Premier Portuguese destination wins three leading accolades at World Golf Awards 2025 including ‘World’s Best New Course’ and ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’
Sergio Garcia has admitted that he is “humbled” after The Torre Course at Terras da Comporta was named as the World’s Best New Course’ at the World Golf Awards 2025 – less than six months after first opening for play.
The luxury Portuguese golf and lifestyle destination enjoyed unprecedented success at the 12th edition of the annual awards, winning three of the leading accolades.
As well as the Torre Course receiving the ‘World’s Best New Course’ award two years after The Dunas Course achieved the same feat, The Dunas Course retained its title as ‘Europe’s Best Golf Course’ and Terras da Comporta was named as the ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’.
Officially inaugurated last month, The Torre Course is European legend Garcia’s first major golf-course design project and, like The Dunas Course, has been created over an area of natural sandy terrain one hour south of Lisbon.
Inspired by the 2017 Masters champion’s love of Real Club Valderrama, the par-72 course features generous fairways, small greens and places the emphasis on precision and course strategy. Measuring 6,575 metres from the back tees, it is already being tipped to follow its older sibling as one of the new ‘must-play’ venues in world golf.
In a video message, Garcia said: “I am humbled. The Torre Course is my first course with my own design team, and I couldn’t be prouder for it to be named as the world’s best new course.
“I can’t thank all of you enough for this honour and I would like to thank everyone involved in the project, especially the owners and development team, for making this happen. I hope you all have the chance to come to Portugal in the future and play the course.”
Both The Torre Course and The Dunas Course – which was designed by David McLay-Kidd – are situated in a secluded setting on the edge of the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve and have been built using the highest sustainable practices by Terras da Comporta’s owners, Vanguard Properties, Portugal’s largest real estate developer.
Among the array of measures taken to minimise the environmental impact of the courses and safeguard the natural environment, both courses are maintained using a fleet of the latest hybrid and electric greenkeeping equipment while a carefully selected choice of native plants have been planted to nurture the surrounding wildlife.
In addition, a state-of-the-art computerised watering system supplied by treated domestic and/or industrial wastewater has been implemented which, monitored by a dedicated team of engineers, measures humidity levels around the estate to ensure irrigation only takes place when absolutely necessary.
Rodrigo Ulrich, golf general manager for Vanguard Properties, said: “It’s fantastic to see the impact that Terras da Comporta continues to have around the world and to win these three prestigious accolades is another amazing achievement.
“To be recognised for the sustainable work that we’re doing makes us particularly proud. Sustainability sits at the heart of Vanguard’s DNA. Our golf courses are designed and operated with a deep respect for the environment. Sustainability guides every decision, from the selection of hybrid and electric maintenance equipment to our ongoing collaboration with GEO for course certification. For us, sustainability is not a marketing tool, it is a core principle that defines how we build, maintain and experience the game of golf.”
Vanguard Properties took ownership of Terras da Comporta in 2019 and the destination features two large developments: Torre, comprising 365 hectares of land, and Dunas, which occupies around 1,011 hectares.
As well as two 18-hole golf courses, Terras da Comporta will boast a wide range of lifestyle and sporting facilities including tennis, padel, pickleball and horse riding. The development will also include an array of plots for hotels, tourist and residential condominiums.
For more information visit: www.comporta.com/
- To download a video of Sergio Garcia’s World Golf Awards acceptance speech, go to Terras da Comporta – Sergio Garcia WGA | Flickr