Quinta do Lago Championship Course

Course Designer: William Mitchell

JN6 Designer: John A. Bernard

Course Type: Parkland Real course rendition

Course/ Slope Rating: 74.6/138

Location: Algarve, Portugal (Europe)

Date of Conclusion: Real (1974)

V1 (Winter 2000); V2 (Spring 2002)

Design Time: It took on and off about 4 months-V1, another year for V2

Email Address: soewveen@hotmail.com

Course History:

Quinta do Lago is situated in the southern tip of Portugal, in a region mostly known for their splendid beaches overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and in the middle of a nature reserve called “Ria Formosa”, were many migratory birds come from the north to escape from cold weather, were you can play Golf all year round even during winter time.

William Mitchell’s Quinta do Lago was The first North-American project in Portugal, and what a site was given to him, extensive pinewoods and ”gently” undulated Terrain and one big lake that give’s the name to the golf course.

William Mitchell designed three 9-hole courses named “A”; ”B”; ”C”, the Quinta do Lago course joints the “B” and “C” course and it was this one used for the 8 times it was home of the Portuguese Open, one of the most notables winners here was Colin Montgomerie, it was is first win in the European PGA Tour back in 1989 were he carded a record final round of 63 he won the title easily.

The golf course was also recognised as one of the top ten courses in Europe, and in the top fifty in the world.

Most notable holes are the 5^th a beautiful par 5 were the stronger golfer can reach the green in two with the second shot played over some pine trees to the a well guarded green with two bunkers awaiting the errand shot; the 9^th were you play from a very high tee; the 15^th is the most wanted and most beautiful it’s a par 3 played over a big lake from the back tees it’s about 218 yards; the 16^th a relatively long par 4 but by no means difficult, that boasts one of the most beautiful sceneries, a big lake beyond the green, and the sand dunes at the far distance.

And the 17^th an uphill par 5 were you must try going for the green in two, again a heavily guarded green, this hole has been voted one of the 500 best par 5’s in the world.

About the JN6 GBC Design:

When I saw this game in the store and bought it (May 2000), I never imagine what I could do with the course designer, I never saw it before in my life.

So I started to accumulate my old photos of the course and started trying to make one as close as the real thing. I played this course many times now and I know it like the palm of my hand (well not as accurate), but with the necessary knowledge to design a rendition of this great course that I love it so much, and have many fond memories playing there with my father, the hard part was to put those in the designer.

Some yardages are very precise others less accurate but only when it favoured the hole to become fair to play. You might find strange, but I put blue & white Tees together, that’s because they only use three starting points (WHITE-PRO; YELLOW-MEN; RED-LADIES), there’s only 5 holes that I include 4 starting Tees all on the back nine were there’s 4 or 5 teeing areas and it adds a different point of view, like #10-Black play’s from the 1990 Portuguese Open tee, now it’s a putting green, the other’s are on 12/14/15 and #17 there’s one big teeing area so I included one more were blue is now, so don’t find it strange if you see two colour Tees on the same area, so if you play from the blue or white there won’t be much difference, they correspond to playing from the Yellow tees-Men/Members, if you’re playing from the back tees, it means that you are playing at championship length all the 7190 yards. It took me on and off 4 months from knowing how to work the course designer until the conclusion of the first rendition, and almost 1 year to do the V2, that happened only because I had to study more the designer, buy a strokesaver, find custom material, and wait to go to the Portuguese Open in late April 2001, played in this great layout, so I had to take as many pictures as possible (now I live 600 Km away), I took with me all the 5 days (pro-am/Tournament), a little booklet so that I could draw the contours/slopes/undulations of bunkers; greens; etc.

I walked 36 holes a day, following great players like Ian Woosnam; Colin Montgomerie; Padraig Harrington; Sam Torrance; Hank Kuehne, yes the guy who can hit as far as Tiger but not as accurate, during the first round he told is playing partners Justin Rose & David Park that he felt that he could birdie every hole, he saw that the course suited his style of play, in fact he was cutting all the corners here, driving with a Mizuno Pro 300s with a steel shaft (43 inches), he was averaging 300 yards.

