Golf in South Tyrol: mountain courses and spa hotels

In South Tyrol golf is played uphill, among the apple orchards and beneath the Dolomites. Most courses here have nine holes, at altitudes ranging from the orchards of the Adige valley to the 1,680 metres of the Carezza Pass, and almost all of them began next to a family-run hotel. The result is a compact region, ideal for anyone who wants to combine golf with a spa without spending hours in the car.

Why play golf in South Tyrol

The first reason is variety in a small space. In the course of a single morning you can move from a valley-floor course, where you play among orchards and vineyards as early as March, to one at altitude that opens only in April or June. The second is the relationship with the hotels: many are members of the clubs or own them, and their guests get guaranteed tee times and green fee discounts.

There is also a less obvious factor. South Tyrolean golf is golf of altitude and precision: pars are often low, the changes in elevation steep, and players used to the Lombard plains or the coastal courses are asked to rethink their choice of irons. At Petersberg, for example, the club points out that the layout changed par in 2001, from 67 to 71; at Lana the nine-hole course is flat but long by local standards, at 2,887 metres from the white tees.

The golf courses of South Tyrol worth knowing

The table summarises the main courses, with the data published by the clubs. Opening dates change from year to year: it is wise to confirm them with the club office before you leave.

For true 18-hole courses the choice narrows to three: Petersberg, St. Vigil Seis and Passiria.Merano. The others are played over nine holes, repeating the round when you want eighteen.

High-altitude courses: Carezza and Alta Badia

Carezza is the course its managers call “The Mountain Beast”. According to the club it is the highest in South Tyrol, and the nickname has a reason: in one round you climb about 400 metres in total, with the Catinaccio, the “Rose Garden”, ahead of you. The club itself warns that stamina and endurance are needed on top of technique. Around 1905 the pass was already a golfing destination for the European aristocracy; then the two wars emptied the area and the course was abandoned before being reborn. On Wednesdays there is a Super Greenfee discounted by 50%; the price list and season dates are not published, so it is best to phone.

Alta Badia, whose course is called Tranrüs, climbs to 1,800 metres at hole 4 but has a total elevation change of only 45 metres: high altitude, gentler hilly terrain. The club reports that hole 5 was awarded the title of “the most scenic hole in Italy”. The season runs from June to September or October.

Valley-floor and hillside courses: Lana, Passiria, Appiano

Those starting from Merano have the richest choice. Golf Club Lana is a par-35 nine-hole course opened on 29 August 1998 beneath the ruins of Brandis Castle, designed by the Briton Michael Pinner. The 2026 green fee is 50 euros for 9 holes and 90 for 18; to play you need a federation card with handicap, or the Platzreife.

In Val Passiria the Passiria.Merano club grew out of the stubbornness of Karl “Schaly” Pichler, who in 1996 opened nine holes in the valley where he was born; by 2004 there were eighteen. It is a target golf course of 5,791 metres, with water hazards and protective netting along nine holes, still run by the family today, and it admits dogs on a leash. In March there is a special green fee of 60 euros; for the rest of the year it is 106 euros for 18 holes in the 2026 price list, with the sunset rate at 64 euros after 3 pm from April to November.

At Appiano, on the Wine Road, the Blue Monster owes its name to water: there is more than one artificial lake, eight according to the tourist board, among the apple trees and with a view of Hocheppan Castle. The same complex houses the training centre of Schloss Freudenstein, with TrackMan and four practice courses inside the castle walls.

Hillside and mountain courses: Petersberg and St. Vigil Seis

Petersberg is, according to the club, the first 18-hole course in South Tyrol, founded on 19 September 1988 by fifteen members and completed in 1993. The 2026 season runs from 17 April to 1 November; the green fee for 18 holes is 90 euros on low-season weekdays and 96 in high season. Hole 17 is the signature one: an old millpond separates the tee from the green.

St. Vigil Seis, above Siusi, lies at the foot of the Sciliar. The club describes hole 15 as one of the par 3s with the greatest elevation change in Europe. In 2026 you can play from 9 April to 25 October, with a green fee of 110 euros for 18 holes and 82 euros for tee times from 2:30 pm in certain periods. The club also has a precise environmental goal: to cut water consumption by 30% by 2030.

Further north, at Riscone di Brunico, the Pustertal is a par-33 nine-hole course with Thomas Pramstaller's record of 64 strokes (2016) and a plan to expand to 18.

Spa hotels: where to stay

The advantage of South Tyrol is that the luxury spa hotel here almost always has a direct relationship with a course. A few bases to consider:

• Quellenhof Luxury Resort Passeier: four holes of its own, a driving range with 20 bays, 10,500 m² of spa and a Michelin star (2026 guide) at the Gourmetstube 1897. The green fee for 18 holes for guests is 72 euros, about 105 at the full price, according to the hotel.
• Golf Lodge Andreus: 35 rooms, adults only, directly on the Passeier.Meran; indoors there is the Boom Boom Room with putting green, bunker and simulator.
• Hotel Castel in Tirolo: the hotel books tee times and includes the Golfcard, with 20% off the green fee at South Tyrolean courses. The gourmet restaurant has two Michelin stars (2026 guide).
• Parkhotel Marlena in Marlengo: according to the hotel, the Inderst family founded and runs Golf Club Lana; it offers a package to obtain a handicap in five days.
• Romantik Hotel Turm in Fiè allo Sciliar: five minutes, according to the hotel, from St. Vigil Seis, with a 20% discount and guaranteed tee times.
• Castel Fragsburg: twenty suites in a hunting lodge from 1624 above Merano, with a starred restaurant; the Passiria and Lana courses are about half an hour away by car.

When to go and how to plan the trip

The season depends on altitude. The valley floor plays from March (Passiria opens in March with the special green fee), the hills from April, the courses above 1,600 metres from June. The window with all courses open runs roughly from June to October; autumn, with laden orchards and Törggelen in the cellars, is a popular time, but in October some courses close.

For tee times, three practical tips. First: bring your federation card and handicap, required by most clubs. Second: ask the hotel for the Golfcard or its agreements, because the clubs in the Golf in Südtirol programme apply 20% discounts to the guests of partners. Third: book high-season weekends well in advance, when Petersberg moves to its higher rate.

Curiosities

• A par that changes. At Petersberg the course was a par 67 until 2001, then par 71.
• A club born from four holes. The Pustertal started in 1993 with an executive course near the ski slopes and took the name Golfclub Kronplatz.
• Apples and golf. At St. Vigil Seis, near hole 9, there grows an orchard of old varieties such as the Canada Reinette and the Curé pear.
• The dog on the course. At Passiria they are allowed, on a leash.