Golf Club Ponte di Legno

The course occupies the basin of Valbione, in the Adamello Park, surrounded by fir woods and dominated by the rocky ridge of the Corno d'Aola. The layout has 9 holes to be played twice for a round of 18: par 70 and 5,277 metres. For men the club gives a course rating of 67.4 and a slope of 128, for women 68.8 and 130.

The structure can be read in the pars: two par 3s (holes 3 and 4), a single par 5, the 8th at 485 metres, and six par 4s. The 8th and 9th did not start out this way: in 1988-89 the former went from a par 4 to a par 5 and the latter from a par 3 to a 340-metre par 4. In the 1990s the green of the 9th was moved further downhill, with a pond in front.

The most spectacular, according to the club, is the 7th: once a par 3, now a 333-metre par 4 in the pinewood, with the green protected by two water hazards. The ground was originally marshy: reclamation and drainage made the fairways playable.

The season is a summer one: in 2026 the course reopened on Saturday 30 May and the clubhouse offers refreshments from June to September. In winter the secretary's office is in via Risorgimento in Ponte di Legno (0364 900306); in season, call the Valbione course (0364 900269).

The 2026 price list sets, for 18 holes, 40 euros on weekdays, 55 on weekends and holidays and 70 in August; affiliated players pay 35, 45 and 60 euros. 9 holes cost 35 euros (40 in August) and juniors get a 50 per cent discount. You can hire golf buggies (50 euros for 18 holes, 30 for nine), electric trolleys (15 and 10 euros) and manual ones (5 euros), and there is also a caddie at 30 euros. The club does not state a minimum handicap.

Golf attire is required on the course: no jeans, tracksuits or fitness wear, and shoes without metal spikes.

The course took shape from the early 1980s, at first constrained by the private land available and limited resources. The growing enthusiasm of the members led to its being redesigned on golfing principles under the direction of Luigi Rota Caremoli: from autumn 1986 holes 3 and 4 were altered and separate tees built for men and women. Then came automatic irrigation (1988-89) and, in 1994-95, the new building for bags, changing rooms and the buggy shed.

The first competitions, the President's Cup and the Chicca Cup, date from the mid-1980s; since 1997 the Veglia Orologi Pro-Am has been played. The course record is 63, set by Alessandro Lorati in 2022; among professionals the best is the 65 of Costantino Rocca (2010).

The clubhouse, carved out of a hut of the old mountain pasture, has a room with a fireplace and a covered terrace since 2019; the school relies on the instructors of the Italian Golf Academy and there is a practice range (a basket of 30 balls for 2.50 euros).

• A course on a marsh. The area was originally marshy and uncultivated: reclamation and drainage were needed.
• Three changes in one hole. The 7th was a par 3: removed, it became a 333-metre par 4.
• The golfers' chairlift. At the base of the Valbione chairlift you buy the season pass (60 euros).
• A 63 at altitude. The course record belongs to Alessandro Lorati, in 2022.