With over 80 golf courses and sunshine practically all year, Portgual has always been a mecca for golfers boasting as it does five strong golf regions – the famed Algarve, Lisbon, Porto, the Azores and Maderia.
It’s the Algarve that is most widely known boasting 10 seperate golfing destinations including Villamoura where you’ll find such courses as the Victoria that played host to the Portugal Masters and others including the Old Course, Pinhall and Millennium courses.
And while the Algarve may be your destination, more-and-more golfers are discovering the riches of golfing in and around the Portugese capital but not knowing that of the five golfing regions Lisbon boasts the most golf courses with 21 courses including Estoril, Octavo Dunes, Penha Longa, the stunning West Cliffs course with it’s Altantic Ocean views while there’s also the magnificent Belas Club De Campo course.
Super overhead shot of the Belas Club De Camp course – Image Keller Williams Realty.
Located around just 15 klms on the northern-west outskirts from Lisbon Airport, the Belas Club de Campo course meandesr through valleys and over small hills with occasional views to towards the prominent Sintra Hills.
The Belas course was designed in 1997 by American-born William ‘Rocky’ Roquemore.
Roquemore was born in 1948 and is credited with four golf course design projects in Portugal as well as in Scotland (Kilsyth Lennox Club in Lanarkshire), France (Makila), Venezuela (Curacao), Columbia and the Caribbean, as well as the across the US. He was owner and operator of Canongate Golf Clubs, a set of private golf courses in the Atlanta area, which were subsequently sold to Sequoia Golf LLC. and later ClubCorp.
William ‘Rocky’ Roquemore with double Masters winning Bubba Watson. Image – Keller Williams Realty.
Roquemore grew up in Lakeland, Georgia, and graduated from Lanier County High School in 1966. He was hired in 1969 as an associate of Joe Lee. Roquemore’s first assignment under Lee was as an onsite supervisor for the construction of the first three golf courses at Walt Disney World in Florida.
In 1974 Lee made him a partner in the firm. During the partnership, the two designed and renovated over 100 golf courses. Two of those were chosen as the best new course by Golf Digest Magazine, and several others were in the top ten.
The Roquemore family together has designed and built over 174 courses across the world, and has owned and operated about 23 of them. As well, the Roquemores were chosen by the National Golf Foundation as the Jack Nicklaus Golf Family of the year in 1995, and Patten Seed Company, then in 2005.
Roquemore designed the 18-hole Belas course, playing to 6,112 metres and a par-72 off the white tees and 5, 762 metres from the yellow tees while the course features five lakes set in the midst of its very hilly and winding layout, fed by various small and picturesque watercourses.
The architect has designed the first nine to pass a relatively untouched natural setting, see image below showing the distance from the first to second hole, while the inward half of the course cuts its way through the residential part of the estate.
Belas Club de Campo – Official scorecard.
A motorised buggy is essential in playing the Belas Club de Campo course as evident here in the long drive from the opening hole and through the nature reserve to the second. Image – GolfByTourMiss
The fifth is a par-3 playing to 149-metres off the yellow tees and, looking at the image hereunder is appropriately named known as Terracos de Belas or Belas Terraces.
The par-3 fifth hole named Terracos de Belas – Image GolfByTourMiss
In walking onto the tee at the par-3 eighth hole you’re greeted by, and at first thoughts, an imposing-looking golf hole and this due to the sight of water down the right side and extending back right into the ditstance while there’s a rather large bunker left to help keep you ‘honest’ on this 18th index ranked hole.
The hole playing to 137-metres off the yellow tees is named Selo do Correio that translates in English to Postage Stamp.
Images above and below of the eighth hole at Belas Clube Campo – GolfByTourmiss
The ‘Postage Stamp’ & the par-3 eight hole at Belas Clube Campo
Water again is a feature at the par-4 ninth hole, playing to 313-yards off the yellow tees and named Grande Buraco or ‘Big Hole‘ in English and a big hole it looks guarding the putting surface to the front right of the green.
The par-4 ninth hole named ‘Big Hole’ – Image Belas Golf Club,
The longest of the four par-5s at Belas Club de Campo is the 11th hole named ‘Augusta’ and playing to 503-metres off the while tee and some 12 metres longer than the par-5 15th.
Augusta’ is downhill, dog-leg right challenge until you arrive at the stream-like feature guarding a green that is slightly left.
Augusta – the downhill par-5 11th hole – Image GolfByTourMiss
View from behind the 11th hole green at ‘Augusta’
The Belas course that has been designed so that the development of the surrounding houses protects and enjoys the peaceful views over the course as the viedeo will attest.
At the end of your round there’s an imposing but very inviting, spacious and comfortable clubhouse though, and if you’re like me, once you’re inside be sure to have a look around as you don’t know what you’lll discover.
Of note, the club features on display a commemorative flag from the 2011 European Seniors Tour schedule when the club hosted the Belas Clube de Campo Senior Open de Portugal and won by Welshman Mark Mouland.
Looking at the signatures you can probably recognise from the left England’s Andrew Sherborne with Aussie Peter Fowler just underneath Andrew’s while Tony Johstone’s signature appears under the ‘G’ in Portugal.
Though in trying to identify other autographs I am reminded of Arnold Palmer’s great advise in penning your autograph: “If you are going to autograph anything, make sure the person who has asked for your autograph can read it”.
Commemoriate flag and tee marker from the 2011 Belas Clube de Campo Senior Open de Portugal – Image GolfByTourMiss
And if you have got this far then we all know that no matter where in the world you play golf the clubhouse is affectionately referred to as the 19th hole. Well check out of the handle of the beer tap at the bar of the Belas Clube de Campo.
Enjoy your visit to this Portugal golfing must.
Cheers from GolfByTourMiss
