I promised friends at TAP Portugal I would play golf whenever I visit Portugal, and Madeira remains a little-known golf destination for Americans. Fewer than 6,000 U.S. travelers visit Madeira each year, though Europeans have long been drawn to its calm climate and famous Levada Walks—mountain trails following carved irrigation channels. This small Atlantic island is a peaceful treasure I’m almost reluctant to share.
Santo da Serra Golf Club overlooks Machico Bay, the landing spot of the original Portuguese navigators who found Madeira uninhabited but rich in timber and fresh water. Europeans have made the island home for generations; temperatures vary only slightly throughout the year, averaging about 73°F.
The course dates to 1937 and was redesigned in 1991 by noted architect Robert Trent Jones. Santo da Serra comprises 27 holes arranged as three nines: Machico (red), Desertas (blue) and Serras (yellow). During the Madeira Island tournament I teed off on the Serras, paused for a 45-minute break, then finished on the scenic Machico nine with sweeping ocean views. Lunch in the clubhouse bar was simple and satisfying: a Sagres lager and a ham-and-cheese sandwich on a Portuguese roll.
SERRAS COURSE
HOLE 1 | 518 meters (567 yards), par 5
Rather than drive myself, I took the course shuttle that picks up guests from local hotels. Arriving with a group, I spoke with the starter and pro to secure a rental set of clubs; I had only a small travel pouch with balls and tees. The first hole greets you with a wide fairway that invites a strong tee shot, though dense trees to the left can end your hole quickly. A thinner pine line to the right separates the first and ninth holes. The third shot typically lays up before a green guarded by a water hazard—many golfers in the group ahead saw their approach shots swallowed by the pond. I overhit my approach, rolled off the back of the green and settled in a downslope rough for a delicate chip. The chip left me about five feet from the cup, and I salvaged a bogey.
HOLE 5 | 160 meters (175 yards), par 3
After working through several holes, No. 5 offered a welcome change of pace. The green sits below the tee with a pond protecting the front-right side; the surface slopes from the top back and left to right toward the water. Using rental clubs made club selection tricky, so I teed up with a rescue wood to be safe over the water. The pin was tucked at the top-left, and pressure to keep pace with the group ahead—who kindly invited me to play through—made me rush. My ball flew over the green into the top rough. A quick wedge and a composed one-putt saved par, much to the polite approval of the players I’d let pass.
HOLE 7 | 274 meters (300 yards), par 4
Again invited to play through as a single, I hurried and struggled to find the fairway. The tee demands a drive over a left tree line into a narrow landing zone; the hole doglegs left to a compact green. This short hole proved deceptively challenging—course knowledge and a calmer tee shot would have improved my score here.
Machico Course, Hole 4 © FRANCIS X. GALLAGHER
MACHICO COURSE
HOLE 4 | 185 meters (202 yards), par 3
On the Machico nine I joined two players—Marian from Germany and his uncle Gratziano from Italy—making for a pleasant, if multilingual, round. Hole 4 offers sweeping views of the valley and Machico Bay below. At 202 yards there’s little room for error. Gratziano’s tee shot disappeared into thick vegetation between tee and green, while Marian overhit his wood and sent his ball past the green. I chose the conservative route, landing right of the green but then struggled to convert the ensuing short game. We paused afterward to take photos of the bay from behind the green.
HOLE 9 | 352 meters (385 yards), par 4
The finishing hole is a testing uphill approach to a green just beneath the clubhouse and practice putting area. My playing partners were showing signs of fatigue while I’d pushed a solid drive to the far left of the fairway. I misjudged the elevation change on my second and came up short on the slope to the green, then chipped on while my partners battled their way up. Nearby, the club championship winners posed for photos with trophies—an inspiring sight as we wrapped up our round. We finished with a final beer, trading stories about the course and promising ourselves a return visit.
SANTO DA SERRA GOLF CLUB
Santo António da Serra
9200-152 Machico
Madeira, Portugal
tel 351 291 550 100
santodaserragolf.com