Quinta de Cima and Quinta da Ria are two resort courses designed by American architect Rocky Roquemore and first opened for play along Portugal's Algarve Coast in 2002. Marketed toward visiting golfers attracted by the endless sunshine of southern Portugal, both courses are ordinary and throw up the sort of standard resort fare we have come to expect in this region.

The Ria course is the Rocky (Roquemore) Horror pitch and putt show, you can basically hit the ball anywhere from the tee and unless up against the base of a tree still make par. This is the closest course to the sea, but also among the most disappointing along this coastline as many of the holes are poor, especially those within view of the ocean. The bunkering on both the Ria and de Cima course is little more than shaped scrapes, none of the traps have lips or a placed in a strategic location. The Cima course is a little better than the Ria, the holes are longer and a touch more demanding but still not in the class of of where it should be. A hole like the par five 16th sums up the golf here, the second part of the fairway runs alongside a lake but the green is ringed by traps that are so removed from the putting surface you can essentially hit anywhere up the left side away from water and still have a very simple up and down.

Conditioning wise both Quinta de Cima and Quinta da Ria will impress, but this is a nice part of the Iberian coastline and to build such courses on land like this seems a massive waste.