Golf Club Udine

The club was founded in 1970 and affiliated to the Federation in 1972. The English architect John Dering Harris, assisted by the Venetian Marco Croze, laid out the first nine holes, and it was Croze who completed the course in 1995, fitting the other nine into the original design. In 2014, a year after Gabriele Lualdi acquired the complex, the agronomist Fulvio Bani led a restyling with an extension: the club presents it as an attempt to make the course a European benchmark.

Today the championship layout is a par 72. From the men's tees it measures 6,062 metres with a course rating of 73 and a slope of 136; from the ladies' tees 5,257 metres, rating 73.7 and slope 129. The course follows the curves of the morainic hills, among centuries-old oaks, wild cherry trees and alders, and according to the club not a single hole offers a moment's respite.

The club singles out the 15th, with many trees on both sides of the fairway and the green protected at the front by a lake, and the 18th, recently completed: a par 4 of about 380 metres uphill that ends at a very large green that is hard to read. The greens are undulating and guarded by bunkers, and the layout alternates descents and climbs.

For those who prefer to walk, three fitness trails of 1.3, 2.5 and 5.4 kilometres run inside the course: access is free for members and for guests of the Villaverde facilities.

The 2026 price list published by the club sets the green fee for 18 holes at €95 on weekdays and €100 on public holidays; for 9 holes the price is €50 and €55. There are dedicated rates: the Senior Day on non-holiday Mondays and Tuesdays costs €70 for 18 holes, the Tuesday Ladies Day €50, while members of Friuli Venezia Giulia clubs pay €80. Guests of Villaverde Resort and The Lodge get a rate of €75 for 18 holes and €45 for nine.

The golf cart costs €50 for 18 holes (€30 for nine), the electric trolley €25 (€15), and a full set of rental clubs €30; entry to the driving range is €20, with tokens for 24 balls at €3. Driving a cart is forbidden for under-18s.

On Mondays the clubhouse bar and restaurant are closed, while the course and pro shop stay open. The website gives no minimum handicap and no opening hours or months: to book, call 0432 800418.

The clubhouse has been completely renovated and the club has built a new practice area of over 33,000 square metres, with separate zones for the long and short game. The facility also includes a pro shop, the restaurant and a wellness service.

The school offers individual and group lessons, courses for children and, in the recent calendar, group courses for beginners starting in September and lesson packages to give as a gift to someone who has never picked up a club.

The president since 2013 is Gabriele Lualdi, who succeeded Alberto Malignani, in office since 1994. On the competitive side, the club states that since 2016 the course has regularly hosted a stop on the European Senior Tour.

• A joint effort. The first nine-hole design bears the signature of the Englishman John Dering Harris, himself a good golfer, with the help of the Venetian Marco Croze.
• The second nine, 25 years later. Croze added the other nine holes only in 1995, twenty-five years after the club's foundation.
• Walking the course. The club has marked out three fitness trails, green, blue and red, open to members and Villaverde guests.
• The new 18th hole. The website describes it as recently completed: a par 4 of about 380 metres, all uphill.