Oporto Golf Club

Golf is one of those passions that takes root in the lives of all lovers of the sport. Once you have fallen in love with it, nothing will make you turn back. And it is about this passion that we are going to talk to you. The history of Oporto Golf Club dates back more than 120 years. We’re talking about the oldest golf club on the Iberian Peninsula, founded in 1890 by Englishmen settled in the city of Oporto, with businesses in the Port Wine industry, and one of the first in Continental Europe.
With an uninterrupted history dedicated to golf, where illustrious international players have played, it was also here that many of the national faces of golf took their first steps, later taking Portugal’s flag to the most challenging competitions. 

The story is long, even though it began with around 25 members, but let’s start with the name. The club was known as the Oporto Niblicks – a name that came from the most used club, since it was almost entirely in sand. Ten years later, in 1900, a new nine-hole course was built, a little further south of the original course. By then it was no longer entirely sandy and was renamed Oporto Golf Club. A year later, the clubhouse was built. 20 years later, the first Portuguese member, Fernando Nicolau de Almeida, was accepted. In 1932, the ban on ladies being members of the Club was revoked. On March 18, 1934, the new golf layout was opened, making it the first 18-hole, course in Portugal. In 1980, it took on the status of public utility institution, which on May 04, 1990 was awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Order of Merit by His Excellency the President of the Republic, Mário Soares.

The original course was named «St. Skeff Links», in honour of its first President

Over the years, the course has undergone changes, from improvements to the fairways and the construction of two new greens, one of which was designed by the architect Mackenzie Ross. The first hole, divided by the road and the railway line that went right through it, was also modified in 1964, by architect Frank Pennink. And, in 1978, a new layout was designed, with alterations to the holes and a driving range and a new clubhouse built, while always sticking to the links style. The course is currently par 71. In recent years, the focus has been on attracting younger players, which is why the six-hole pitch and putt course designed by architect Jorge Santana da Silva has been one of the club’s attractions. In a few lines we can name some of the club’s oldest cups: Skeffington Cup, 1891; Dockery Cup, 1914; Kendall Cup, 1927; Rabbit Box Cup, 1932; Tait Cup, 1932; Portuguese Cup, 1935. The oldest cup contested without interruption in the world is the Skeffington Cup, named after the first president of this club. This competition, created in 1891, is open to all players from all clubs affiliated to the Portuguese Golf Federation.
The club has had 20 presidents, both English and Portuguese, the last being businessman Manuel Soares Violas, who has taken on the role since 2005.
If golf is one of your passions, we invite you to enjoy a round throughout the corners of this history, where the sea breeze will take you on a journey back in time, through shots rich with memories of all those who have had the privilege of walking the grass of this course.