Amendoeira O'Connor

O'Connor's oasis design

Christy O'Connor Jr. took the opposite approach to Nick Faldo when he designed this course for Amendoeira Resort in 2008. Where the Amendoeira Faldo next door embraces a desert aesthetic with crushed limestone and sparse oaks, O'Connor created something lush and green in the Silves countryside. The layout takes full advantage of the resort's fertile valley floor, with mature palm trees framing the fairways and an extensive network of lakes and watercourses running through the design. It feels more like an oasis than a desert.

O'Connor's philosophy was to give golfers room off the tee and then challenge them with approach shots. The fairways are generous, but the greens are large, multi-tiered, and heavily contoured. Three-putts are common if you misjudge the tier. Water features prominently on both nines, particularly on the back nine where lakes threaten several tee shots and approaches. It's a course that flatters the driver but tests the iron play and putting.

The O'Connor suits golfers who prefer a more traditional, parkland-style setting over the Faldo's rocky desert corridors. Higher handicappers will enjoy the wide fairways and the freedom to swing without fear off the tee. Lower handicappers will find the challenge in the greens and the water carries, especially when the wind picks up across the more open sections. It's the more forgiving of the two Amendoeira courses off the tee, but arguably the harder to score on.

Course design

The layout plays across the resort's valley floor, generally flatter than the Faldo's hillier routing. Palm trees and ornamental planting frame the fairways, and O'Connor used mounding and shaping to define the holes further. The bunkering is relatively sparse compared to the Faldo course, but well-placed: greenside bunkers guard the obvious approach lines, and the few fairway bunkers tend to sit exactly where you'd want to land a driver.

Water is the course's main strategic element. Lakes appear on eight holes, and several greens are set hard against the water's edge. The back nine is where the drama concentrates. From the 13th onwards, water is in play on nearly every hole, and the finishing stretch asks you to carry water with both tee shots and approaches. The 16th, 17th, and 18th form a demanding closing sequence that can undo a good card in a hurry.

The greens are the defining feature. They're among the largest in the Algarve, with pronounced slopes and multiple pin positions that play very differently. A front-left pin and a back-right pin on the same green can require completely different approach shots. Reading the breaks correctly matters more here than on most Algarve courses, and lag putting is a genuine skill to bring.

Natural setting

The course shares the same inland countryside as the Faldo, about 10km from the coast between Silves and Alcantarilha. The terrain is flatter and more open than the Faldo's hillier back nine, with views across farmland and scattered orange groves. The Serra de Monchique sits on the northern horizon, and the absence of coastal development gives the setting a peaceful, rural quality.

The exposed layout means wind is more of a factor here than on the sheltered Faldo course. When the prevailing westerly blows, the open holes on the front nine play noticeably different from calm conditions. Club selection can shift by two clubs on the more exposed par-3s. In summer, the inland heat is the main consideration: tee times before 9am or after 3pm are worth targeting between June and September.

Signature holes

The 7th (par-3, 195m): the longest par-3 on the course, playing over water to a wide but shallow green. The carry is around 180m to clear the hazard, and any tee shot that comes up short finds the lake. A back pin adds another 15m. When the wind is into you, this is a genuine three-shot hole for mid-handicappers. The green slopes away at the back, so the bail-out is right, where a bunker at least keeps the ball dry.

The 14th (par-4, 380m): a dogleg left around a lake that runs the entire length of the hole. The aggressive line is to cut the corner over the water, shortening the approach but risking a watery grave. Playing safe to the right leaves a longer second shot to a green that sits with water tight to its left edge. It's the kind of hole where you need to know your carry distances precisely.

The 17th (par-3, 165m): an island-style green almost entirely surrounded by water, with just a narrow walkway connecting it to the fairway. The putting surface is relatively flat by this course's standards, but the psychological pressure of the water makes club selection and commitment critical. Anything less than a committed swing tends to drift left into the hazard.

The 18th (par-5, 510m): water runs down the left side from tee to green, and the fairway narrows as it approaches a green set on a peninsula. Going for the green in two is high-risk, high-reward: the second shot needs to carry water and stop on a green that runs away towards the hazard at the back. Most golfers lay up to 100m and pitch on, which is the smart play but still demands a precise wedge over water.

The experience

Amendoeira operates as a resort, and the O'Connor shares all facilities with the Faldo course. Resort guests get preferential booking and package rates that bring the effective green fee well below the published rate. A buggy is included, which is welcome given the distances between some greens and tees.

At €100–140 in peak season, the O'Connor is slightly cheaper than the Faldo and offers a different style of golf. The value is reasonable for the central Algarve, though you're paying partly for the resort infrastructure rather than elite conditioning. The course sees less traffic than the Faldo, which means quicker rounds and more availability. Midweek in spring or autumn is the best time: comfortable temperatures, good conditions, and few groups ahead. Weekend rounds in peak summer can be slow if the resort is full.

The course suits golfers who want a relaxed resort round with enough design interest to keep them engaged. It's a good second-day option if you're playing both Amendoeira courses, and the contrasting styles make for an enjoyable back-to-back.

Conditioning

Conditioning is comparable to the Faldo: solid resort-level maintenance without pretending to be a championship venue. The greens are the priority, and they're generally well-kept with consistent speed across the course. The large putting surfaces take a beating from foot traffic, so you'll occasionally find worn areas around popular pin positions in peak season.

Fairways are maintained adequately, though the open layout and inland heat mean they firm up and thin out in summer more noticeably than the Faldo's partly shaded holes. Bunkers are functional but not always well-raked. The water hazards are well-maintained and clearly defined. Winter conditioning is acceptable, with the greens holding up better than the fairways. It's honest resort golf: you get what you'd expect for the green fee, no more and no less.

Last reviewed: 6 March 2026