Barlassina

Top 50 Golf Courses of Italy 2018 Golf arrived in Italy via British golfers who founded Florence Golf Club in 1889 (though Nisbet’s Golf Year Book 1912 lists the year of its formation as 1899) and the pioneering club would go on to host the first Italian Amateur Championship in 1905, by which time other golf clubs had been established in Varese (1898), Rome (1903) and Lake Como (1905). Nowadays, more than two thirds of the 241 courses operating around the country are located in the eight regions that comprise Northern Italy. That might seem like a very healthy number of golf facilities nationally but, per head of population, Italy lags way behind the likes of Belgium and Portugal in its golf provision, even though, in fairness, both those nations have far fewer courses. Perhaps appointing Marco Simone Golf and Country Club as the venue for the Ryder Cup in 2022 will see an uplift in the numbers of Italians participating in golf. Currently, there are around 90,000 players registered with Federazione Italiana Golf – 23% of these are adult females and 10% are juniors – and hosting such a prestigious event will surely draw more people into the game. And so to the latest edition of our Top 50 for Italy, where the 18-hole layout at Circolo Golf Villa d’Este leaps three places into the number 1 position. Located in the tree-clad hillside above Lake Montorfano, the course is a Peter Gannon design dating back to 1926 that has hosted a dozen Italian Opens down the years, the most recent of which took place in 1972. It may be too short for the modern day professionals but Villa d’Este is still a timeless classic, as intimated by a recent reviewer who wrote: “from the moment you enter through the gate, you can see this is all high quality… with great views of the surrounding mountains… the clubhouse is nice (with) a lot of class… all in all a great experience and it comes with great Italian flair.” The most impressive upward move by our sixteen chart climbers is made by the oldest surviving golf course in Italy, belonging to Circolo del Golf Roma Acquasanta, which rises seven places to number 5 (it also debuted in our Continental Europe Top 100 at number 90 recently). Founded by diplomats from the British Embassy in 1903, the club started out with a 9-hole course but this was doubled in size to an 18-hole layout a decade later. It’s not known who actually designed the course but its routing indicates it was somebody of repute who was able to set out the outward half in an anticlockwise direction around the clockwise-orientated back nine – surely there must be some mention of an architect in the old club minutes (which were drafted in English up until 1930 when Alfedo di Carpegna became president) or perhaps it was laid out by members who knew what they were doing? Whatever the case may be, golf is played here in a very special atmosphere, where the tree-lined rolling parkland fairways are split by the wandering waters of the Almone River with the rather unique backdrop of the Via Appia Antica and the Claudius aqueduct ruins. The course will never again host an Italian Open (the last one was held here in 1980) as it can only be extended to just over 6000 metres, which is too short for the professionals, but that’s more the loss of the European Tour. Credit the club for preserving this Golden Age track as it must be tempting to have a high profile architect come in to renovate the layout – it’s fine just as it is, thank-you. Other courses making significant progress within the top half of the new table include both Kyle Phillips-designed 18-hole layouts at the Verdura Resort on the southwest coast of Sicily (the East course is up one place to number 8 and the West course rises three spots to number 11), the Rosso and Bianco nines at the 27-hole Gardagolf Country Club complex, set in 275 acres overlooking Lake Garda (up five to number 17), and the course at Argentario Golf Resort & Spa on the Monte Argentario promontory in Tuscany (up four to number 25), which was one of the first in Italy to be awarded an “Agricert” for its eco-compatible credentials when it was built in 2006. The only new entry in our updated Italian standings appears at number 21 and it’s the 18-hole Mountain course at Toscana Resort Castelfalfi, which Rainer Preissmann and Wilfried Moroder remodelled in 2011 when they redesigned ten holes from the previous course (designed by Pier Luigi Mancinelli in the early 1990s) and added eight new holes. They also brought the 9-hole Lakes course into play at an upmarket 27-hole resort which lies in the heart of Tuscany, a 90-minute drive southwest of Florence city centre. Castelfalfi has flown very low under our radar over the last few years but, now that it’s been brought to our attention, expect to hear more about it in the months that lie ahead. Rank/ To view further details of our newly updated Italian Top 50 rankings click the link. We’re always happy to hear what you think of our re-ranked national listings in Europe so please make use of the “respond to this article” link at the top or at the bottom of this page if you’d like to share your opinion of our newly revised Top 50 for Italy. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

