Venezia

Lido di Venezia is a long, narrow sandbar that separates the lagoon of Venice from the Adriatic Sea and it’s one of the most fashionable bathing resorts in Europe. However, the Lido is also the location of the Golf Club Venezia and their fine course is located at the southern tip of the island. Here, the social exclusivity of Italian golf manifests itself geographically as it requires a ferry ride to access the course from the city!

Built as a 9-hole layout by Count Volpi di Misurati at the instigation of car magnate Henry Ford in 1930, the course was extended by Ken Cotton and John Harris to its present 18-hole configuration in 1951. Within four years, the course was hosting the Italian Open and would do so a further twice, in 1960 and 1974. In more recent times, it was home to the Senior Italian Open, with four editions of the competition held here from when it was established in 2004 until 2007.

Routed around the Venetian fortress of San Nicolo, Venezia is a delightful, eclectic amalgam of parkland-cum-links, with lovely tree-lined fairways laid out on sandy soil and the putting surfaces of the holes that end the front and back nine lie within the boundary of the former military stronghold.

The 187-yard par three 9th is played blind over a moat and rampart to a green that’s further protected with a bunker to the front left of the putting surface. The 360-yard 18th is the last of five straight par fours and it doglegs left with water either side of the landing area. Two large frontal bunkers protect the green on either side to catch any offline approach shots.