Modena Golf e Country Club

The club was founded in September 1987 by a group of local entrepreneurs; the championship course, opened in 1990, is the work of the German champion Bernhard Langer with the American architect Jim Engh. It occupies more than one hundred hectares of flat land at about 100 metres above sea level, in the hamlet of Colombaro, among oaks, maples and evergreen shrubs. The par is 72 over 6,423 metres; five lakes and numerous bunkers make it, the club says, fun and technical, with generous greens and tees.

The holes have a distinct character. At the 3rd, near the tee, you can see a fifteenth-century turret and a small church with an eighteenth-century convent. The 6th has a strong psychological impact: tee and green are separated by water. From the 7th you can make out the Apennines with the peaks of Monte Cimone and Corno alle Scale. The 11th is a par 3 on a peninsula, with a two-tier green and, in summer, flowering water lilies.

The Tiepido stream runs along the out-of-bounds on the right at the 13th, the longest hole on the course, and at the 16th, the longest and hardest par 4, where a cycle path also runs. The 18th closes the round: a large lake on the right, out of bounds on the left and two crossings of the water for those who play cautiously; the bolder players try the tee shot over the peninsula on the right. The club remembers it as the dramatic finale of the 50th Italian Open, won by Greg Turner.

The club's website does not publish a green fee list for guests: to find out whether, and on what terms, a non-member can play, you need to call the secretary's office on +39 059 553482 or write to [email protected]. The required handicap and the season are not stated either.

The closing day is Tuesday, except on public holidays. The Caddie Master looks after the bag room and the rental of golf carts and equipment; clothing and equipment are also available in the pro shop, at the entrance to the clubhouse.

For those new to golf, the club takes part in Golf Pop: for 20 euros you get 2026 and 2027 membership of the Federation, insurance cover and a free first lesson. There is also a personalised 2026 offer at 400 euros with four months of practice-range access and ten half-hour lessons.

The Executive has nine holes, all par 3, over 976 metres, and was designed by the American architect Ron Kirby: it lets newcomers play on a proper course. The practice range has 15 open bays and 10 covered ones under a wooden roof with heaters for winter, plus an indoor golf simulator; a pitching and putting green and a bunker complete the area.

The Modena Golf Academy is led by the professionals Massimo Scarpa, Margherita Rigon, Giacomo Tonelli and Luca Prampolini, with computerised swing analysis and equipment advice. In 2018 the men's team won the title of absolute Italian team champions, the third (second in a row).

The clubhouse has a bar-restaurant, card rooms, a TV and a billiard table, and a wellness area with saunas. Outside there are two tennis courts and an artificial-turf five-a-side pitch, the gym and the swimming pool, open from June to September.

• A fifteenth-century turret. At the 3rd you play beside a tower from the 1400s and a small church with an adjoining convent from the 1700s.
• Water lilies on the par 3. In summer they bloom around the 11th, whose green sits on a peninsula.
• The Tiepido and the cycle path. At the 16th the stream and a cycle path act as out of bounds.
• An Open decided on the 18th. The finish of the 50th Italian Open, won by Greg Turner, was played over the lake of the last hole.
• Three Italian titles. The men's team has won the absolute team title three times, the last in 2018.