PORTUGAL - LISBON COAST - TROIA - GOLF

Designed by Robert Trent Jones, this is one of the most fascinating golf challenges in Portugal.  The course is laid out across a peninsula close to the sea, with the majestic backdrop of the Arrabida mountain range, and is surrounded by beaches.

With breathtaking views over the ocean and a welcoming clubhouse set among pine trees, Troia is surely a golfers paradise.

The Trent Jones signature can be seen on the greens, which are small, narrow and always well protected, sometimes by huge bunkers.

All this might give the idea of an almost impossible course. Nonetheless, when at the tee, the fairways seem to be wide and do not show many signs of danger. Only later does one understand that the real challenge of this course is to arrive at the greens in such a way that a respectable score can be obtained. 

The famous architect said he would include hole number 3, running along the beach, as one of the eighteen holes of his 'ideal' golf course.

Troia hosted the Portuguese Open Championship in 1983, when victory smiled on the Scotsman Sam Torrance who averaged just two shots below Par.