The Championship course is the late Sir Henry Cottons masterpiece and the course by which he wished to be remembered. He was the first to foresee the high potential for golf in the Algarve.

The opening of Penina triggered the regions golf boom. Sir Henry, who passed away in 1987 at the age of 80, was buried at his request at the nearby village of Mexilhoeira Grande.

There are many interesting stories about the years he spent in residence at Penina. Perhaps the best known concerns the donkey called 'Pacifico' which he trained as a caddie to carry two golf bags around the course.
The animal was bought impulsively after a chicken barbecue meal in the nearby Monchique hills. Unlike the vast majority of Algarve courses, Penina is a flat, parkland type course, having been built on former rice paddies and scrubland. Most of the drainage ditches in the paddies were retained and partially modified into tricky water hazards, but the dramatic change of terrain was helped by the planting of 250,000 trees which now line most of the fairways.

A few refinements have been made to Cottons original championship layout and the course has benefited considerably from the improved drainage installed. Subtle landscaping features have also been introduced to enhance the visual aspect of the course, and some of the water hazards have been extended.