Golf Club Terme di Galzignano

The course was designed by the architect Marco Croze in 1999 and, according to the club, is the fourth course in the Euganean thermal basin, one of the most famous in Europe. It has 9 holes over 2,048 metres and par 31: six par 3s, two par 4s and a single par 5. A short course, where distance counts for little.

Water is the protagonist. At the 4th hole the tee stands in the middle of the lake, and at the 9th the green, surrounded by water, seems to float: a scenic finish to a short round. The rest of the design plays with water features and small lakes, in wide open spaces alternating with woodland.

The landscape is that of the Euganean Hills Regional Park, within which the course lies. The hills form a crown around the layout and, as the club's website tells it, on the course you come across fumaroles, evidence of the very ancient volcanic activity that still makes the thermal springs possible. The Hills were born about 35 million years ago from submarine eruptions: the website retraces the geological history, from the limestone rocks to the eruptive bodies of Monte Venda and Monte Cecilia.

The club is open all year: in summer from 9 am to 7:30 pm, in winter from 9 am to 5 pm. The secretary's office can be reached on 049 6456168 and at [email protected]; the restaurant has its own number, 375 5989544.

The pages consulted do not publish green fees, required handicap, closing day or dress code: these are details to ask the secretary's office before setting out. Rental includes bags, irons, trolleys and golf carts, while for guests of the resort's hotel there is a package combining green fees on three courses, access to the thermal pools and spa treatments.

Terme di Galzignano Golf is part of the Galzignano Resort: three four-star hotels, a medical SPA, indoor and outdoor thermal pools with natural water at 37 degrees and clay tennis courts. The clubhouse stands in the complex's natural park.

For practice there are covered bays on the driving range, pitching and chipping greens, a putting green and a practice bunker. The golf academy offers daily lessons by appointment, from 9 am to 7 pm, for all levels, with equipment supplied to beginners. The bar restaurant, from breakfast to dinner, serves local cuisine and products from the Euganean Hills, with an outdoor area overlooking the greenery, and there is a pro shop.

• Fumaroles on the course. On the course you come across the puffs of steam that testify to the ancient volcanic activity of the Euganean Hills.
• Tee in the lake. At the 4th hole you drive off from a platform in the middle of the water.
• A floating green. The 9th hole ends on a green surrounded by water, which gives the impression of floating.
• Six par 3s out of nine. The layout is short: 2,048 metres in all.