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Golf Know-how
Rules, etiquette, handicaps and practical tips for playing in Italy.
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Golf Know-how
Playing golf in Italy as a foreigner: handicaps, cards, bookings
At Tiber in Rome you need a federation card to hit a single shot on the course; at Pevero, a maximum handicap of 54; at Tarvisio, if your handicap is above 45, you stay on the driving range. Every Italian club has its own entry rules, and knowing them before you leave saves you from turning up with your clubs and being left outside.
14 min read
Golf Know-howGolf carts in Italy: when you need one and what they cost
Between €44 and €60: the price of a golf cart for 18 holes at ten Italian clubs, according to 2026 price lists. When renting one really makes sense, who may drive it and the rules to know before you climb aboard.
5 min read
Golf Know-howThe essential rules of golf
Three minutes of searching, then the ball is lost and you play again from where you hit, with a one-stroke penalty. The rules that really matter to a beginner, with the R&A's official penalties in a table.
6 min read
Golf Know-howEtiquette on the course
Forty seconds: that is how long the Rules of Golf recommend for playing a stroke once you can play without interference. Etiquette is less codified than people think, but many Italian clubs have turned it into precise bans, from jeans to metal spikes.
6 min read
Golf Know-howGetting ready for a week of golf: fitness, pace and habits
Four hundred metres of elevation change in a single round at Carezza, between four and a half and five hours at Asiago: seven days of golf are a small physical feat, and it pays to prepare a few weeks ahead.
5 min read
Golf Know-howTravel insurance for golfers: what the membership card covers and what it does not
One hundred and twenty thousand euros for death or injury, fifteen thousand for medical expenses: these are the limits the Italian Golf Federation's policy summarises for its members, and they are no substitute for travel insurance. Here is how to read them before you leave.
5 min read
Golf Know-howGolf and dogs: the Italian clubs where they are allowed
At Lanzo Intelvi the dog may follow the round, at Aviano only outside competitions, at Lana not at all: in Italy the rule on dogs on the course is written by each club, and the difference from one course to the next is stark.
7 min read
Golf Know-howLessons with a professional: what to expect
At Folgaria, if you beat the professional over a nine-hole lesson, the lesson is free. In Italy a golf lesson can last half an hour or an hour and cost from 25 to 80 euros: duration, technology, language and what to ask before you book.
5 min read
Golf Know-howAmateur competitions open to guests: where to enter in Italy
Forty-five euros at Campagnola Emilia, sixty at Castenaso, sixty-five at Gignod: that is what three Italian clubs charge in 2026 for a non-member entering a competition, green fee already included.
7 min read
Golf Know-howHow to book a tee time in Italy
On a club's website there is a form that promises a tee time, but in Venice that request only counts once the secretary's office confirms it. In Italy a tee time has at least four different routes, and it pays to know which applies where before choosing the course.
6 min read
Golf Know-howPlaying golf in the heat: practical advice
Four extra yards, about 3.7 metres: that is what a 250-yard drive gains when the temperature rises from 21 to 32 degrees, according to a TrackMan study. The ball flies, but it is the golfer who pays the bill: what the Ministry of Health says and how to plan a summer round.
5 min read
Golf Know-howPreventing golf injuries: back, elbow, wrist and good habits
73.5% of professional golfers and 56.6% of amateurs risk a musculoskeletal injury over a lifetime: figures from a 2024 review cited by the AAOS, and they dispel the idea of golf as a sport without risk.
4 min read
Golf Know-howGolf schools for children: where to start in Italy, from age 5
From age five at Villa d'Este, six at Courmayeur and Rovigo, eight at Chieti: the minimum age for joining a golf school changes from club to club, and it is worth knowing before choosing where to go on holiday with the children.
7 min read
Golf Know-howGolf glossary, Italian to English: the terms to know on the course
A ball buried in the sand of a bunker is, in Italian, a \"fried egg\"; but almost everything else on an Italian course is said in English, and a glossary keeps you from falling silent on the first tee beside an Italian partner.
7 min read
Golf Know-howPlaying golf in the mountains: what changes
At 5,000 feet, about 1,500 metres, a 200-yard shot travels about 212: so says a Titleist study reported by GOLF.com. In the mountains the ball flies further and the course demands more legwork; the calendar, though, is decided by the snow.
5 min read
Golf Know-howGolf competition formats explained: medal, stableford, louisiana and more
Three ways to score the same round: count the strokes, count the points or count the holes won. Knowing which one your event uses changes the way you play, and sometimes the decision to pick up your ball.
6 min read
Golf Know-howTrackMan and swing analysis
Smash factor 1.50: the ratio of ball speed to club speed that TrackMan gives as the target for the driver, 150 miles per hour of ball for every 100 of club. The numbers the radar shows you in a lesson, one by one, and where to try it in Italy.
6 min read
Golf Know-howLearning golf on holiday
Twenty euros: that is what the Italian Golf Federation's GOLFPOP Card costs, with a lesson from a teaching professional, a membership card and insurance, and since 2026 it is the simplest way to give the game a try. After that come the clubs' courses and the hotels' packages, all the way to a first handicap.
5 min read
Golf Know-howHow much a green fee costs in Italy
For 18 holes you can pay 25 euros or 270, and the figure changes three times in the same year at the same course. The 2026 price lists of the clubs, set side by side: what to expect and where you really save.
6 min read
Golf Know-howThe WHS handicap explained simply
Twenty scores on record, but only eight count: the lowest. How the World Handicap System's Handicap Index is built, why the same number means different strokes on different courses, and how to get one in Italy.
6 min read