Golf courses in Madeira

Madeira is a golf destination unlike any other in Portugal, an Atlantic island of dramatic volcanic ridges, terraced gardens and a famously mild year-round climate. There are only two courses here, but their settings are extraordinary. Clube de Golf Santo da Serra sits high in the hills above Funchal, its fairways running across a plateau with vast views down to the ocean and out over the surrounding peaks, the air cool and fresh at altitude. Palheiro Golf, perched above the bay of Funchal among pines and mimosa, is the more intimate of the pair, with steep changes in elevation and panoramas of the harbour and sea on almost every hole.

The appeal here is scenery and consistency rather than quantity: Madeira's gardens stay green and its weather stays playable through the whole year, so golf is a genuine winter option as much as a summer one. For the travelling golfer it works best as part of a wider island stay, combining two memorable rounds with levadas walks, the cobbled streets of Funchal, a glass of Madeira wine and the lush, almost subtropical landscape that gives the island its name as a garden in the Atlantic.