Well he can sure hit long of the tee, but still has to practice more on the greens.

I’m telling you this, because that’s exactly what you’ll find when playing Quinta do Lago, it looks easy at first, but if your game isn’t up to it, you’ll find it tough to score low, so a word of advice is keep away from the corners, getting out is tough.

Personal thoughts:

Playing at Quinta do lago is such a privilege, it’s a shame that only few can afford to see this wonderful course, and it’s natural surroundings, golf in Portugal is still a rich man’s game, there’s only one public course in the Country, and it just opened now in the outskirts of Lisbon, so nowadays I feel that I was very fortunate to have started playing my serious golf there, I was 10 years old back in 1985, I had previously stricken my first balls at a nearby course named Vilamoura Old, I usually waited everybody to clear away and then hit it as hard as I could, one time a ball hit my father’s playing partner in the backside, man he was furious.

So, on to Quinta do Lago, the land is spread by pine trees, the fairways are incredible, they are always in perfect conditions, the holes are surrounded by large umbrella pine trees that can be a factor on some wayward tee shots, especially when you want to cut the corners and don’t succeed, at Quinta do lago course you’ll find yourself playing from different lies, uphill; downhill; sidehill, playing a draw, a fade, high or low, some par 4’s are meant to be played using long irons on your 2^nd shots, others just a pitch, I think it’s a very balanced golf course, were you face a different shot each time you play it, especially when the wind comes up, it can be a very tough course, on a calm day it’s possible to score low, but it requires precision, there are places that you mustn’t go, or you’ll be penalized, especially on the greens, 3 putts are very easy to do, when you’re on the wrong side of the hole or leave 15 footers for par.

In what concerns pin placements, 5 in total, I used the 4 pin positions as used during the Portuguese open last April (1-4), and one more just for fun” try to play this one to”.

You won’t need to hit extra long tee shots to score well here, it requires more precision to get to the hole then just length, good putting is sometimes rewarded, the greens are very large at times 50 feet putts are normal here, especially at 11, this green is probably the most difficult to get close to from the tee, it slopes from back to front, and it’s very wide, so don’t push or pull your tee shot, and if you do so, pray to be in one of the bunkers it’s easier to get close from there. Quinta do lago course is mostly known for their extensive and wide landing areas, but don’t be fooled by them, to score well here you must know were to hit your ball, and avoid trouble, there are some great holes to be played there, my favorite’s are: 5,6,7,8,9,11,15,16,17, there are other great holes, but these are very especial to me. The 5^th(My Dad’s favourite) is a par 5 double dogleg hole not to long for the pro, were it can be reached in two, if you can hit it over the tall pine trees; the 6th is a beautiful short par 4 were you must avoid the right side of the hole, the shot to play from the tee is a draw, the 7^th a downhill par 3 it is normally played into the wind, so keep your head down, and lower your ball trajectory; the 8^th demands a perfect placed tee shot, the shot to play is a fade, your 2^nd is to an elevated green; the 9^th more beautiful than great gives the player an opportunity of a birdie if he plays it as it should be; the 11^th is a devilish par 3, played gently downhill, and the wind is always there, the green is tough to; the 15^th is very famous caused by the big lake that dominates this part of the golf course, a par 3 that can become difficult when the wind blows and because those ducks & birds just won’t shut up, this green is very firm; the 16^th a par 4, the main difficulty here is choosing whether you ripe a drive over the fairway bunker to have a clear view of the hole or lay up, there’s always the temptation of going for it, the green is well protected by a bunker on the left, water left&behind the green, low branched trees&mouds on the right, you can see the big lake over the green and the sand dunes at the back, it’s one of those holes that you wish to live there forever; the 17^th is probably the most challenging of the par 5’s played uphill all the way, the hole is situated on a elevated/undulated green and very well guarded by two big bunkers, the main concern is to avoid the left greenside bunker, it’s very deep, from there is almost impossible to get close to the hole, whichever the pin placement may be, it reminds me the road hole bunker at ST. ANDREWS(17^th).