The course at Castiglion del Bosco is situated within the UNESCO world heritage site of Val d’Orcia in the Brunello di Montalcino winemaking region of Tuscany. Businessman Massimo Ferragamo acquired the 2,000-acre estate in 2003 then set about restoring the architectural and winemaking aspects of a property which includes castle ruins, a medieval church and historic village buildings. Old farmhouses and various premises were transformed into guest villas and suites and a new cellar was constructed to handle the revitalisation of the wine production. In 2011, Tom Weiskopf was engaged to design an 18-hole golf course close to the accommodation, with old farm buildings converted into a clubhouse. Golfers now travelling to Italy, where The Ryder Cup will be played next month, are being invited to a new, exclusive Tuscany golf experience at Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, voted Travel+Leisure’s No. 1 Hotel in the World 2022. The five-star luxury hilltop resort offers 42 sophisticated suites and 11 luxury farmhouse villas, each of which features antique furnishings and local textiles. Castiglion del Bosco is also one of the world’s most beautiful wine estates, and membership of The Club brings exclusive privileges and access to the winery, including the option of a personal locker in the Members’ Private Wine Cellar. The organic-certified vineyards occupy 62 hectares, planted solely with the Sangiovese red wine grape variety responsible for the estate’s prestigious Brunello di Montalcino wines. In 2022, the Ferragamo family sold the estate to “an important international family office” with Rosewood retained to manage the luxury hotel. A year later, it was announced that Phil Smith (who worked on the original design with Tom Weiskopf) would oversee a major renovation project to install new drainage, reconstruct bunkers, upgrade irrigation, replace cart paths and build a new practice facility. The resort’s Tuscany Golf Experience special promotion includes a stay at Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco for two guests in a Suite; daily breakfast for two persons; two 18-hole rounds per stay (advanced reserved tee times 8-10am only, subject to availability); golf cart; rental equipment; practice range; dinner at Restaurant Campo del Drago (Michelin Star) or Osteria La Canonica. Click on this Castiglion del Bosco link to read our review of the golf course. As is often the case when we travel to a particular destination, we also like to have a look around the local region to see what other golf facilities are available to visitors. With that in mind, we dropped in to see another four courses located close to the city of Florence. Ugolino Ugolino is the oldest golf club in Italy, dating back to 1889, but the club moved in 1934 to a new site in the Chianti hills, half an hour’s drive south of Florence city centre. Designed by Peter Gannon and Cecil Blandford, the course is short, hilly and mostly tree lined, with fairways often plunging down from elevated tee positions then climbing up to small greens. The 40th edition of the Italian Open was played here in 1983, when Bernhard Langer beat Ken Brown and Seve Ballesteros in a playoff. Today, it offers an intimate golf experience – one to be savoured by golfers who don’t just want to blast away mindlessly off the tee – with holes draped across beautifully rolling terrain. Le Pavoniere An hour away from Ugolino, on the other side of Florence, is where you’ll find Le Pavoniere Golf & Country Club, located just outside the city of Prato. The landscape’s rather flat in this part of the region so a fair amount of soil was shifted to fashion the fairways, creating several interconnected lakes which add both strategic and aesthetic interest. The Arnold Palmer Design Company laid out the course in the mid-1980s, with water coming into play at half the holes on the scorecard. It’s definitely lush parkland golf that’s on offer here with wide, gently undulating playing corridors (separated by a variety of different types of maturing trees) which lead to large, sensibly contoured greens. Poggio dei Medici In the hills fifty kilometres northeast of Le Pavoniere lies the course at Poggio dei Medici, close to where the Mugello Circuit is used for car and motorbike racing. The course first opened for play thirty years ago, designed by Alvise Rossi Fioravanti and Baldovino Dassu, and it hosted five consecutive editions of the Ladies Italian Open, starting in 1999. It’s evident there’s been a lack of investment in the infrastructure and/or manpower for a while now but Marco Maiani, the Director of Golf, is confident the new owners who have recently taken over the property will be able to build on the bones of a well-constructed layout to revive the fortunes of this sleeping giant. Castelfalfi To the southwest of Florence, halfway towards the coastal town of Livorno, sits the 27-hole golf facility at Castelfalfi Golf Club. The original course was inaugurated in 1991 but after substantial remodelling by Wilfried Moroder and Rainer Pressman a decade ago, the 9-hole Lake and 18-hole Mountain courses emerged, with a new clubhouse positioned at the centre of the two new layouts. The Lake course is a tough track but the Mountain course is even more difficult, with a slope rating of 151 from the back tees. Don’t expect to play resort golf here as this is a real serious test of golf with holes winding through valleys, along ridges and plummeting down to heavily water-protected greens – be prepared to be severely challenged if you ever tee it up at Castelfalfi! Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses

