Golf on Lake Garda: courses, hotels and a 5-day itinerary

Garda is the largest lake in Italy, about 370 square kilometres with a maximum depth of 346 metres, and it is divided among three regions: Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-South Tyrol. For golfers it is above all its southern half that matters, where the lake widens towards the plain and is ringed by morainic hills: rolling terrain, olive groves, vineyards and, from one course to the next, distances measured in tens of minutes rather than hours. Here you will find three Italian Opens (GardaGolf in 1997, 2003 and 2018), a course that hosted the 2020 edition (Chervò) and the third-oldest club in Italy, according to its own history (Bogliaco, 1912).

Below are the courses of Lake Garda, three hotels with their conditions for golfers and a five-day itinerary. In July and August, and on sunny weekends, add a margin to the drive times.

Golf courses on Lake Garda: where to play

The clubs that follow run from the Brescia shore to the Verona one. The prices are those published by each club, with the year of the price list when the club states it.

GardaGolf, the course of the Opens

GardaGolf was born in the early 1980s and opened its first 18 holes, White and Red, in 1986; the Yellow dates from 1990. The 27 holes cover 110 hectares between the Rocca di Manerba, the castle of Soiano and the vineyards of the Valtènesi. Its honour roll is that of a major circuit: Bernhard Langer set the course record there with a 64 in 1997, while the 2018 edition, the first Italian Open on the Rolex Series, was won by Olesen at 26 under. Guests are welcome subject to availability, and it is best to book through the club office.

Arzaga: two signatures on a single estate

At Arzaga the main course is an 18-hole par 72 by Jack Nicklaus II, with wide fairways and water in play at the 10th and 18th; the nine by Gary Player, by contrast, follows the undulations of the Valtenesi and has the 6th green on a peninsula that juts out into the lake. It is open all year and the 2026 price list runs from €65 (low season, weekdays) to €130 (high season, weekends). Next door stands a fifteenth-century villa that is now a five-star hotel.

Chervò: 36 holes around an abbey

Chervò, today Garda Hotel San Vigilio Golf, is a 110-hectare park that grew up around a twelfth-century Benedictine abbey. The design is by Kurt Rossknecht: three championship nines (Benaco, Solferino, San Martino) plus the Pozzolengo, a nine of par 3s for the short game. In 2020 it hosted the 77th Italian Open. Rates can be found on the club's portal.

Bogliaco, Paradiso del Garda and Ca' degli Ulivi

Bogliaco has a story fit for a novel: in 1934 the course was turned into a wheat field, during the war German troops used it as an airstrip and American troops played baseball there; golf returned in 1952. Today it is 18 holes, par 70, of 5,235 metres, open all year. Paradiso del Garda, in Peschiera and one kilometre from the motorway exit, is the most convenient course for those landing in Verona: it has five lakes, one of them natural, and white quartzite bunkers covering 8,000 square metres. Ca' degli Ulivi, above Garda, offers a 180-degree view over the lake with Monte Baldo behind you; the Championship course requires a playing handicap of 36 or lower.

Where to stay: three hotels for playing Lake Garda

Three hotels cover the two shores, with different formulas for those who play.

To sleep on the course. The QC Grand Hotel Villa Arzaga occupies a fifteenth-century Renaissance villa with frescoes and marble staircases, in the middle of the 27 holes. It has a spa with seven pools and, according to the hotel, green fees from €65 in low season and from €110 to €130 from mid-March to early November (2026).

For the historic Brescia shore. The Grand Hotel Fasano in Gardone Riviera is an imperial hunting lodge from 1888, a national monument since 1989. Its restaurant Il Fagiano has a Michelin star and the hotel recommends three courses: Gardagolf, Arzaga and Bogliaco. It has no course of its own.

For the Verona shore. The Quellenhof Luxury Resort Lazise has no course, but counts, by its own reckoning, twelve courses within an hour and twenty minutes by road. It offers green fees on favourable terms, equipment hire and, during the stay, a course with exam for the golf licence. Verona airport is about 20 minutes away.

A 5-day Lake Garda itinerary, course by course

The programme assumes you sleep at two bases: Arzaga for the first three days and Gardone Riviera for the last two.

Day 1: arrival in Verona and Peschiera

Verona airport to Paradiso del Garda takes about 39 minutes. It is the right course for the first afternoon: it is one kilometre from the motorway exit and has very large, undulating greens, so you settle into the rhythm at once. From Peschiera to Arzaga it is about 31 minutes.

Day 2: Chervò and the evening at Arzaga

From Peschiera to Chervò is 25 minutes. With 36 holes in four nines you can combine a championship round with the par-3 nine of Pozzolengo to polish the short game. The return to Arzaga takes about 31 minutes.

Day 3: GardaGolf

From Arzaga to GardaGolf it is only about 14 minutes. A day devoted to the course of the Opens: book your tee time in advance and leave time for lunch at the clubhouse, which has terraces over the lake and a restaurant serving Brescia and Garda cuisine.

Day 4: Il Colombaro and Bogliaco, changing base

From GardaGolf to Il Colombaro in Salò takes about 9 minutes: nine holes, par 29, among the olive groves, with a Toptracer range that the club says was the first in Italy. In the afternoon you continue to Gardone Riviera, 14 minutes from Salò, and dine at Il Fagiano. From Gardone Riviera to Bogliaco it is 13 minutes.

Day 5: Bogliaco

A last round at Bogliaco, the historic course, taken at an easy pace: 18 holes, par 70, not long but with tight spaces that demand precision. From the Grand Hotel Fasano to Verona airport takes about 71 minutes, so allow a generous margin when leaving the club.

Those who prefer to stay on the Verona shore can replace the last two days with Ca' degli Ulivi and the Golf Club Verona: from the Quellenhof in Lazise the first is about 21 minutes away and the second about 28.

When to play golf on Lake Garda

On the southern and western shores, Arzaga, Chervò, Bogliaco and Paradiso del Garda state that they stay open all year, and Arzaga publishes a price list for every month, with the lowest price from January to mid-March and from November. For those looking for the lowest prices, winter is the window, but check course conditions and the weather: an open course is not necessarily in perfect condition. Arzaga's high season runs from 16 March to 8 November.

Curiosities about Lake Garda golf

• A wheat field. In 1934 Bogliaco was planted with wheat and during the war it served as an airstrip.
• A nine inside a historic park. GardaGolf's Yellow nine winds through the park of Villa Omodeo.
• White bunkers. At Paradiso del Garda the sand is white quartzite.
• Arriving without a car. Paradiso del Garda has a shuttle to the centre of Peschiera.