Pevero is located in Sardinia's chic Costa Smeralda region. The Aga Khan commissioned the course and it's one of RTJ’s finest and most daring designs.
Pevero is located in Sardinia's chic Costa Smeralda region. The Aga Khan commissioned the course and it's one of RTJ’s finest and most daring designs.
Pevero is located in the chic Costa Smeralda region on the Italian island of Sardinia. In the late 1960s, the Aga Khan thought that the peninsula between the Bays of Cala di Volpe and Volpero on the north east coast would be the ideal setting for the first golf course on the island.
By 1972, his vision was realised when an 18-hole, 6717 yard layout – designed by American golf course architects Robert Trent Jones and Ron Kirby – was opened for play to much critical acclaim – so much so that it was chosen six years later as the venue for the Italian Open, won by Dale Hayes. Pevero is certainly a daring design and this strategic course is set on the edge of the rugged, jagged coastline. On a clear day there are some glorious views across the turquoise sea to distant Corsica.
The outward half is routed in an anti-clockwise direction around Pevero Bay with water featuring at two successive holes – the 6th and 7th – where the former is a short par four that doglegs left to a green protected by a pond to the left and the latter is a long par three with water to the front and left and a putting surface guarded by five greenside bunkers.
The back nine forms a clockwise loop beside the beach of Cala di Volpe (the Bay of Foxes) and it too has a pair of holes where water comes into play. The 321-yard par four 16th has a pond short left of the fairway and another located long right, beside the green so both the tee shot and the approach are threatened. The 182-yard par three 17th has water in front of the green and two bunkers at the back to catch over hit tee shots.
Although Pevero is situated on the beautiful Costa Smeralda with spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea from every hole, don’t think such a fabulous location is not without its climatic problems. When the famed north wind – the Mistral – blows, controlling a golf ball round this course is a tough task for even the professionals.
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
California, United States
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New York, United States
Top 60 Golf Courses of Italy 2020 This is the fifth biennial revision of our listings for Italy, which began with a modest Top 20 back in 2008. We expanded the rankings to a Top 30 in 2014 then added a further twenty tracks two years later to create a Top 50. We’re adding another ten layouts and that means we’ll now profile around 25% of the 241 golf facilities operating across the country. Half of these courses are located in the North, or Alta Italia, region and this is only to be expected when you consider most of the nation’s golf output is to be found there, even if the sport’s political power remains close to the capital in Rome, evidenced by Marco Simone Golf and Country Club hosting the Ryder Cup in 2022. Golf in Italy’s still very much a game played by a relatively select few, even though 91,000 players are registered with the Italian Golf Federation. The latest statistics in a KPMG report list the general population per golf course in 2018 as 246,058 and this figure was easily the worst (Belgium was next with 149,351) when compared against 19 others in western Europe. Turning our attention to our latest ranking chart for Italy, 10 courses remain in the same position, 10 move upward and 12 enter for the first time. Remarkably, seven of the non-movers reside within the Top 10 tier, including the No. 1 layout at Circolo Golf Villa d’Este in Como. Laid out in the tree-clad hills above Lake Montorfano, this Peter Gannon design dates back to the mid-1920s and more Italian Open champions have been crowned here than anywhere else. Circolo Golf Villa d’Este Review comments for this classic old track include snippets such as: “it may measure fairly short but you won’t find it easy here on the wooded hillside near Lake Como… the views were sensational and I could still see the snow-capped mountains… the overall experience was excellent… there are big old trees that surround every hole… the course design is great, with no weak hole”. Rising four places to #4, the course at Pevero Golf Club in Sardinia is a Robert Trent Jones design that opened in 1972, shortly after Ron Kirby, RTJ’s man on the ground at this time in Europe, left the firm to start up his own business. Six years later, the 35th edition of the Italian Open was held here, won by Dale Hayes from South Africa. Pevero Golf Club Our US Consultant Fergal O’Leary had this to say about Pevero when he played it a while back: “the routing is very tough at this course. The topography doesn’t lend itself to a simple flow. Each hole sits alone as its own unique creation. On the back nine, the distance between many of the holes becomes very noticeable as RTJ Snr wrestled with how to connect each hole to the next.” Climbing five rungs on the ladder to #15, the course at Castiglion del Bosco in the Brunello di Montalcino winemaking region of Tuscany is a rare European design from Tom Weiskopf which debuted in 2012. Boasting fescue fairways and bent grass greens, the course is draped across a stunning landscape, with a “settle the bet” par three 19th hole available for deciding tied matches before players retire to the clubhouse. Castiglion del Bosco The course at Argentario Golf Resort & Spa is another Tuscan beauty that advances four positions to #21. Recently designated as the PGA National Golf Course Italy , this 18-hole layout on the Monte Argentario promontory is set out in a spectacular spot overlooking the Orbetello Lagoon, where the coastal breezes have a big say in how well you’ll perform here. Water hazards come into play on the outward half before holes then weave their way through some lovely olive groves on the back nine. Argentario Golf Resort & Spa The biggest upward move in the new Italian table (soaring eleven places to #23) is made by the oldest golf club in Italy, Circolo Golf Ugolino, founded in 1889 and now situated 15 kilometres south of the city centre in Florence. The course is another Peter Gannon creation which was laid out with his design partner Cecil Blandford in the early 1930s, when the club moved to its current location, and it still retains many of its original characteristics, including very small “postage stamp” greens. Circolo Golf Ugolino An hour’s drive further south of Florence, the course at Royal Golf la Bagnaia leaps ten places up the new chart to #25. It featured in an article published last year entitled On the Robert Trent Jones Jr. Trail in Italy, when we visited several places within the beautiful regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio, and La Bagnaia occupies a substantial portion of a large, rolling property that encompasses a couple of old, converted villages as boutique accommodation options. Royal Golf la Bagnaia The course at Golf Club Bologna is the highest of ten new entries appearing in our new rankings, arriving at #30. The first course to be established in the Emilia-Romagna region when it was unveiled in the late 1950s, it’s a Ken Cotton and John Harris co-production which was subsequently modified by Peter Alliss around twenty years ago. Although it’s never hosted a major professional tournament like the Italian Open, the layout has been used for many elite regional and national amateur events. Golf Club Bologna Over the coming months we hope to hear positive news regarding Sicily's Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa, which closed down last year and is currently for sale. It would be a real shame to lose the 36-hole facility that hosted the inaugural Sicilian Open in 2011. Rank/ To view the complete detailed list of the Top 60 Golf Courses of Italy click the link. 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
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
