Golfe do Montado

This course is located at Algeruz, north of the N10 road leading eastwards from Setúbal. This is the most recent course in Portugal to re-open after extensive improvements were made to its layout, as well as its basic concept. In order to highlight the course, we invited two of the country's distinguished golf personalities as well as representatives of this excellent golf venue. We asked them the same questions the day they played a round at the course, during which they had an opportunity to exchange views amongst themselves.

This really was a spectacular day of golf.

 

Interview with Sebastião Gil

Portuguese National Golf Team coach and trainer

 

What are the most outstanding features of this course?

The most outstanding features that automatically catch your eye here, from the clubhouse, are the scenic beauty of the course which I feel is extremely attractive, due to its design, and the concept of the holes, just what I imagine golf to be. One can see it entirely, everything that is important, and in fact this is what anyone wants to enjoy when golfi ng, splendour all around you, so I feel that the fundamental component at Montado is its scenic beauty.

 

Since the course was recently revamped, how do you feel it will develop in future?

I feel that Montado has a lot going for it. All the changes are for the better and although others may have other ideas, my opinion is that all the innovations I've seen, compared with what I knew regarding Montado in the past, have raised the course at least up to the standard of some of the best we have in Portugal, and it is now basically another fi ne course to complement the others in the Setúbal area.

 

How would you classify Montado? (e.g. championship course, one more geared to amateurs) What do you feel?

I think that a golf course should be suitable for both amateurs and pros, and that Montado is such a course. I have seen great courses in the U.S. - and they can be seen all over - that are par-72 layouts for amateurs, although often with regard to overall distance, one can say that perhaps Montado is not a long 6,800-metre course such as Ribagolfe for example. It obviously hasn't that length, but for tournament play it is one of the best in the country, and I feel that alterations can be made to allow it to be played as a par-70 instead. This is a personal opinion and, from what I can see and witnessed today, it is logically a championship course, no doubt about it.

 

Do you consider the greens difficult?

The greens are very good and I feel they were very well designed. They have 4,5 or 6 different pin positions for each day of play, I don't just mean that there are 4 pin positions, but that there are positions available for 4-day tournaments and even these can be several metres apart. Another very important point for me is that not all the greens have similar designs, they vary quite a bit, and I think this is fundamental for certain holes since the holes differ a lot and greens can also have a design concept that is also somewhat varied.

 

Do you feel that the consistency of the greens is the same throughout the course?

Yes, I do. They are speedy, attractive and consistent, in addition to the variance in design concept, a factor I feel is recommendable. For example, the 12th green at Augusta is completely different from that of the 13th at the same course.

 

How would you rate the degree of difficulty of Montado?

As far as I am concerned, Montado's degree of diffi culty can be rated in several ways. Like any good course, it has hard holes and others where one can say they are easy when we play well. Only when the slope rating has been completed can we obtain the offi cial degree of diffi culty, but the course has all the ingredients to make it a severe test and conversely it can be simplifi ed to facilitate good scoring. It all depends on pin positioning, rough height and tee marker placing. I feel that the course has all the attributes for golfers to play, whether they are 18-handicappers or scratch players. Congratulations are due to all those involved with this idea, and all the investment made was well worth it.

 

As regards scenic beauty, what is your opinion?

This has improved tremendously with the new layout because the lakes can now be seen better, they are cleaner and there are more of them; there are some putting surfaces that are almost island greens, not quite 100% but close. For me, one of the attractive features, apart from the surrounding landscape, is the series of lakes with their limpid water, and this really helps their visibility somewhat, plus the quality of the course.

 

Thanks Mr. Gil, and good luck with your national team in South Africa.
I appreciate it, and hope to be able to evaluate more of Portuguese courses. In my opinion, it is possible to raise the standard of the courses because that is what is needed to attract even more golfers to play in Portugal.