Olgiata Golf Club

The club has two courses, West and East, for a total of 27 holes. They opened in 1961 to a design by the English architect C. Kenneth Cotton. The West, the championship course, was almost entirely redesigned in 2012 by the American Jim Fazio, with the aim, declared by the club, of bringing it up to modern standards and making it suitable again for major tournaments. Today it offers three configurations (par 71, 72 and 73) and seven sets of tees, hence a level of difficulty suited to different players. The website does not publish the length in metres.

The East is a nine-hole par 36 course of 2,947 metres, conceived as an independent facility where official competitions are regularly held.

The trophy cabinet tells how much the West matters. Here were played the Eisenhower Trophy of 1964, the World Cup of 1968 and that of 1984, the Italian Open of 1973, 2002 and 2019, the European final of the Dunhill Cup of 1987, the 1989–1991 editions of the Italian Women's Open and the Rome Golf Open from 2010 to 2014.

Beneath the course, the club points out, there are still Etruscan tunnels and caves dug into the tuff.

The club is open from 8 am to 9 pm and closes on Mondays that are not public holidays. You book your tee time from the website or by writing to [email protected]; the secretary's office answers on 06 30889141.

The 2026 price list distinguishes several categories. The full price is 130 euros on the West on weekdays and 160 on weekends and public holidays, 55 and 75 euros on the East. A rate for “Italians” players starts from 70 euros on the West and 35 on the East. Those who play as a member's guest pay 55 euros (weekdays) and 75 (weekends and public holidays) on the West and 30 and 45 on the East; for juniors there is a 50 per cent discount.

Hire of a golf cart costs 50 euros on weekdays and 60 on weekends and public holidays for 18 holes, the electric trolley 20 euros, the manual one 10, a bag 40. The caddie master stores and cleans the bags. Required handicap and dress code do not appear in the pages consulted: it is best to ask the secretary's office.

Olgiata has a history that predates golf by centuries. In 1566 the banking family Olgiati, who had come from Como, bought the land from the Duke of Bracciano Paolo Giordano Orsini and gave the estate its name; the castle at the centre, built between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, has walls and four towers, and outside the walls stands a small chapel with frescoes. In 1930 the estate passed to the Marquis Incisa della Rocchetta, who turned it into a farm: here were born the horses Nearco, Tenerani and Ribot of the Dormello-Olgiata stud. At the end of the 1950s the Società Generale Immobiliare planned a residential development with large sports facilities, including the course.

The clubhouse has two restaurants, one on the upper floor with a veranda over the swimming pool, one at course level, as well as a pro shop that is a branch of the historic Cura di Vetralla Bellettini. For practice there are a driving range with pitching green, practice bunkers and two putting greens. The academy has five professionals, with programmes for young people; the complex also has a gym, a swimming pool (June to September), a sauna and a play area for children.

• The course of four-legged champions. The horses Nearco, Tenerani and Ribot, of the Dormello-Olgiata stud, were born on this estate.
• Etruscans under the fairways. The course is still crossed by tunnels and caves dug into the tuff, the website says.
• From 1964 to 2019. From the Eisenhower Trophy to the 76th edition of the Italian Open, the club's trophy cabinet spans over half a century of international golf.
• A castle at the centre. The castle built between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with walls and four towers, stands at the centre of the estate.