The southern area of Italy forms the lower “boot” of the country with the regions of Abruzzo, Basilica, Campania and Molise fashioning the ankle, Apulia shaping the heel and Calabria forming the toe.

The 24 provinces within these six regions account for only 24 of the golf facilities in Italy and considering there’s a healthy total of 363 clubs affiliated nationally to the Federazione Italiana Golf, that tells you golf is not exactly high on the sporting agenda in the south of the country.

Eight of the clubs in the south operate 9-hole courses with another eight offering golfers the use of an 18-hole layout. Five of these full sized courses are located in the region of Apulia.

The Riva dei Tessali and Metaponto courses are in play at the Riva dei Tessali Hotel & Golf Resort near Taranto whilst an hour’s drive to the north, the Bari Alto course lies 11 miles inland from Bari.

Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry recently completed the Acaya course at the Double Tree resort to the south east of Lecce and this modern new setup is a fine complement to the 18 holes at European Golf Design’s San Domenico resort further along the Adriatic coast.