Navarino Hills and the International Olympic Academy Course were both opened for play in early 2022 and now are established as the 3rd and 4th courses at the magnificent Costa Navarino resort in Messinia, Western Greece. Both are Olazabal designs and are set in a mountainous region alongside the magical Bay of Navarino. The fairways are constructed by the removing of huge swathes of trees and vegetation across a vast undulating site. And the result at Navarino Hills is a spectacular feel-good golf course covering an undeveloped area with inland vistas that are incredibly beautiful.

The golf course takes a while to get going and after its quiet start it isn’t until the long downhill 6th that there is a hole of special merit. But this is immediately followed by three good par fours with the long dogleg at 7 my particular favourite.

The back nine is more exciting with a number of good holes starting from the 530 yard 11th which is stroke index one with a lone tree in the middle of a fairway which then turns left past a deep gully full of bushes and upwards towards a green well protected by bunkers. Strategic plotting is required, as photo. I loved the risk-and-reward 13th hole, where the ideal line for an uphill tee shot is left of a central tree before a delicate downhill pitch to a green fronted by two large bunkers. A rousing finish is in prospect with further strong holes from 14 to 17 including the best par three on the course at 16 which is a challenging 180 yarder downhill across a chasm of gorse and deep rough to another well-protected green. But then the round ends in anti-climax with a dull 380 yard steeply uphill hole to a plateau green.

The stunning scenery lifts a course with quite a few ordinary holes that is excellently set up and maintained into a happy experience. And if the sun shines with little wind as it did when we played, you may score well before earning a well-earned drink in the classy clubhouse with panoramic views of the mountains and bay from your lofty perch. I celebrated playing my 800th golf course in suitable style.