So here goes a friendly help on how to play Quinta do Lago with the least amount of strokes, this was not how I played in real life, I was frequently visiting the woods, and escaping from them, “the Seve way”, I remember vividly when he came here to play, back in the mid 80’s, I was then just 10 years old and followed him everywhere, and he visited the woods often, regrettably I never saw him play again, only on TV. To date my record here is 74(+2) in 1993, since then it was all downhill.

Guide to better play Quinta do Lago Championship Course

Hole 1 par 4 . 433 . 377 . 377 . 350 strk-11

Good opening hole, played downhill to a sloping green that tests your skill right at the 1^st.

Hole 2 par 5 . 547 . 513 . 513 . 454 strk-3

Avoid a hook from the tee, aim for the bunkers with a draw, it should leave you on a good position to a 2^nd shot to this par 5 two tear green.

Hole 3 par 4 . 434 . 382 . 382 . 313 strk-7

Demanding drive, precision is everything here, hook it and you’ll be in the water, aim right center of the fairway, because it slopes to the left, 2^nd to an elevated green.

Hole 4 par 3 . 187 . 149 . 149 . 122 strk-17

First short hole and it’s no corker, you must strike well and avoid the bunkers.

Hole 5 par 5 . 557 . 523 . 523 . 476 strk-1

A real gem, a challenging double dogleg par 5, you can play two routes (safe or attack), if you want to go in two the best angle view is past the right fairway bunker, less trees in front you give a better opportunity to go in two, or play it safe and aim to the left center of the fairway the slope will push your ball to the right, a medium iron 2^nd will leave you a close pitch to a well guarded green.

Hole 6 par 4 . 383 . 344 . 344 . 318 strk-13

A beautiful drive is awaiting you here a dogleg left hole, negotiate the left fairway bunker and you’ll be safe, the fairway slopes to the right and into the trees.

Hole 7 par 3 . 199 . 175 . 175 . 155 strk-15

A long short hole when the wind comes up, tough hole. Try a low runner.

Hole 8 par 4 . 421 . 382 . 382 . 350 strk-5

Demanding tee shot, dogleg right hole with a narrow fairway, there’s a big pine tree awaiting longer tee shots that can block your 2^nd shot to an elevated and narrow green, the fairway slopes to the left, a fade should be the best option here.

Hole 9 par 4 . 388 . 350 . 350 . 317 strk-9

You’ll be playing from the highest point of the course to a wide landing area, but be careful there’s danger on the left all the way up to the green.

Hole 10 par 5 . 466 . 448 . 411 . 372 strk-2

A long medium hole, two well-stuck shots can give you a birdie opportunity, this green is very wide.

Hole 11 par 3 . 211 . 174 . 174 . 130 strk-18

Played downhill to the widest green on the course, three putt zones are everywhere.

Hole 12 par 5 . 510 . 500 . 465 . 416 strk-8

An easy par 5, you must birdie this one, but stay out of the rough, a good drive and not necessarily long, can give you a chance to go in two, most times on a uphill lie, there are two big bunkers on either side of the green.

Hole 13 par 4 . 356 . 312 . 312 . 279 strk-12

Leave the drive on the bag, the odds are against you, only if you feel very confident with it, a well-struck 3 Wood leaves you an open shot to a small-protected green.

Hole 14 par 4 . 451 . 419 . 383 . 330 strk-10

Another great hole, the tee shot is played from 40 feet above the hole, the wind again is a factor that can decide your option of whether go for the big blow and risk reaching the pond that guards the right side of the fairway, or if you play defensively, pay proper attention for the left fairway bunker, the two tear green is very receptive.

