Iberia to The Lakes
Mainland Europe
The continent, with a tee sheet.
On Mainland Europe
Europe's golf hides in plain sight: Atlantic cliff courses in Portugal, Valderrama's cork-oak gravitas, Channel links an hour past Calais, and lakeside elegance at Como. Around all of it, the food, the cellars, and the cities that justify the flight on their own.
We build the route so the golf and the continent take turns.
From the notebook
No two journeys share an itinerary. These are the places we return to, and the ones we send people to when they trust us.
- Monte ReiPortugalThe Algarve's quiet aristocrat, service like a private club.
- Oitavos DunesPortugalLisbon's seaside thoroughbred, lighthouse and all.
- West CliffsPortugalNew golf on wild Atlantic ground, already essential.
- ValderramaSpainSpain's cathedral. Cork oaks, terror, and pride of place.
- Finca CortesínSpainManicured to within an inch of its life, and the hotel matches.
- Le Touquet, La MerFranceChannel links in the grand style, an hour past Calais and worth ten.
- Chantilly, VineuilFranceAristocratic golf in racehorse country outside Paris.
- Villa d'EsteItalyLake Como's grand old course, silk and chestnut trees.
- Castiglion del BoscoItalyBrunello country, golf among the vines. The Rosewood opens the door.
- VerduraItalySicily's seaside statement, two courses and a spa that earns its reputation.
And more we argue about.
Off the course
- The drinkPort lodges in Gaia, sherry in Jerez, Brunello in Montalcino, and Champagne if the route bends through Reims.
- The waterA boat to the Benagil sea cave on the Algarve, a private launch on Como with lunch in Bellagio, and the endless pale sand at Comporta.
- The tablePercebes on the Portuguese coast, jamón carved properly in Andalusia, bistecca in Tuscany, and one starred dinner booked before you thought of it.
- For the non-playersLisbon's tiled hills, the patios of Seville, Florence with the right guide, and linen fittings wherever the linen is best.
A week here, roughly
Pick a coast or pick a country; Europe rewards not rushing. Lisbon and the Algarve in one shape, Andalusia in another, Paris to the Channel links in a third, the lakes and Tuscany in a fourth. Golf in the mornings, the continent all afternoon, dinner later every night. Nobody has ever asked to come home early.
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