Upon arriving at Palheiro Golf Club in Madeira, you may look up at the first hole you see and think “wow – I’ll need crampons to play this course”, but don’t worry too much as what you have probably seen is actually part of the Academy course! Admittedly, the first hole on the main championship golf course is also quite steep uphill from the tee, but after completion of the 1st, the course seems to miraculously switch into flatter lands and many of the remaining 17 holes are very walkable and more importantly – very enjoyable indeed!
With fairly tight fairways many of the tee shots can appear a little daunting, but land your ball in the right areas off the tee and you will be rewarded with good approaches into generous greens on many of the holes. Having said that, when we played here in April, the greens were very firm indeed, so approaches needed to be played short of the green sometimes to allow a run up to the hole. Landing the ball next to the pin and expecting it to stop was a little optimistic!
The par-3’s are generally fairly short (apart from the 7th), but again a good tip is to not necessarily go right for the pin, but let the ball work it’s way up to the flag after pitching.
Palheiro is a really enjoyable course to play if you are playing well as it will reward good ball striking and control around the greens, but even if you forgot to bring your A-game, the views from many of the holes are spectacular and the general feel of a beautiful golf course can more than make up for a slightly poor round…
Finish your day at Palheiro with a drink or a meal in the sunshine on the terrace high on the hillside with amazing views over Funchal way below and however bad you may feel about your round will soon be forgotten.