Hole 15 par 3 . 218 . 196 . 174 . 137 strk-14

Signature hole, this is the most famous and photographed, a big lake separates you from the green, it measures from the back tee 218 yards when the pin is at the back, “maybe not fair, but it’s the real thing”, combining with a fast an repelling green it’s a bogey machine, only the shear beauty can give you a good memory of this hole.

Hole 16 par 4 . 418 . 361 . 361 . 295 strk-16

You’ll drive (black tee) from an elevated tee area surrounded by pine trees, it’s a very nice view to the fairway, there’s a fairway bunker that awaits the extra long drives, your second (if I may say so the most beautiful scenery at the golf course, the lake beyond the green, and the beach sand dunes at the very back) must be played carefully, the green is well protected (Bunkers, Water, low branched Trees, fairway mounds).

There’s a special feature on this hole, if you aim to right of the green, there’s a big bank that kicks the ball back to the green, it’s really fun to do that, when I played there (real course) I always tried to do that shot.

Hole 17 par 5 . 567 . 557 . 535 . 508 strk-4

Great long hole were the player could make a run at eagle if played intelligently, and a bit of luck too. From the tee you must try aiming the left part of the fairway, it gives a less right to left side hill lie, and a better view to the green (if you want to go in two!) that is very well protected by tall pine trees in the front, witch you must overtake them to get there, and two bunkers on either side of this deep elevated green, the 2^nd shot to this green must be played over the tall pine trees in front and usually the shot has tendency to hook, try to avoid the left greenside bunker it’s tough getting close from there(word of advice), it resembles the road hole bunker at St. Andrews .

Hole 18 par 4 . 451 . 405 . 405 . 370 strk-6

The home hole still challenges you to play the big drive over the trees on the left, do it only if you have the proper distance, the safer and smarter route is straight down the middle, avoiding the left fairway bunker, that leaves you a clear view of the green.

Front Nine: 3549Y Back Nine: 3648Y Total: 7197Y Par: 72

I hope you like playing Quinta do Lago it’s a fair test to all.

By: John A Bernard

P.S.: On certain holes there are out of bounds especially on the gardens.

The Salinas, were salt is extracted, it’s very close to Quinta do Lago

Quinta do Lago’s layout is not the only course at Quinta do Lago; there are 3 more 18 holes courses around the corner:

. Ria formosa course: joins the former A & D 9 hole loops, A course was designed by William Mitchell at the same time B & C were in 1974; and D course designed by Joe lee in 1989. D layout is very tough, more narrow than the championship course, and not as pretty, more wild areas, except for the old A course witch is a lovely track, now forms the new route 1 to 5 & 15 to 18, I’m doing this course for GBC next, I have some holes done already.

. Pinheiros Altos & San Lorenzo: are two other great layouts that you can play nearby, but my vote goes to San Lorenzo, it’s a real beauty and tough course, more exposed to the winds, because it’s nearer the beach sand dunes, if you can play them it’s worth every $$$$$$$ spent.

San Lorenzo #6

San Lorenzo #7

San Lorenzo Top View

Credits:

To make this design believable and close to the real course I had to make some custom objects and borrow others from various JN designers, whose works are forever appreciated by those not so talented designers like myself, so here’s a big list of the material needed to do Quinta do Lago championship course worth a visit:

. Textures:

-From Stephen Carson, I found 7 textures at Paul O’Brien’s Site, and used for heavyrough; sandyrough; desertrough; lightrough; hazard; fairway; fringe; tee & green, they looked great. After combining with more than 10 different sets, I finally found the ones that suited the course.

