Frank Pennink designed the Old Course with British inland golf in mind, and you can feel it from the first tee. Opened in 1969, it’s the second oldest course in the Algarve and the senior member of the Dom Pedro Golf collection, which also includes Victoria, Pinhal, Laguna and Millennium. Hawtree & Sons handled a substantial renovation in the late 1990s, modernising the irrigation and refining the greens without losing the original character.

Routing is the star here: 18 holes weaving through mature umbrella pines, with five par 5s across a par-73 layout that stretches to 6,254 metres from the championship tees. There’s genuine variety – short risk-reward par 4s, demanding doglegs and four par 3s that are easily the most memorable holes on the property. The 4th is the standout: a 163-metre tee shot played from an elevated tee, over a small lake, with a lone umbrella pine guarding the line into an elevated green. Club selection is everything.

Conditioning is consistently excellent. Fairways are tight and tree-lined, greens are small (especially on the par 3s), and the bunkering punishes wayward strikes. Tee intervals were widened to 12 minutes recently, which has visibly tightened up pace of play. The clubhouse reopened after a full renovation with a British-style gastropub and a TrackMan-equipped range. As the headline course in Vilamoura, it’s the one most visitors plan their trip around – and it justifies the billing.