We produced an Italian resort article last summer which focused on several golf facilities spread across the mainland of Italy. We’re now revisiting this country, starting in the north then working our way south but this time we’re including the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, where we shine a light on half a dozen resorts that are worthy of closer scrutiny. Of all the “mainstream” golfing nations in Europe, Italy’s the one that hides its light under a bushel the most. Perhaps in this year of the Ryder Cup in Rome it’s time we knew a little more about it. Le Le Robinie Our latest Italian resort journey starts outside Milan near Malpensa airport, at Le Robinie Golf Club, where Jack Nicklaus designed his first Italian course in the early 1990s. The terrain’s pretty flat around here so a fair amount of soil was shifted to fashion the fairways, with the closing holes on both nines routed around a couple of lakes located close to the clubhouse. There’s also a fair number of bunkers dotted around this parkland layout so, with water and sand much in evidence, it’s resort golf all the way during a round at this modern facility. The accommodation extends to a number of guest rooms within the clubhouse, all with air conditioning and private bathroom with hot tub or shower. An additional seventy apartments – comprising studio, 2-room or 3-room apartments – are also available, each with a private patio, terrace or balcony. The leisure complex includes a swimming pool and a well-equipped gymnasium and the Restaurant Le Robinie (consisting of three dining rooms spread across three levels) serves dishes from a Mediterranean-themed menu. Poggio dei Medici Three hundred kilometres southeast of Milan, outside Florence, lies Poggio dei Medici Golf Club which opened for play thirty years ago. Anchored by a 16th-century hunting lodge, the Villa di Cignano, which acts as the clubhouse, the course is set amongst rolling hills with open parkland holes weaving across a picture postcard landscape. Starting in 1999, five consecutive editions of the Ladies Italian Open were staged here, with the five winners emerging from five different countries for these events. The Unahotels accommodation offers 70 guest rooms equipped with things like a mini fridge, flat-screen TV, bathrobes and dressing gowns. A cold buffet breakfast is served here every morning and the bar serves a wide variety of drinks throughout the day. There’s an outdoor swimming pool, jacuzzi and sauna and the spa centre also provides fitness classes. Guests who want more than just golf can expend more energy with mountain biking, horse riding and tennis. Terme di Saturnia A leisurely 3-hour drive south from Florence through beautiful Tuscan terrain brings us to the golf course in the old spa town of Terme di Saturnia, where the climate and the hot sulphurous springs are intended to aid recuperation and restoration of body, mind and spirit. Ron Fream set out the course here 16 years ago and it was built with the prime consideration of respecting and safeguarding local nature in order to gain Italian Golf Federation ecological certification. There are 124 guest rooms (39 of which are suites) at the resort and they vary in size from 18-25 square metre for a superior room to 75 square metres for a grand suite. The world-class spa has a thermal lake in the centre of the complex and there are 5 outdoor thermal pools, along with whirlpools, a sauna, sensory showers and a whole range of massages, body treatments, wellness and beauty programs – thermal therapies are even available for locals who are entitled to one cycle per year paid by the Italian NHS! Il Picciolo Etna We leave the Italian mainland now and head to the Mediterranean island of Sicily, where the 18-hole layout at Il Picciolo Etna Golf Resort & Spa has operated since the late 1980s. Host venue for the Ladies Italian Open from 1995 to 1997 (and again in 2011), the course occupies hilly ground to the north of Mount Etna, where holes are set out as two returning nines. Measuring almost 5,900 metres from the back markers, the course is a Luigi Rota Caremoli design which plays to a par of 72, with the very short par three 15th one of the feature holes on the scorecard. Accommodation amounts to 98 air-conditioned guest rooms within the hotel (21 deluxe, 22 cottage, 46 classic and 9 suites) along with 6 clubhouse rooms. Breakfast and dinner are served in La Ghiandaia restaurant, with lunch available in the Il Palmento clubhouse restaurant. The Birdie Bar is open in the evening and the Pool Bar is also available for refreshments from mid-morning to early evening during the summer. The Spa centre offers a number of services – from heated swimming pool to sensory showers – and there’s a range of body treatments and massages which can be arranged by appointment. Borgo di Luce I Monasteri On the south side of Mount Etna, positioned between the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Syracuse and Noto, the Borgo di Luce I Monasteri Golf Resort features an 18-hole (par 71) layout designed by architects David and Vincenzo Mezzacane. Holes are set out among groves of citrus trees and prickly pear cactus, with water hazards to be negotiated on several holes, most noticeably at the par three 9th and par four 18th where a pond separates the greens. The 5-star on-site hotel is a former Benedictine monastery comprising 102 exquisitely furnished guest rooms and suites located on the ground floor in various parts of the hotel’s three main buildings. The pool bar provides light lunches, while Le Ceramiche restaurant serves à la carte