Ascona

Situated just a few miles from the 18 charming holes of Gerre Losone in the Swiss canton of Ticino, the course at Ascona occupies a wonderfully scenic Alpine position on the delta where the River Maggia flows into Lake Maggiore.

Golf Club Patriziale Ascona was founded in the late 1920s as Golf Club Ascona-Locarno and the course is owned and run by the local city fathers. As the layout enjoys the presentation and conditioning of a top private golf facility, unsuspecting golfers are hard pressed to guess that this is effectively the local municipal course.

Architect C.H.Alison of Colt and Alison planned a full 18-hole layout for the 125-acre property at the outset but the initial 9-hole track remained in play for thirty years until C.K. Cotton added another nine holes in 1957.

Despite the stunning lakeside setting, water rarely comes into play on the course (except for the small ponds at the 209-yard 2nd, 199-yard 17th and the par four 8th holes) as the tree-lined fairways wander back and forth on a relatively flat site beside the lake.

The Harradine golf design firm is credited with upgrading the course in recent years, installing an irrigation system at the end of the 1990s then rebuilding three holes (at 2, 8 and 10) a short time later.