Inside the opening of the new course at Terras da Comporta
Opening a new golf course is about far more than cutting a ribbon.
At Terras da Comporta, the opening of the Torre Course in 2025 marked another milestone in the short history of the Portuguese resort, adding to the acclaimed Dunas Course which opened in 2023.
While each fairway and green was taking shape, the operational team at Terras da Comporta, which is located to the south of Lisbon, were also working intensely to maintain a quality experience for guests as they put things into place for Torre’s opening.
General Manager Rodrigo Ulrich shares his perspective on day-to-day operations at the resort, the skill elements required in the opening of a new course and the feedback he has received so far.
How do you define success for a new course in its first year?
Success in year one is multi-dimensional. Revenue and utilisation matter, but it’s perception that is all-important and decisive, and this can be measured in a number of ways:
- Usage metrics: rounds played, ADR (Average Daily Rate) per segment, and shoulder-season performance
- Guest feedback: post-round surveys, repeat intent, qualitative commentary and interaction with as many guests as possible to learn first-hand about their golf experience.
- Trade feedback: tour operators, DMCs (Destination Management Companies), and hotel partners
- Media and expert validation: rankings, architecture reviews, and sustainability recognition
- Operational KPIs (Key Performance Indicators): pace of play, conditioning scores, agronomic stability, and service consistency
In practical terms, feedback is the leading indicator. Guest sentiment, trade confidence and expert opinion collectively define market positioning. In my opinion, volume follows reputation – it’s never the other way round.
What does opening a second course change day-to-day for a golf operation like this?
It has introduced both complexity and opportunity. At Terras da Comporta, we use the Dunas Course as the starting point and the management structure remains unified. That ensures continuity of guest experience while allowing each course to maintain their identity.
Opening a second course increases coordination requirements such as agronomy scheduling, tee sheet strategy and staffing allocation, but it also strengthens and accelerates brand equity.
How do you balance attention between an established course and a brand new one?
You treat them as distinct products under one strategic umbrella, but with clear accountability per site. Strong internal communication is vital with weekly performance levels measured alongside agronomy reporting and alignment on SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and service standards.
The key is disciplined management and choosing your battles. Different life-cycle stages require different attention, but neither can lower the standards that you set.
Did opening the Torre Course require different skill sets from staff compared to the original course?
The core fundamentals remained the same: conditioning excellence, guest service precision and operational discipline.
The constraint was infrastructure. With less facilities, teams had to compensate through organisation and anticipation.
That required flexibility, cross-training and a strong teamwork spirit. The support that we received from the management team at Vanguard Properties was also absolutely key.
What has surprised you most about the feedback from players so far, if at all?
I would have to say the level of surprise from pretty much everyone that visits and plays our courses. Many guests did not anticipate the courses to be as strong architecturally and strategically as they are. It started with the Dunas and has continued with Torre.
That kind of expectation gap when exceeded, which is very rare, accelerates brand positioning. As an example, Torre went straight to number 11 on the recent Top 100 Courses updated ranking of the ‘Best Courses in Portugal’, and the Dunas was No.1.
How do you decide how hard to push marketing versus letting reputation build organically?
Marketing must be both passion-led and data-driven. At first glance, that may sound contradictory. It is not. Passion defines identity and aspiration, what you want to achieve and who you want to be. I do not want anyone to fail, but I want us to be the best we can be, and data defines direction and discipline.
Strategic partnerships are central to this balance. They provide the market intelligence, real insight into demand patterns, pricing tolerance and source markets and they give distribution leverage, and access to established networks that accelerate positioning.
Without data, marketing becomes speculative. Without passion, it becomes transactional.
Structured partnerships reduce risk, sharpen positioning, and ensure that growth is intentional rather than accidental, so that, if it decreases or increases you hopefully know why.
What advice would you give a General Manager about to open a new course for the first time?
I would say the following things are key when launching a new course:
- Understand the golf architect’s vision for the course. Spend as much time as you can with them. Learn from the architect and listen, listen, listen
- Speak to other General Managers that have experience building golf courses and ask for their guidance. I did this a lot and still do
- Understand agronomy, even at a base level. Consider executive education (e.g. turf management programs at Ohio State University, Penn State, etc)
- Hire exceptional leadership, such as a superintendent, or an operations manager, or golf director
- Define SOPs early, such as pace of play, guest journey, service recovery, and conditioning standards
- Lock in a realistic opening timeline and protect it
- Communicate relentlessly
Learn more about Terras da Comporta here.