dinners based on Mediterranean cuisine. The Zagara spa offering guests the use of a Turkish bath, sensory shower, sauna, hot tub, relaxation area and a range of treatments. Verdura Occupying a wonderful 2-kilometre stretch of coastline on the west side of Sicily, the Verdura Resort’s 45-hole golf facility was designed by Kyle Phillips, opening for play just over a decade ago now. The two championship 18-hole layouts – East and West – are the main attraction, supported by a 9-hole par three course, driving range and practice area. Unfortunately, severe storms in late 2018 caused an embankment to breach, resulting in extensive flooding across both the original layouts. Not to worry, the architect was quickly called in to rearrange the routing and introduce several remodelled holes and before you know it, business was back to normal once again! The 5-star hotel is a member of the famous Rocco Forte Hotels Group, offering 156 guest rooms, 35 suites and 20 villas. Apart from golf, on-site activities include a Water Sports Club, Tennis Club, football pitch and an enormous 60-metre outdoor pool. For relaxation, there’s a luxurious spa set amid the olive, orange and lemon trees, with four thalassotherapy pools, a 20-metre lap pool, steam bath, sauna and 11 treatment rooms. The hotel’s organic farm is handpicked daily, with produce used in the preparation of gourmet meals for the six restaurants and bars. Is Molas Three hundred kilometres from the north coast of Sicily lies the south coast of Sardinia and the 27-hole golf complex at the Is Molas resort,near the small town of Pula. The original Championship 18-hole course was designed by the British partnership of Ken Cotton, Charles Lawrie and Frank Pennink in the mid-1970s, and there are views from the fairways to the nearby tower of Nora on the coastal ruins of an ancient Roman city. Fairways are routed over moderately undulating terrain, with water hazards coming into play between the 9th and 14th holes. The on-site 4-star hotel contains 70 air-conditioned guest rooms in four categories (classic, comfort, family and superior) and there are 2-room apartments in the nearby Residence Le Ginestre residential development. The restaurant seats up to 160 people in the garden of the hotel, facing on to the swimming pool. The covered terrace of the hotel pool bar (La Pergola) serves drinks, snacks and light meals prepared with typical Sardinian products while La 19, the “Golf Pool Club” is the ideal chill out place to relax after a round. Is Arenas Drive 2 hours northwest from Is Molas and you’ll arrive at the Is Arenas resort on the west coast of Sardinia, where Robert von Hagge carved out the resort’s 18-hole layout from dense woodland twenty years ago. Juniper and pine trees frame every hole here as the course winds its way across a mildly contoured, sandy-soiled landscape. The flamboyant American architect had this to say when asked what it took to produce such a fine golfing layout: “all the natural elements that it offers – sand dunes, forest, water and an exceptional climate – are a perfect combination for a unique experience (providing) an unlimited carpet of colours, fragrances and vital energies.”  Accommodation at the Is Arenas Private Golf Foresterie boutique hotel is for golfers only – with a maximum occupancy of 40 players – and it comprises a number of air-conditioned villas, houses and suites nestled in the trees next to the golf course. Located one and a half kilometres away towards the beach, the 5-star Is Arenas Resort provides 70 guest rooms (varying from 30 square metre Classic rooms to 43 square metre Junior Suites) along with a wellness centre that incorporates a whirlpool, Turkish bath, fitness room and a variety of treatments. The beach is a 5-minute walk away, extending to six kilometres along the coastline. Pevero Another 2½-hour drive northeast from Is Arenas brings us to the smart Costa Smeralda district in the northeast corner of Sardinia and Pevero Golf Club. Fifty years ago, Robert Trent Jones Senior and Ron Kirby were engaged by none other than the Aga Khan to set out eighteen holes on the peninsula between the bays of Cala di Volpe and Volpero and six years after it first opened for play, the 35th edition of the Italian Open was staged here in 1978, with South African Dale Hayes winning the event by three shots from his nearest rivals. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, it’s a spectacular place to play but when the infamous Mistral wind blows then controlling a golf ball round this course is a tough task for even the professional players – as evidenced by the Dale Hayes aggregate total of five over par when he claimed the national Open 45 years ago. The golf club has close associations with four local hotels. The first, and nearest, is Hotel Cala Di Volpe, with 121 guest rooms and a large, lagoon-like saltwater pool. Close by, Hotel Romazzino has 100 guest rooms, including a Presidential Suite on the top floor. To the north of the golf course, the Cervo Hotel in the adjacent resort of Porto Servo has 80 guestrooms, ranging from 16 square metre classic rooms to a 142 square metre Presidential Suite. On the other side of this small seaside town sits the Hotel Pitrizza, with 66 suites and villas that look out onto the shimmering waters of Liscia di Vacca bay. If you have any comment to make on the above article then please use the “WRITE A RESPONSE” link at the bottom of this page. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses