Inaugurated in 1976, Vilamoura Pinhal was originally designed by the Briton Frank Pennink. Later, in 1985, it was partly redesigned by the North American Robert Trent Jones, who introduced new challenges into the course.

Trent Jones' work has given the course a great variety of holes, and brought together two completely different architectural concepts: British and American. As a result, the golfer is confronted by very different kinds of play. Built in the middle of a beautiful pine wood, with panoramic views over the sea, one of the main characteristics of this course is the size of its greens. As these are small, they require great precision from the golfer in approach shots.

Hole number 17, 502 meters for a par 5 from a championship tee, offers players the chance of a birdie, or even an eagle for golfers who risk driving off over the out-of-bounds zone to the right, thereby drastically cutting through the fairway's accentuated dog-leg.

In 1988 this course hosted the Portuguese Ladies' Open, part of the women's professional European circuit. Peggy Conley, an American, was the winner.