The Vilamoura Golf Resort is an incredibly popular getaway on Portugal's Algarve Coast, the resort/residential development with five quite distinctive and contrasting golf courses that each average between 45,000 and 65,000 rounds per year. Strangely and sadly none of the golf here is high-quality, the Euro $18million Palmer signature course is the most eye-catching but it dishes up standard resort fare and wouldn't come recommended above the well ranked Old Course.

Opening in 2004 the Victoria Course was created by an associate in the Arnold Palmer design company, and is noted for its huge sculpted fairways, massive sand hazards and obligatory ponds and waterfalls. A number of holes are demanding, but the likes of 7, 14 and 18 use the water in an anti-strategic manner - the 14th has a split fairway with a safer left side option that is barely safer because of an unnecessary central bunker. The 18th is one of those standard resort closing holes around water, except this time with a rock wall eating into the left side of the green and making the approach much harder for those who have driven their ball near the hazard.

Victoria isn't a bad course, but you will have to be in serious holiday mode to get any great enjoyment out of playing here.