Madeira could quite possibly be the place to go for a golfing weekend away with your family or friends. Friday to Monday, it has just enough to make sure your weekend is packed full of golf, excursions, golf, food and more golf.
The Island sits southwest of Portugal and is home to just two golf courses. Palheiro Golf and Santo da Serra Club de golf. I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend over in Madeira and play in the Palheiro Golf Invitational - a great one day tournament for your everyday golfer or seasoned professional. The course provides challenging tee shots and slippery greens so I would highly recommend a practice round before letting it fly in the competition or you’re likely to do what I did and top it off the first tee!
The scenery from this course is quite spectacular with ocean views on every hole, I have never known anything like it. Luckily the ocean doesn’t come into play but there is plenty of trouble around the course so make sure you have plenty of balls. If you haven’t got enough, you can always pick some up in the pro shop located just inside the clubhouse.
What a clubhouse it is, looking over the city of Funchal the views from here are absolutely breath taking, whether you’re there during the day watching boats ferry in and out of the harbour or whether you’re there for an evening meal watching this small city light up the darkness, it is quite special. My first experience of the clubhouse was the Palheiro Golf Invitational cocktail evening, which they have the night before the big tournament, a great way to meet the locals and calm any nerves you may have been feeling. I am sure there were a few sore heads the following day.
The golf club currently have ongoing work to upgrade their driving range to a state-of-the-art training facility that will be ocean facing. I will definitely be heading back to give that a whirl and the occasional club twirl.
There is more to do than just golf on this island…
Whether you go to Madeira to play golf and relax for the weekend or to have a fun filled few days the island has you covered. At Palheiro Gardens Estate they have an onsite hotel for you to stay at which is a minute's drive from the golf course. They also house an excellent restaurant which overlooks the city of Funchal. Located fifteen seconds from your bedroom door is an outdoor swimming pool, indoor heated pool, spa, sauna and a couple of tennis courts. If your plan is to go and relax, then you are sorted.
However, there is more on the island to do than simply relax. We spent a morning out on the open water whale and dolphin watching where we caught a glimpse of a pod of dolphins. I have never done anything like that before, but I will definitely be doing it again. Depending on the situation of the dolphins, you can even get in and have a swim with them but as our pod had a baby this was a no go. If sea legs are not for you, not to worry, Madeira has plenty of Levada walks, which are specific to the Portuguese island itself. On my last day I was able to squeeze in a little walk and the views from the final destination were breath taking.
I was fortunate enough to be in Madeira the weekend of the flower festival. For someone with hay fever, like myself, you might think that’s not the place to be however, it was an incredible display of music and dance as hundreds of well-trained performers, of all ages, paraded through the streets of Funchal. The costumes were brightly coloured and people lined the streets, some even climbing up lampposts, to get a glimpse of the parade. A beautiful bit of culture to experience.
Madeira is a gorgeous island and with golf courses to match it is the ideal weekend getaway if you fancy golfing in the sun.
