The differences with Faldo's course

The Oceanico O´Connor Golf Course is the second course at Amendoeira Resort in the Algarve, Portugal, perfectly complementing the Faldo Golf Course, whilst taking advantage of the rich valley soil in contrast to the arid hillside. Christy O'Connor Jr.'s golf course at Amendoeira offers no less of a challenge than its sister course.

As per O'connor, the golf courses "have two very different sites, Nick's being more hilly with a lot of trees, bushes etc. I am down on what you may call the water plain, where in olden times huge storms would come through." The Oceanico O'Connor Amendoeira golf course, in the Algarve, Portugal, is being designed to take important storm flows over the years.

The oranges land

Amendoeira Golf Resort, in Portugal, has a rich reputation for producing orange groves and O'Connor wanted to explore this specificity. He explained: "I wanted one hole where it was just oranges and I have managed to create such a hole, the 5th, which has orange groves left and right and should be a real beauty to play. There is also a huge orange grove off to the left on the 4th hole."

Some difficulties

Oceanico O'Connor Amendoeira golf course, in the Algarve, presents a Moorish atmosphere on some fairways and greens, large areas of water -holes 7 to 9 (see our head picture)- that demands accurate play and creative shot making. Hole 10th leads play away from the northern boundary, setting up the challenge for the inward nine. The 12th hole is steeped in modern history, guarded by the same lake that runs along the 8th hole, sitting on the lake with the water this time on the right. Christie's 18th hole brings the course to a fantastic finish, a gentle climb with the river running along the right-hand side.