Amateur competitions open to guests: where to enter in Italy

Playing a competition on holiday is the quickest way to turn a round into a proper day of golf: a fixed tee time, assigned playing partners, a leaderboard and a prize-giving. In Italy you can do it without being a member, but there is no national list of competitions open to outside players. The right addresses are the clubs and hotels that say so in black and white: they either publish a competition fee for non-members or run an event designed for their guests.

Even there, the calendars specify event by event who may enter, and the rules may reserve the most important competitions for members. Before you leave, therefore, write to the club office with your handicap.

What it costs to enter: 2026 competition fees for non-members

In the clubs' price lists the competition fee usually includes the green fee, so it costs little more than an ordinary round. A few examples:

A few clarifications. At Vigevano the fee is quoted as entry plus green fee: 50 euros for 18 holes on weekdays and 60 at weekends. At Casalunga, in the province of Bologna, the price list is valid from 1 March 2026 and the club plays its official competitions with a temporary 8th hole, after the flooding between 2023 and 2024: according to the club, the return to the original layout is planned for some time in 2026. At Golf Club Lamborghini in Panicale, Umbria, as at other clubs, you are asked for the handicap certificate of your home club in order to play.

Competitions and tournaments designed for hotel guests

Some hotels organise a competition for those staying with them. Every autumn the Royal Hotel Sanremo brings golfers to the Circolo Golf degli Ulivi for the Royal Golf Challenge: in 2026 on 24 and 25 October, an individual stableford over 36 holes, with the option of playing a single round; according to the 2025 edition it includes three categories, a cocktail party and gala dinner at the hotel on Saturday, and the prize-giving on Sunday. The hotel's golf package includes at least three nights, two green fees per person and a dinner, and there is a dedicated offer for the Challenge.

At the Quellenhof in San Martino in Passiria, according to the hotel, every Wednesday the Golf Club Quellenhof Passeier hosts a competition reserved for hotel guests, with its own leaderboard: the winner receives a night at the hotel. The Meridiana in Garlenda hosts the Relais & Châteaux Trophy together with the La Meridiana Gourmet Trophy on 17 and 18 October 2026; the hotel notes that on competition weekends play is 9 holes in the morning and 9 in the afternoon, or 18 after the competition. If you are not a guest, ask whether the competition is open to outside players.

Calendars full of fixtures: where to look in the coming months

To plan a trip it is worth looking at clubs with many competitions and a culture of hospitality. The Golf Club Villa Condulmer, in Mogliano Veneto, has an October 2026 calendar with 35 events: among them the 28th TouristGolf & Travel Cup (3 October, a single-round competition), the Hospite Golf Cup on 31 October (a "4 balls 2 players" format, one round) and the Renzo Trentin Pro-Am on 12 October. The name does not tell you who may enter: you have to ask the club office. CUS Ferrara has, in October 2026, the 1st Emilia-Romagna Golf Amateur Challenge (4 October) and the XXIII President's Cup (25 October). Other clubs report a busy programme: about 50 competitions a year at Golf Club La Serra in Valenza, about 40 a season at I Lauri in Montefiore dell'Aso.

In the mountains competitions are concentrated in summer: in 2026 Golf Club Cervino scheduled dozens of events between June and September, from the Cervino Pro Am in July to the Cervino Gold Trophy in August, and a 54-hole FIG National Competition in July. Those dates have passed, but they give an idea of the season for next year.

What you need to enter

• Official handicap or membership card. At Molinetto, in Cernusco sul Naviglio, players with a playing handicap are admitted, along with members of other Italian and foreign clubs affiliated to their own federation; members without a handicap must hold the green card. Tiber in Rome explains that the federation card showing a handicap is an insurance requirement valid on all Italian courses. At Golf Club Mare di Roma you need the FIG membership for the current year, which certifies your handicap and covers insurance.
• Reciprocity. At Golf Club Cansiglio, the agreements for outside players do not apply on competition days.
• Category. In club competitions, writes the Italian Golf Federation, the top three net scores in each category and the best overall gross score are generally rewarded: bring your up-to-date handicap.