Vale do Lobo

Vale do Lobo

Vale do Lobo beach
Club information
Location	Algarve, Portugal
Established	1968
Type	Private
Total holes	36
Tournaments hosted	Portuguese Open (2002–03)
Website	www.valedolobo.com
Royal Course
Designed by	Rocky Roquemore
Par	72
Length	6,059 metres
Ocean Course
Designed by	Sir Henry Cotton
Par	73
Length	6,137 metres

Vale do Lobo is a golf resort located in the Algarve region of Southern Portugal. The resort has two golf courses, the Royal and the Ocean, and hosted the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003. Vale do Lobo is the first of the three corners of what is today known as Algarve's Golden Triangle.

Vale do Lobo was among the first tourist resorts to be built in Portugal, having been catalysed by the Estado Novo's decision in 1962 to build Faro Airport following the success in the 1950s of luxury Spanish resorts such as Torremolinos. In 1962, Trust House Forte acquired the land which became Vale do Lobo with the intention of turning it into a luxury resort. At the time, the region was a stone pine forest with a sand beach. Townhouses and villas were built for tourists and permanent foreign residents. An 18 hole golf course designed by Henry Cotton was built and Vale do Lobo quickly become a popular destination with the British market. In 1968, Trust House Forte and Costain Group opened the first five-star hotel in the Algarve, the Dona Filipa, named after Philippa of Lancaster, whose marriage to John I of Portugal confirmed the 700-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.

In 1977 the Dutch entrepreneur Sander van Gelder acquired the resort out of receivership, after it had struggled financially following the 1974 Carnation Revolution. Venlo-born van Gelder had just sold his jewellery store chain to insurance company Amev in the previous year, having acquired the chain eight years previously in 1969. He had originally intended to acquire a plot of land in the area and ended up taking the opportunity to acquire the whole resort. The resort was run under van Gelder's ownership for the next 30 years, adding another 18 hole golf course and many facilities including bars, restaurants, and shops. The resort hosted the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003.