Projected to be one of the hottest golf destinations in Europe in the coming decade, it’s a minor miracle that Terras da Comporta in Portugal even exists at all.
Now a 36-hole resort with layouts designed by world-renowned United States-based architect David McLay Kidd and PGA Tour legend Sergio Garcia from neighboring Spain, the property that is 90 minutes south of Lisbon struggled through a nearly two-decade ordeal that included bankruptcy, financial scandals, a recession and a final reboot during COVID-19.
Kidd was rightfully cynical when the phone rang again asking for his help to finish what he started way back in 2005.
“Oh yeah, hell yes,” Kidd said when asked if he was skeptical about the project when approached by Vanguard Properties. The country’s largest real estate developer purchased the previously seeded but not developed golf course and surrounding 3,500-acre property in 2019.
“This thing had been start-stop from the very beginning, so I had no doubt that it was just another start-stop. So yeah, it took us 20 years to finish it. I’m glad I survived it,” Kidd says.
Kidd recalls the pandemic days when his trips to Portugal from Oregon were somewhat unusual.
“I had to get special dispensation by the Portuguese government to be able to fly in,” Kidd says. “I’d be on a flight from New York and I’d be the only person on the flight. I did that for a year or so and rebuilt a golf course where everything had fallen apart.”
The new golf resort, where everything is now coming together quite nicely, is located in an area of the country referred to as “The Hamptons of Portugal,” a coastal region known for its understated luxury, wild natural beauty and exclusive atmosphere.
The Dunas Course by Kidd opened in October 2023 and immediately gained positive recognition around the globe, being named World’s Best New Golf Course by the World Golf Awards. It was recently listed on Golfweek’s Top 100 Best International Courses for 2025 at No. 78, and has garnered numerous other awards.
“It has sand barons, pine trees and light scrub near the ocean,” Kidd says when describing the picturesque sandy landscape. “The 12th green is as close as you can get to the ocean without going to jail — just 1,000 meters back from the water. So, you get the sea breezes all the time and the area has a very temperate climate. It basically has the same climate as a place like San Diego.”
The Dunas Course is Kidd’s first in continental Europe and he calls it “unique in Portugal.”
“It has big, wide corridors with lots of different options to play,” he said. “And it’s very naturalistic with lots of use of the native vegetation, which isn’t very common in Europe.”
And the course is wall-to-wall fescue except for the greens.
“That’s extremely rare in Europe, and is unique in southern Europe for sure,” Kidd says. “No other course in southern Europe has even tried it. It’s one of the few courses in southern Europe where the ground game is key to your golf. You can bounce and roll and chase the ball in all sorts of different ways, which you can’t do anywhere else in southern Europe because it’s pretty much exclusively Bermudagrass.”
A resort hotel project is planned near a stretch of coastline between Troia and Sines, which stretches for 40 miles, and is considered the longest sandy beach in all of Europe. It is just 5 minutes from the golf courses.
“What might surprise you is Portugal is a hotbed of golf,” Kidd says. “It’s just not on the U.S. radar. If you live in northern Europe — places like Ireland and Scotland — and you want to play golf in the wintertime, so Spain and Portugal are very favorable climates to go play golf. And Portugal’s got some really good golf courses along the coastline from the Algarve all the way north of Lisbon.”
The capital of Portugal, located at the mouth of the Tagus River, being so close to the resort is a major draw for those wishing to include a vibrant cultural experience to a golf vacation, said Terras da Comporta general manager Rodrigo Ulrich.
“All I can say is just go downtown because there’s something for everyone,” Ulrich says of Lisbon.
“At Comporta you are getting high quality golf with one of the world’s great capital cities on your doorstep and some nice weather year-round,” adds Chris Bertram, the Golf World Top 100 Courses and Resorts Editor.
The resort’s second course — the Torre Course designed by Garcia — opened in June 2025.
“It’s moving now, the engine is starting to turn,” Ulrich says. “It’s very rare where you have an owner that puts in golf courses at this level, then announces the hotel, and then you start selling properties. I believe we’ve all created something very special here.”
“I think Terras da Comporta could become the preeminent golf destination in continental Europe,” adds Kidd. “There are plenty of destinations in the UK — whether it’s St. Andrews or the west coast of Ireland — but Portugal is putting up a pretty good showing. And I think Comporta could be the jewel in the crown. It’s has probably the best land for golf in all of southern Europe. Portugal was already a great destination for golf and now with the courses that are at Comporta it becomes a true contender. It may even rival some great American places.”