-From Shelby Sanborn’s Ginn Farm one great rough texture that I use for dirt

-From Steve Gazis’ Medinah a perfect bunker texture, just brightened a bit

-From the courses that came with GBC I used 3 textures that melted perfectly with the others: a rock text; a rough text; a carpath text, I believe these were made by Brian Silvernail & Scott Chesney

. Sounds:

-From the word go I decided to incorporate custom sounds on the design, so with help from others I found www.Naturesongs.com and from there I found Eurosongs-European Song Birds, and with the help of a book I purchased, plus searching on the internet gave me the birds that live in the region, I already knew some of them such as: Eurasian Hoopoe; Eurasian blackbird; Mallard; Teal; Sandpiper; Tree Creeper, and listened many, many times, just trying to remember the sounds, one that I really got it 100% was the Common Coot a black duck with a white nose/forehead, they just won’t shut up, a very good site that I founded all the sounds I wanted, mainly bird/ducks sounds, other sounds were from Naturesongs such as frogs; crickets; Cicadas, in total I DL 60 sounds, others were borrowed from other sites, all in all I used 29 of those 60 & plus great sounds-6 continuous, 23 not continuous.

. Horizons:

-As I still don’t have much experience making custom artwork I opted to use one great horizon from Brian Silvernail’s Cypress Point, I just wanted the sea and because it was the only one that looked good there, others were either to bright or had big mountains around so it was no good, anyway it’s just for 3 or 4 holes, on #16 I had to make a lake/a bit of land/another lake/sand dunes/and finally the sea, but I had no room for all that, so I did a panel representing the sand dunes and just sticked as far as possible.

And mind you if it wasn’t for Mr.Silvernail’s Very good tutorials I would still not know how to make Custom art on photoshop, well it was the first time I tried that software, and the result couldn’t be better.

Because the rest of the course is mainly wooded I had no need of a custom horizon so I used a stock one.

. Skies:

-Used 2 Cypress Point skies made by Brian Silvernail.

. Objects:

-This is kind of difficult because I used almost 100 objects for this design, but I’ll try to sum it up as accurate as possible:

. Cars:

. From Thomas gardocki’s site

. From Brian Silvernail

. From Desert Rat

. Houses or buildings:

. From Terry Armstrong’s great designs

. From Claude G. Camacho

. From Brent Fulberry

. Two houses by the name NL I don’t know who made them, sorry

. Other objects:

. Steve Opfer - bush

. Brian Silvernail – Post (I modified it to green to use on the bridge on #15)

. Snuffy Designs – Boats & Windsurf board

. Terry Armstrong – Bench, Bucket, Lilly pads, Geese & Umbrella pine trees

. Steve Gazis – A great parking lot panel

. Ulrich Roth – Tee markers, just used one as source

. Scott Chesney – The one and only Severiano Ballesteros ”he played here”

. Thomas Gardocki – a likeable fellow that keeps always his head down

. John A Bernard – yes I made some objects to:

- All the 18 Sign holes, done first in paintbrush, then added texture in photoshop; they were based on photos taken on course.

- All the parallel hole objects, 26 if I’m not mistaken, if you don’t see them it’s because I’ve done a pretty good job, it’s a whole new course now but still could put more.

- All the boards you see were taken from their appropriate sites I think I’m not trespassing, it was fun doing them, mainly two of them, because they were there when I still played there, you’ll find them in the 9^th & 18^th, it’s not advertisement, they just exist, the others come around very few times only 4/5 holes and you’ve got to turn to see them so it doesn’t get in the way.

-From the Internet I capture a Quinta do Lago house; another capture was the swimingpool’s center that is just right the 12^th fairway, I hope you’ll never find this one, it’s OB, a great landscape symbolizing a hillside full of houses, I used it on #16; a very important feature on #18 is the Four Seasons Fairways resort, a wall & Entrance shack were a must, and the Quinta do Lago logo for the GB_Flag that i included in the file, also I include clubs done by me, especially the MacGregor (Wood&Irons).

