Golf in Sardinia: Costa Smeralda and the south of the island

Sardinian golf is split in two, and the island is big: between the Costa Smeralda in the north-east and the Gulf of Cagliari in the south lie about 320 kilometres and nearly five hours on the road (estimate without traffic). That is why it makes sense to pick one area, or two, rather than try to fit everything in. In the north you play on granite beside the sea, with Robert Trent Jones's Pevero and the Costa's best-known hotels; in the south, Is Molas has four Italian Opens behind it and the Tanka in Villasimius offers a short course that is tougher than its scorecard suggests. In between, on the west coast, Is Arenas is played in a pine forest planted in the 1950s.

Prices are those of the lists published by the clubs.

Sardinia's golf courses at a glance

Costa Smeralda: Pevero and the coast's hotels

The course. Pevero opened in 1972 on 60 hectares between Pevero bay and Cala di Volpe. It measures 6,107 metres, par 72, and is battered by the mistral: it is the north-westerly wind, says the club, that makes every shot uncertain. From the 4th hole you can see the peaks of Corsica and the island of Caprera; the 16th is a tribute to James Bond, recalling 1962, the year the saga debuted and the Costa Smeralda began. In 2026 the green fee for 18 holes runs from €120 to €180 depending on the season, with the peak from 20 July to 16 August. A maximum handicap of 54 is required, the dress code bans jeans and T-shirts, and the club is open every day from 8 am to 7:30 pm.

The hotels. None of the Costa's great hotels has a course of its own: they all send guests to Pevero.

• Cala di Volpe is the hotel where James Bond and agent Anya stay in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me. It has 121 rooms with private terraces and sells its guests an Unlimited Golf package at Pevero, which excludes high summer (in 2025 from 23 June to 14 September).
• Romazzino was opened in 1965 by Aga Khan IV; since 2024 it has been run by Belmond, and among its experiences it offers private lessons with a local professional and rounds at Pevero. Olbia airport is 40 minutes away (31 kilometres).
• Pitrizza, designed by Luigi Vietti in 1963, has 49 rooms and 16 villas; Olbia is 50 minutes and 35 kilometres away.

From Pevero to Olbia airport it takes about 48 minutes.

Gallura: Puntaldia and Botanic

About 68 minutes from Pevero, on the east coast, Puntaldia (San Teodoro) is a nine-hole course with the 6th hole perched above the rocks: six par 3s and three par 4s, par 30 when the individual holes are added up. It has a Leadbetter Golf Academy founded by David Leadbetter. The 2026 list runs from 1 April to 10 November; the course's hotel is the Due Lune, with 65 rooms and suites, founded in the 1980s by Peppino Fumagalli, the man who built Italy's first washing machine in 1946 and founded Candy. Botanic Sacuba, on the edge of Olbia, is a nine-hole par 36 on 25 hectares inside a botanical garden: mastic, cork oaks, olive trees and myrtle; nine holes cost €35, €45 or €60, eighteen €60, €80 or €100 (2026).

South of the island: Is Molas and Tanka

Is Molas is the course of southern Sardinia: 27 holes at Pula, a par 72 championship layout of 6,383 metres opened in 1975 and a nine-hole Giallo course reseeded with Bermuda grass. In 1976 it hosted its first Italian Open, won by Baldovino Dassù; in all it has seen four. The 14th has a green almost surrounded by water in the shape of Africa; the 13th is the "road hole", with the fairway narrowed to little more than 25 metres. On weekdays in 2026 the green fee runs from €80 (low season, January to March and November) to €135 (August). From Cagliari airport it takes about 64 minutes.

The course's hotel is the Is Molas Resort, with 72 rooms and a beach club on Porto Agumu bay. Its unlimited golf packages of 3, 5 or 7 nights are valid from April to October, excluding July and August. Next door, according to the resort, is Forte Village, with the five-star Villa del Parco & Spa, with direct access to thalassotherapy (six seawater pools); it has no course of its own, but the reception arranges tee times at Is Molas.

The Tanka, in Villasimius, has 18 holes, par 70, of only 5,393 metres, but from the white tees the course rating is 71.5 and the slope 140, figures of a demanding course. The front nine are harder; the back nine, flatter, hold the three par 5s. In 2026 a round costs €60 in winter, €75 in low season, €90 in June, July and September, €100 in August. From Is Molas it is about 107 minutes.

On the west coast: Is Arenas

Is Arenas, in Narbolia, is played in a pine forest: an 18-hole par 72 of 6,317 metres designed by Robert von Hagge's firm. Until the 1950s, where the fairways now lie, there were sand dunes up to 50 metres high; with Marshall Plan funds some 1,500 workers planted more than five million pines over ten years. The club does not publish its rates: they are requested when booking. It is open all year, and about 800 metres away there is a beach club for golfers.

When to go and play in Sardinia

The courses in the south publish rates for the whole year: Is Molas and Tanka state that they are open every month, and Is Arenas is open all year. At Tanka winter is the cheapest period (€60); Is Molas speaks of days often above 15 degrees in December and January. In the north, by contrast, Puntaldia plays from 1 April to 10 November and Pevero has its price peak between 20 July and 16 August. In summer the courses' lists show the highest rates, and the Unlimited Golf at Cala di Volpe also excludes the central period.

Curiosities about Sardinian golf

• The mistral decides. At Pevero the north-westerly wind makes every shot uncertain.
• A green shaped like Africa. The 14th at Is Molas, almost surrounded by water.
• A planted desert. Is Arenas stands on dunes that, according to the owners, were the only desert in Italy.
• Golf at night. At Puntaldia the Moonlight Cup finishes in the evening, with holes 1, 8 and 9.