course but greens in much better condition than O'Connor but with ah 8.00am tee-off we were able to get round in a respectable time. Do not even attempt this course without a buggy!

Good course, Condition was ok but not as good as previous visits, Greens were bumpy too often and bunkers not raked really was poor

Nice course with some long holes, good standard for mid handicaps, play off whites for low handicaps. Greens average, bunkers average, fairways good (stay on them). Again you wont finish your round this time of year if you tee off after 2. You will be delayed an hour because they don't have enough buggies. we had a tee of 2pm, they let us out at 3.30. we got to the 13th ruining our final comp day.

Early morning start so no delays, we really enjoyed playing this big course. Buggies really needed here. The bunkers were brutal and to be avoided if you wanted to score. The greens were decent and the views spectacular from the top.

This course is fine for medium to low handicaps , the high handicappers in our party found it quite difficult. The condition of the course was excellent. To play the Faldo course you must have a buggy as there are long distances between greens and the next tees, it is also quite hilly.

Amazing

Great experience with nice scenery. Some nicely challenging holes

Described as the championship course of the two but besides various contours on most of the greens compared to the secondary course it wasn't much different or a great deal harder than I imagined it to be and our group of mixed handicaps felt the same. Don't get me wrong both these courses are great and a good challenge of golf and certainly different than playing back home in the UK. Greens similarly slow as the secondary course.

Depending on the day of week dictates the speed of play. Friday afternoon and Saturday were very slow (5+ hours). The rest of the week was great as it was quieter (4 hours for a fourball). Buggies are required. The course layout is stunning with some beautiful holes. Only downside is some of the bunkers need work. Anti weed fabric showing through and can affect the shot as the sand can be minimal. Greens are terrific and both pin placements and tee boxes alternate giving a completely different experience.

Harder of the two course but some stunning holes where accuracy is required.. again condition was fantastic.. loved it

Good course but personally I was not a fan of holes 11 to 17 , they were very hilly and a bit stupid at times

An exciting adventure every time it was played. I’m not keen on uphill courses as I prefer flat and even but we were split two/ two on which we preferred. Groundskeeping staff have done a great job and were very unobtrusive.

Overbooked and any slow play in front causes a massive backlog of people. Course was perfect though

A dream to play a course designed by a legend. Very difficult for a high handicap like me.

Great course. A real challenge for all levels, with every hole a separate memory. Spectacular views. Not one to walk!

The only issue we had was that we feel that some tee surface Goldtees) areas particularly 4th was difficult to find a flat section to tee up and to stand on same level other than this issue the course conditions have improved from our last visit 2017 keep up the good work !

Probably the toughest course I’ve ever played, breathtaking scenery and decent carries needed just to make the fairways. Our group lost a lot of balls, amazing experience that we shall return to play again.

Of the two courses this is by far the hardest Iam not sure if Faldo has ever played it ??

tough track , greens slow,grass appeared to be seeding ,buggies were a god send , however there was a 2ball of mid 60year olds (male and female)with pull trolleys ahead of us and they were being held up by buggies ahead of them, fit as !

A challenging but really interesting course. It would be difficult to play quickly without the buggies as distance between holes is quite long. The conditions however were perfect and a test for any golfer.

Excellent course but you need to be very straight and more bunkers than I’ve ever seen before! Enjoyed it and was in immaculate condition but pretty tough for high handicappers.

If you can't hit a good tee shot to carry trees & bushes you are going to struggle!! we played from white tees on first round but changed to yellows for next two rounds when we realised whites were for handicaps 9 & under. Although still hard, this made the course easier. An excellent challenging golf course every golfer should play!!

Hard course. Some competition on which delayed everything after. Some golfers allowed out with pull carts only. Too slow. 5.5 hrs. Course is amazing.

a real test you have to know your distances and hit them consistently to score on this track , the raised greens in particular make the approach shots the key to getting round in respectable numbers

A testing and very enjoyable course.

Tougher than the O'Connor Course but still playable for the higher handicapper.

Amazing course. Up there with the best I’ve ever played including old course, gleneagles, castle Stuart etc

Again dependant on tee played,not lots of water ,but very hilly and buggy essential!

long ways between holes but well indicated very difficult course with bush or other grasses before fairways a lot of defenses near greens driving practice excellent

FOlli we'd some slow players took 6 hours.Need to play it once to find out where the trouble is.Second time was better although still tough.

this course was very challenging but enjoyable the more you played the more you learned and enjoyed.

The course was fine - condition good - pace of play was painfully slow ( a real problem) - no on course stewarding either

Don’t let your ego determine which tees you play from. You will get a fair test from the yellows and whites. Unless you are out early expect 5 hours. Buggies essential due to elevation changes between holes.

Course very tough with a lot of elevation changes. Pace of play was terrible 5 hours 40 minutes first round and 5.45 2nd round after playing the first 3 holes in 40 minutes. No rangers in site on either occasion.

Played before and as before found the course excellent and in good condition. You will always need a buggy due to distances to tees and severity of the inclines. A very good layout and a pleasure to play.

A more challenging course than O’Connor Up hill and down dale, buggies a must Great views over golf course and Resort Enjoyed playing it.

This is a difficult course but well worth playing for the experience. Do not attempt to walk as a mountain goat would struggle. Many bunkers and difficult pin positions make this a course for highly competent golfers. Stunning views of the resort and surrounding area from the summit of the Faldo course

First round took 6 hours, too slow, loads of waiting at pretty much every hole.

Unfortunately ridiculously slow. Packed up after 10 holes ( 3 hrs 35 mins) but it is a very good golf venue in good condition.

Apparently the more difficult of the two courses ? Personally didn’t find much difference between them. Both courses excellent. The driving range which serves both courses was very disappointing in that there was so much “green sand” it was difficult to find a decent lie for iron shots.

A great lay-out, some long carries off the tee over danger plus tough approach shots to typically raised & well protected greens. You need to bring your A game to score well on this course!

Superb course, in excellent condition, would definitely play it again very busy so the round took a little longer than normal

A good test tougher than the oconnor but not impossible condition ok can tell played a lot glad to have buggies for this course as lot of walking otherwise

Loved it

Course was in outstanding condition difficult but fair and fun

A great test of golf, higher handicappers will struggle but the course condition was great.

Beautiful golf course, a tough test but very well thought out. Again in fantastic condition. 6 hour round on the last day was a slight issue, but we enjoyed the sunshine.

Play off the blue tees to hard off the yellow tees

As always a brilliant course and facility

Similar to our experience with the O'Connor course except that the Faldo was definitely harder but a delight to play and we came off totally happy despite both of us scoring well above our handicaps. Again there was little hold up and went round in under 4 hours.