- The Restaurant on #9, this is a long one, it was made on paint, I couldn’t find a picture on the net, nor have taken a photo when I was there last April, of all things it’s the poorest done building you’ll ever see, but it looks good from the tee, it’s a must, sorry about that, but I’ll try and get a real object when I can.

- The Tee Markers were modified versions of Ulrich Roth’s, just painted them (White-pro’s/Yellow-men’s/red-ladies), and included the Quinta do Lago logo.

- The SplashScreens (course&design) were made by me.

- The Hole & Course Overheads were done my me, using the very explicit tutorial and texture template and the applications mentioned inside about how to do Custom Art in Photoshop, and I have to thank Brian Silvernail again for providing so much sources to us all newcomers on this great world of course design, I talk for myself, I’m a nobody when comes to computers, let alone using graphic programs, the tutorial was just greatly done, my heart goes to you Brian.

And I promise that after this I’ll start studying on how to do textures & Horizons.

- The latest custom objects acquired were the umbrella pine trees that Terry Armstrong, so kindly provided, the course would be incomplete without them, thanks again Terry.

So for this project to be as real as possible I used: all these fine works of art, my personal experience playing there every week from 1985 to 1996, walking the course on numerous tournaments staged there during that period and last year’s Portuguese Open; a very good video of Ian Woosnam playing the 5^th; 6^th; 7^th; 9^th holes; the very valuable internet world were we today can do so many in a short period of time, and last but by no means least, the tons of photos taken by me, my cousin, my dear and very much loved father who happens not be among us anymore, so this is for you Dad, wherever you may be, because if it wasn’t for you I would never find golf, and our matches will forever stay in my heart, maybe there’s a course like this in heaven, so book a time for us, when my time comes, and to Barbara my girlfriend, for being such a friend over the years.

I just want to tell all you people out there, that it’s been a immense pleasure designing this course, there were high’s & low’s mainly inspirational, and that it can be very tiring sometimes, just because you want it to be to perfect and that sometimes is impossible, but I think I came as close as anyone could, I’m looking forwardly for comments on the course, and if you’re one who knows the Real Course, fell free to suggest alterations, there’s always room for improvement, if this game had a wider Designing hole window it would be much easier, if not a full landplot, but one must stick to what’s given to us, so we turn around the problems.

Good Golfing!

One last thing, next i’ll wright something that I heard & saw in the 1997 Ryder Cup Video.

At the beginning of the video the Narrator recites this poem by William Shakespeare:

“This Battle Fairs like to the mournings wool when dying clouds contend with growing light

what kind of Shepard blowing of is nails can neither call it perfect day nor night

now sways it this way like a mighty sea forced by the tide to combat with the wind

now sways it that way like the cellsame sea forced to retire by fury of the wind

sometimes the flood prevails

and then the wind

now won the better then another best

both touching to be victors breast to breast”

Another interesting thing I saw there were these words written on Samuel Ryder Tomb” The Founder of the Ryder Cup”:

“His body to the pleasant country’s earth and his pure soul

unto his captain Christ

under whose colors he

had fought so long”

Samuel Ryder 1858-1936

IMPORTANT:” THE LEGAL PART “

This rendition was made for the JN6 or GBC community, or in other words it was an upload through the Internet with no profit at all, only for my personal satisfaction, and to share with all you guys out there who play GBC. I do not authorize this course to be included in any Work sold for profit under any circumstances, or to be used in any product outside of JN6 course designs. You may try a rework on this course, just contact me, but only if you conduct on the proper manner (to not to have any kind of profit from the design, only for personal satisfaction and if you later, upload it to the rest of the JN Community, try to maintain this Text in it, to mention who did it in the first time, and maintain the History evolving this wonderful golf course. The Quinta do Lago logo is copyrighted, and QL does not authorize any form of manipulation of its logo, it’s their exclusive property.

You can always visit their site at www.quintadolago.com they have some beautiful photos there, from plants, birds, to courses, etc.