Estoril Golf Club dates back to 1929 in its first nine-hole version and it was built by Fausto de Figueiredo, the gambling concessionaire at the Estoril Casino. Its first architect was Jean Gassiat and the 18-hole course that followed the first version was designed in 1936 by Mackenzie Ross, one of the best golf architects in the world.

Later on the course was modified to allow construction of part of the Lisboa/Estoril highway. The French architect Jean Jean designed the changes. In this new design, the former 9^th hole disappeared, and an alteration was made to the fairway of the 13^th hole - the famous Patiño’s hole - that now has a dogleg to the right and the second shot is played from the area where the old green was located. The green is now on a higher level. With the disappearance of the 9^th hole it was necessary to build another hole, which is now number 13, a par 3 of 160 metros in length.

Finally, the 16^th hole has a re-designed green but it is still a par 3, 186 metres long, but 15 metres shorter than the previous one, and it is considered by many players to be one of the best holes in Portugal. The par is 69 (34-35), 5,313 metres in total.

Within this course, there is another nine-hole, one normally used by beginners, the Blue Course.

[In O Golfe em Portugal - Fernando Nunes Pedro - Texto Editora-Anderson Consulting]
Images: ICEP

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