Golf courses with lake views in Italy

For a golfer, a lake can mean two very different things: a hazard (ponds in play, peninsulas, greens guarded by water) or a view (the outlook from a raised tee or a terrace). Here it is the second that counts: the courses that, according to the clubs themselves, offer a view over the great pre-Alpine lakes, from Garda to Maggiore. The prices given are the 18-hole green fees published by the clubs; some price lists carry no year, so it is worth reconfirming them before booking.

Golf courses with lake views: the comparison table

Lake Garda: Ca' degli Ulivi, Arzaga and the others

Ca' degli Ulivi, the 180-degree panorama

Above Garda, at Costermano, Ca' degli Ulivi opened in 1988 on 90 hectares: olive groves, small lakes and, according to the club, a view that from many points takes in Lake Garda through 180 degrees, while on other holes the backdrop is Monte Baldo. The design is by Cotton Pennink & Partners; the 18-hole Championship course requires a playing handicap of no more than 36, while the nine-hole Mirabello is meant for shorter rounds. The price list with no year gives €60 on weekdays and €75 at weekends and on public holidays.

Arzaga, the green on the peninsula

At Arzaga, the lake comes into play. On the 6th hole of the nine designed by Gary Player, the green sits on a peninsula stretching out into the lake, and three holes later the round climbs to a finish with a view of Palazzo Arzaga. The 18-hole Nicklaus II course is a par 72. The 2026 price list runs from €65 (low season, weekdays) to €130 (high season, weekends). Next door stands the QC Grand Hotel Villa Arzaga, in a fifteenth-century residence.

GardaGolf and Bogliaco

At GardaGolf, host of three Italian Opens (1997, 2003, 2018), the clubhouse has panoramic terraces over Garda: a view to enjoy after the round. At Bogliaco, the club founded in 1912 that describes itself as the third oldest in Italy, the course is a parkland layout in a small valley running parallel to the lake, with scenic glimpses of the water; on the 17th it finishes with the lake on the left. The Grand Hotel Fasano in Gardone Riviera recommends GardaGolf, Arzaga and Bogliaco to its guests.

Lake Como: Menaggio and Villa d'Este

The Golf Club Menaggio e Cadenabbia was founded on 10 January 1907 at the Hotel Victoria by four Englishmen led by the banker Henry John Mylius: according to the club it is the second oldest in Italy. Its motto is "Far and Sure"; the fairways are narrow, mature trees close off the lines of play and the panorama over Lake Como provides the setting. The guest house has a lake view. The published price list, with no year, gives €100 on weekdays and €120 at weekends and on public holidays; an exact handicap of 54 is required.

At Montorfano, at about 400 metres above sea level, the Villa d'Este course (Peter Gannon, 1926; twelve Italian Opens, an Italian record) looks over the small Lake Montorfano, with the Pre-Alps behind and, on clear days, Lake Como. In 2026 it turns one hundred and is open from March to December, closed on Tuesdays. The Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, which owns it, offers a golf package in 2026 from 21 March to 21 November; the course is about 14 kilometres away.

Lake Maggiore and Lake Varese: the courses above the water

Des Iles Borromées, four lakes from the 10th tee

The Golf des Iles Borromées sits about 600 metres up on the AltoVergante, the plateau above Stresa and Lesa. From the 10th tee you can see, according to the club, four lakes (Maggiore, Varese, Monate, Comabbio) and the chain of the Ticino Alps; from the 18th green, the mountains of the Simplon and the Val Grande. It is 18 holes, par 72, by Marco Croze; the 2026 green fee is €70 on weekdays and €85 at weekends and on public holidays. The entrance is about 2 km from the Carpugnino exit of the A26. Among the hotels the club recommends is the Villa e Palazzo Aminta in Stresa, with rooms that look onto the lake and the Borromean Islands.

Travedona Monate and Premeno

The Golf dei Laghi has its clubhouse in the former stables of the Visconti di Modrone; from the hillier part of the course, the club says, you can see Monte Rosa and Lake Maggiore. The 2026 price list gives €60 on weekdays, €80 at weekends and €40 on Wednesdays. At Premeno, at about 1,000 metres, the nine-hole Piandisole opens up views of Lake Maggiore, the Alps and Monte Rosa; in 2026 it costs €35 on weekdays and €40 at weekends and on public holidays, and is open from 1 April to 31 October.

Varese, a monastery and two panoramas

The clubhouse of the Golf Club Varese stands in the former church of a Benedictine monastery dating from 1129, at Luvinate. From the course, the club says, you can see Lake Varese and Monte Rosa; the restaurant has a terrace over the 1st hole and the lake. The course hosted the Italian Open in 1958. The official 2026 green fee is €130, the same on weekdays and at weekends.

The lake as a hazard: Paradiso del Garda and Verbania

Other clubs have the lake in play more than in the background: the Paradiso del Garda has five inland lakes, one of them natural, and bunkers of white quartzite; the Golf Sporting Club Verbania runs flat along Lake Mergozzo, with a large lake guarding the 6th green. Here the water is played more than it is looked at.

How to choose the right panorama

• For the widest declared view: Ca' degli Ulivi on Garda and Des Iles Borromées on Maggiore.
• For a different altitude: Premeno at about 1,000 metres, Montorfano at about 400.
• For a low price: Piandisole (€35 in 2026) and Golf dei Laghi (€60 on weekdays).
• For a round with history: Menaggio (1907) and Villa d'Este (1926).