Palheiro Golf has completed a €90,000 bunker renovation project, further enhancing the golf experience on offer at the spectacular Madeira resort – one of three outstanding golf…
Palheiro Golf has completed a €90,000 bunker renovation project, further enhancing the golf experience on offer at the spectacular Madeira resort – one of three outstanding golf venues in the idyllic Portuguese archipelago.
The club’s dedicated greenkeeping team spent 20 months carrying out painstaking work across the acclaimed 18-hole layout, switching to silica sand and revitalising each bunker’s drainage.
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In line with the Palheiro’s commitment to sustainability, the total number of bunkers has also been reduced from 103 to 83 – a cumulative 1,000m2 – drastically cutting down the resources needed to keep them in prime condition.
Silica, known for its fine texture and rich colour, is a popular choice for leading golf courses around the world. Considered easy to chip from and highly compatible with healthy turf, silica lends bunkers a pristine-white look reminiscent of Augusta National, home of the US Masters.
That aesthetic appeal makes silica a particularly pertinent fit for Palheiro, which – like most courses designed by distinguished architect Cabell B. Robinson – is acclaimed for its beauty as well as playability. The venue’s clubhouse, which boasts stunning vistas over the capital of Funchal and beyond, was crowned ‘World’s Best Panoramic Clubhouse’ at last year’s World Golf Awards.
Fast, no-fuss drainage is another benefit associated with silica, ensuring that Palheiro’s bunkers will now remain in play even during Madeira’s rare rainy spells.
The details
Alfredo Cunha, director of golf at Palheiro Golf, said: “Our sand on Madeira’s main island is black sand, which compacts a lot, so our bunkers were always very hard for players. At times it was almost impossible to hit a good shot from the bunker, and it was far and away the cause of most of the negative feedback we received.”
“Another problem that we solved was with bad drainage - over the years our bunkers lost much of their ability to drain, so if we got some heavy rain, we often stayed without bunkers for a week.
“This project being completed represents the solution to our biggest problem, and we are so excited to start a new era of giving all players a great course in wonderful condition that they can play all year.”
Palheiro Golf is one of three world-renowned venues found in Madeira, a Portuguese archipelago situated about 1,000km from the African mainland. All three courses can be enjoyed at one price with the Madeira Golf Passport: Palheiro; the Seve Ballesteros-designed Porto Santo Golfe; and Robert Trent Jones’ 27-hole masterpiece, Clube de Golf Santo da Serra.
A fourth course will soon open when a Sir Nick Faldo-designed layout at Ponta do Pargo is unveiled in 2026, further elevating the reputation of Madeira which was named as the World’s Best Emerging Golf Destination’ at the World Golf Awards 2024.