Country Club Castelgandolfo

The ground on which the course stands is a volcanic basin. According to the story told by the club, a lake had formed in the crater and was drained in imperial times: the hydraulic engineers of ancient Rome dug a network of tunnels and channels, still working, that link the area to the outflows of Lake Castel Gandolfo, and left behind a highly fertile expanse of vegetable plots and orchards. On that ground Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the 18 holes, respecting the shape of the crater.

The fairways run between centuries-old olive trees and Mediterranean pines, vineyards, cypresses, mimosas, citrus trees and rose gardens. The course has 93 bunkers, 3 ponds and artificial hazards. From the clubhouse balcony you take in all 18 holes in a single glance.

The club publishes rating and slope for six categories of tees. Male professionals play 6,245 metres with a course rating of 73.3 and slope of 137; male amateurs 5,881 metres (71.5 and 134), advanced amateurs 5,460 (69.3 and 129). For women: 5,460 metres (76.1 and 135) for professionals, 5,151 (73.4 and 130) and 4,762 (71.0 and 125) for amateurs. The website does not state the par.

On its website the club offers a price list of rates and services with no indication of the year it applies to, so it is best to confirm the figures with the office. For 18 holes you pay €100 on weekdays and €130 at weekends and on public holidays; FIG members pay €70 and €90, and members of Lazio clubs €40 and €50. The driving range costs €15, nine holes for members of Golf Club del Lazio €30 and €40.

Paid services include a golf cart at €50 on weekdays and €60 at weekends and public holidays, an electric trolley at €30, a manual trolley at €10 and club hire. Tee times are booked online through the website or at the office (+39 06 931 2301, Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 6:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday 8:30 am to 7 pm). The website does not state a minimum handicap or a closing day.

The clubhouse is housed in the 17th-century villa that Cardinal Flavio Chigi, nephew of Pope Alexander VII, had built to accommodate a celebrated beauty of the day, known as la Pavona: the name has stuck to the villa and to the locality. From the balcony you see the course, and behind you “four centuries of history” in the rooms.

The restaurant serves, indoors and in the garden on summer evenings, creative cooking that reworks the flavours of the area (reservations +39 06 931 5203). The club also has a bar, swimming pool, pro shop, tennis courts, a five-a-side pitch, cinema room, billiard room and free Wi-Fi. On the sporting side there are pros, a Junior Golf Academy and a club fitting service, as well as a very full calendar of competitions.

• A lake drained two thousand years ago. Roman engineers drained the crater lake with channels that, according to the club, still work.
• A villa for la Pavona. Cardinal Flavio Chigi built the villa for a celebrated beauty known as “la Pavona”.
• The whole course from one balcony. From the clubhouse balcony you can see all 18 holes.
• 93 bunkers. Together with the 3 ponds, they are the hazards the club mentions first.