Il Picciolo Golf Club

Luigi Rota Caremoli, who according to the resort was the only Italian admitted to the British Golf Course Architects, laid out the course over 44 hectares of hilly terrain, placing the hazards so that the layout would look natural. The result is a par 72 of 5,870 metres in which lava stone comes into play: from the tees of the 5th to the rugged areas around the 16th green.

The 7th is the hardest par 5: an uphill double dogleg to the right, with a raised green that borders an old lava flow on the left. The 11th is stroke index one, a long, narrow par 4 with water and out of bounds, where the club itself admits that a bogey is nothing to be ashamed of. At the 14th, anyone who leaves the drive short plays a blind approach over a field of rocks lying across the fairway, with the lake right behind the green.

The wind matters: the par 3 8th, played from an elevated tee, changes character with the direction of the gusts, and the 10th, the longest par 3, often plays in a crosswind. The 15th is the respite, a par 3 in a natural amphitheatre with Etna in the background; the 16th immediately resumes the climb, towards a three-tier green with a steep drop.

Green fees are reserved for players with a certified handicap or a green card; beginners can take lessons with the pros and use the practice ground. Tee times are booked online. The price list published for 2026 shows 110 euros for 18 holes and 60 for nine for outside players, 90 and 55 euros for those staying at the resort.

The golf cart costs 50 euros for 18 holes, the manual trolley is included in the green fee and the electric one costs 20 euros; a rental bag is 30. In summer the course is open from 8 am to 8 pm, closing half an hour before sunset.

In just over twenty years Il Picciolo has hosted five open events. The Sicilian Ladies Italian Open was played here three years running, from 1995 to 1997, and returned in 2011; in 2010 it was the turn of a stop on the European Senior Open.

Today the course is the heart of a Curio Collection by Hilton resort, with a spa, restaurants and swimming pools. The school is led by Giuseppe Marra, head pro since 2019 and founder of the Mediterranea Golf Academy; beginners are lent a full set of equipment. The practice ground has 16 bays, five of them covered, with putting and pitching greens, and the club house has a TrackMan simulator for training on the world's most famous courses.

• A stone turret as an aiming point. At the 4th, an uphill hole, the approach to the green is blind unless the drive clears a stone turret.
• Three opens in a row. Between 1995 and 1997 Europe's best women players came back here every year for the Ladies Italian Open.
• Three-tier greens. The 4th, 15th and 16th all have three levels; at the 16th the flag on the highest level is, according to the club, the trickiest position.
• The trolley is included. The manual trolley is not charged separately with the green fee.