Biella - Northern Italy - Italy

I played Biella - Le Betulle this past weekend, under a scorching sun and without a cloud in sight. The course was being used mostly that day by young golfers under 16 who were training for the International under 16 Italian Championship tournament, which takes place on August 30-September 1, 2016. My impressions of the course were mixed. The setting is beautiful, the layout of the course is varied and quite intelligent, requiring a good number of skills to score well, none the least on the greens which were very fast and full of slopes, big and small. Maybe the one weak point of the course design is the par-threes: while varying in configuration, from the yellow and red tees (for most golfers therefore) the length is the same, give or take a few (less than five) meters.

However, I am not giving this club a very good rating, because I found the condition of the course pretty shameful for a place hosting a quite serious tournament (judging from the faces of all these youngsters swarming around it): the tee boxes looked more like war zones than tee boxes, and the fairways displayed all kinds of raw spots, muddy areas (despite the total lack of rain). I assume that the tee problem will be solved for the tournament by choosing the better areas for the tees, but nothing will improve the fairways. As we are still in the middle of the high season for this course, I am afraid that there have been lasting maintenance problems this season.

My experience of this great layout was somewhat mitigated and in this condition I would not recommend to anyone Le Betulle as the destination of a special golf trip.

this is just one of the most beautiful serene places I have ever played golf. the surrounding scenery is magnificent, the course is very intelligently put together and in excellent shape (fabulous greens). the people are very welcoming - and the food really is to die for. Great wine list too! Best holes - 16th for the views of the mountains from the top while trying to work out the risk reward for reaching the par 5 in 2. 2 short par 4s next to each other 12 and 13. par 4 6th is another with a beuatifully placed green.

“A beautiful and emotional course” is how the website of Golf Club Le Betulle describes the course. Experts proclaim "Il Mondo del Golf". Well I reckon it’s the finest course on mainland Italy, although Sardinia, in my view, with Is Molas and Pevero might perhaps pip Biella to the top spot. The site is perfect for golf and is so varied in terms of topography. The pre-alpine mountain backdrop is spectacular and it’s hard not to fall in love with this course. It was here that Rory McIlroy won the 2007 European Amateur Championship… bet he likes the course more than I do!