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Golf Travel
Itineraries, destinations and when to go.
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Golf Travel
Golf in Apulia: Valle d'Itria and Salento
When the Knights of Malta tower at Savelletri became a hotel, it was, according to the Michelin Guide, the first time the word “masseria” had been used for an accommodation. Today the same property runs the course overlooking the Adriatic, and a few minutes away there are two more masserie with a nine-hole course.
7 min read
Golf TravelGolf and wine in Piedmont: an itinerary through Langhe and Monferrato
On 22 June 2014 UNESCO inscribed the wine landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato on the World Heritage List. Golfers who arrive with a bag of clubs will find courses among the hills, and one that grew out of a practice range so steep that the balls rolled back by themselves.
7 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Liguria: the Riviera from Sanremo to Rapallo
At the 11th hole in Garlenda, members say they play their own “Amen Corner”; at Rapallo a stream was moved to make room for the last nine holes; at Sanremo the course closes every autumn for reseeding. Liguria has few courses, nearly all short, nearly all open year-round: here is how to build a trip around them.
9 min read
Golf TravelGolf with children: the resorts with a junior academy
At Verdura the junior programme runs from ages 6 to 16, at Saturnia the green and orange tees are reserved for under-12s, and at Is Molas there is a summer camp for young players. Eight resorts where you can play golf with your children without leaving them behind.
6 min read
Golf TravelClubs in the boot: a golf road trip through Italy
Five courses, four drives and a change of scenery that runs from the Savoy hunting reserve to the olive groves above Sanremo. The trip begins where the Molinari brothers grew up and ends in front of the sea.
8 min read
Golf TravelA golf week with friends in Italy: how to organise it
Eight players, five days, four rounds of 18 holes: the real problem with a golf week among friends is not choosing the courses but getting everyone to tee off together. Here is how to plan a group trip with no surprises on the 1st tee.
5 min read
Golf TravelFlying with a golf bag: the airline rules
On easyJet a golf bag counts as a «small» item of sports equipment and cannot exceed 20 kilograms, and adding it at the airport costs more than adding it online. Before you pack, it helps to know what you pay, where and how to avoid it.
4 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Friuli Venezia Giulia
The Padriciano course was handed over to Trieste's golfers by the Anglo-Americans in early 1955, at Tarvisio the motto is “One club. Three countries”, and Lignano staged the Women's Italian Open in 1993 and 1994. Six 18-hole courses, from the Karst to the lagoon.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf on Lake Maggiore: Stresa, the Borromean Islands and the courses
In 1927 Percy Alliss won the Italian Open on Mottarone, above Stresa, after a play-off in which he shot 67. That nine-holer is where a lake begins on which you play between the Alps, the islands and the villas.
8 min read
Golf TravelThe most convenient airports for a golf holiday in Italy
At Turin, about 22 minutes separate Caselle airport from the first tee at La Mandria; in Sicily, getting from Palermo to Verdura takes more than two hours. Before choosing a flight, look at the road.
7 min read
Golf TravelThe Golf Courses Closest to the Sea in Italy
Joakim Lagergren, who won the 2018 Sicilian Open at Verdura, said you can see the sea from that course “from almost every hole”. Ten Italian clubs can claim something similar: here is where to play with the water in front of you.
9 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Emilia-Romagna, between the Riviera and the spas
The 50th Italian Open was decided on the 18th hole at Modena, at Cervia three nine-hole loops offer three different landscapes, and at Sala Baganza the restaurant occupies Maria Luigia's hunting lodge. And almost everywhere you play for less than in the North.
11 min read
Golf TravelWhen to play golf in Italy: the region-by-region calendar
On 29 May the course at Courmayeur reopens, while Sestriere only plays from June; on 1 January Marco Simone is closed, while Rapallo plays all year round. Golf in Italy does not have a single season: it has one for every altitude.
14 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Tuscany: Maremma, Chianti and Versilia
On 29 June 2025 Adrien Saddier won the Italian Open on a resort course above the Orbetello lagoon. Tuscan golf is not one landscape but three: the Maremma coast, the hills between Siena and Florence, and the shoreline between the Apuan Alps and San Rossore.
7 min read
Golf TravelFrom Munich to South Tyrol: a golf weekend by car
It is 284 kilometres from Munich to Bolzano, about three and a half hours without traffic according to the ADAC route. Three days are enough to play three South Tyrol courses, at altitudes from 850 to 1,680 metres, and to spend two nights in two different hotels.
7 min read
Golf TravelGolf and Art Cities: Florence, Verona, Venice
A course born on a landfill in Florence, an Austrian fort turned clubhouse on the Lido, raised greens among the hills of Custoza. Seven days, three art cities and four courses, to be played in the morning before stepping into a museum.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf on the Adriatic coast: Marche and Abruzzo
In 2009 the golf tournament of the Mediterranean Games was played among the olive groves and vineyards of Miglianico, in Abruzzo. The same course has since hosted a stage of the Alps Tour: it is the starting point of a coast where golf is small, little known and almost always cheap.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf courses with lake views in Italy
On a clear day, from the 10th tee at Golf des Iles Borromées, you can see four lakes and the skyscrapers of Milan with the naked eye. It is not the only Italian course with a view over water: here are ten clubs, from Garda to Como, from Maggiore to Varese.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Sardinia: Costa Smeralda and the south of the island
In 1978 Dale Hayes won the Italian Open at Pevero with 293 strokes, five over par: according to the club, it is still the highest winning score on the European circuit. The course is the symbol of Sardinian golf, but the island has at least five more worth knowing.
8 min read
Golf TravelSummer golf: mountain courses to escape the heat
At Sestriere, in 1936, Henry Cotton won the Italian Open at 2,035 metres. That course, like others in the Alps and Dolomites today, opens only when the snow goes: in return it offers snow still on the peaks in June, and a calendar that the mountain sets by itself.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf on Lake Como: historic clubs and grand hotels
On 10 January 1907, in the Hotel Victoria in Menaggio, four English gentlemen founded a golf club, and the village priest feared its influence on the young. The club still exists, above the lake, and is the second oldest in Italy.
8 min read
Golf TravelItaly, Spain or Portugal for a golf holiday? The comparison
Spain has 496 courses and around 299,400 registered golfers, Portugal 88 courses and 18,499 registered players, Italy 232 clubs according to the 2019 federation figure. Different numbers mean different trips: here is how to choose, without cheering for anyone.
5 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Umbria and the Tuscia
Beneath the course at Antognolla lies a Benedictine crypt, at Panicale a tractor maker built nine holes on Lake Trasimeno, and at Tarquinia one hole runs beside Etruscan tombs. Six courses between Perugia and Viterbo.
8 min read
Golf TravelGolf on Lake Garda: courses, hotels and a 5-day itinerary
In 2018 Thorbjørn Olesen won the Italian Open at Soiano del Lago at 26 under par. Within 45 minutes' drive of that green there are six more courses, and five days are enough to play five of them.
9 min read
Golf TravelGolf in Piedmont: Langhe, Monferrato and Turin
The first three editions of the Italian Open were played on Mottarone, one course sits at 2,035 metres, and Turin has a nine-hole course you can play for 25 euros. Here is how to find your way around Turin, the wine hills and Lake Maggiore.
11 min read