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.
The question "when do you play golf in Italy?" has a wrong answer, and it is "from April to October". It is wrong because the country runs from the Riviera to courses high in the mountains: on the same March day, at Rapallo you play by the sea, at Villa d'Este the Montorfano club reopens, and at Sestriere the course is still a ski slope. That is why the calendar below is organised by area and not by month: every zone has its own window, and the right window changes the price too.
Openings, rates and closures: open does not mean perfect
The dates that matter are those declared by the clubs: the opening months, the 2026 rate seasons and the closure periods. One caution applies everywhere: open does not mean in perfect condition. A course that declares itself open all year round may have slower turf in winter, and opening dates in the mountains depend on the snow, as the case of Gressoney shows: in 2018, snowfall until May and the April avalanches made the 6th hole playable only from the end of July.
The calendar at a glance: area by area
| Area | Window declared by the clubs | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Liguria | All year round | Rapallo, Garlenda, Filanda, Castellaro |
| Lombard and Piedmont lakes | All year round or from February/March to December | Arzaga, Chervò, Villa d'Este, Des Iles Borromées |
| Plains and coasts of the North-East | All year round, with winter rates | Albarella, Alberoni, Caorle, Lignano |
| Emilia-Romagna | All year round, with short breaks | Cervia, Molino del Pero, Croara |
| Coastal Tuscany | All year round | Argentario, Punta Ala, Pelagone |
| Lazio and Umbria | All year round | Marco Simone, Archi di Claudio, Antognolla |
| Southern Sardinia and Apulia | All year round (Puntaldia from April) | Is Molas, Tanka, San Domenico |
| South Tyrol and Trentino | From March/April to October/November | Petersberg, St. Vigil Seis, Passiria |
| Aosta Valley and the Alps | From late May/June to September/October | Courmayeur, Cervino, Sestriere |
Liguria, the North that plays in winter
The Riviera is the part of the North where golf never stops. The Golf Club Rapallo, founded in 1929, with a 7th hole that has the Romanesque monastery of Valle Christi behind it, is open all year round from 7:30 am and closes only on Tuesdays that are not public holidays. The Garlenda club declares itself open every day of the year; Filanda, in Albisola Superiore, and Castellaro, the nine-hole course inland between Sanremo and Imperia, can be played all year round. The Golf di Sanremo is the club that hosts the Royal Golf Challenge of the hotel of the same name every autumn: in 2026, on 24 and 25 October.
Those who want to sleep on the course have a precise address: La Meridiana in Garlenda, a Relais & Châteaux since 1978, from which the Golf Club Garlenda can be reached on foot; green fees for guests are 60 euros on weekdays and 80 at weekends, plus a five-day pass. The Royal Hotel Sanremo offers a golf package of at least three nights, with two green fees per person and a dinner.
Lakes and the Lombard plain: from January to December, with a few exceptions
The three lakes behave differently. On Lake Garda almost all the clubs declare themselves open all year round: Arzaga, Chervò, Bogliaco and Paradiso del Garda. Arzaga publishes a 2026 rate card with two seasons: low (from 1 January to 15 March and from 9 November to the end of the year) at 65 euros on weekdays, and high (from 16 March to 8 November) at 110. The club speaks of a mild microclimate in every season.
On Lake Como, the Villa d'Este season runs from March to December, every day except Tuesday, and the Villa d'Este hotel offers its 2026 golf package from 21 March to 21 November. At Menaggio the 2026 season started on 13 March; Carimate stays open all year round and closes only on Mondays that are not public holidays.
On Lake Maggiore the information is more nuanced: the Golf des Iles Borromées opens from February to December; the lake district, which includes Bogogno, declares courses open all year round except January; at Verbania the two clubs (Fondotoce and Sporting Club) declare themselves open all year round. The Des Iles Borromées notes that almost all the holes face south and that in winter the sun warms them.
Among the Piedmontese hill and pre-mountain courses the windows are shorter: Avigliana (Le Fronde) opens from February to December, Premeno plays from April to October, Cherasco has a low season in January, February and December.
The Veneto plain, Friuli and Emilia-Romagna: winter golf at a good price
The plain and the upper Adriatic are the zone where the calendar is read in the rate cards. The Albarella Golf Club is open 365 days a year, while the Circolo Golf Venezia at Alberoni, a course with a links character, has a winter rate of 60 euros against 95-110 in full season (2026) and closes on Mondays during winter hours. At Jesolo the sandy soil drains very well and, according to the club, makes the course suitable for play even in winter. Pra' delle Torri at Caorle publishes 42 euros on weekdays from 21 January to 17 April and from 29 September to 30 December, against 80-90 euros in spring (2026 rate card); at Lignano some months have a fixed price, with 45 euros in December and January and 75 in October.
In Emilia-Romagna the breaks are short and declared: Croara is open all year round except twenty days in January, Molino del Pero allows play all year round thanks to its sheltered position, Cervia overseeds with ryegrass in autumn so that the turf stays green in winter too, and the San Valentino Golf Club at Castellarano has an Old Course, par 69, designed for winter.
Tuscany, Lazio and Umbria: the coast always plays
In Tuscany the courses on the coast and in the Maremma hinterland are the most continuous: the Argentario declares itself playable all year round and publishes 120 euros from 12 January to 31 March and from 1 November to 23 December, against 170 from June to September; Punta Ala and the Golf Club Toscana at Pelagone are open all year round, with Pelagone at 70 euros from November to March and 90 from July to September. Royal Golf La Bagnaia, on the other hand, opens from February to December.
In Lazio, Marco Simone, the course of the 2023 Ryder Cup, is closed only on 1 January and 25 December; the 2026 rate card provides for 195 euros in low season (January, February, July, August and from 3 November to December) and 270 euros in high season (April, May, June, September and October up to 2 November), with no difference between weekdays and weekends. Archi di Claudio is open all year round (from 8 am to 8 pm in summer, from 8 am to 6 pm in winter) and the Tiber Golf from 8 am to 9 pm, all year round. In Umbria, Antognolla is open all year round.
Sardinia, Apulia and Sicily: winter is the time for prices
Here the calendar matters above all as a matter of price. At Is Molas (Pula) the 2026 weekday green fee goes from 80 euros in low season (from 7 January to 31 March and in November) to 135 in August, and the resort speaks of days often above 15 degrees in December and January; the Tanka at Villasimius costs 60 euros in winter and 100 in August. In the north the Pevero peaks between 20 July and 16 August (180 euros against 120 in low season), while Puntaldia plays from 1 April to 10 November. Is Arenas is open all year round.
In Apulia the San Domenico Golf goes from 95 euros in low season to 150 in August, with 130 in May-July and in September-October. In Sicily Verdura keeps the clubhouse and all golf services open even in winter, but the introduction of Bermuda grass on the West Shore and the closure of the Executive course last until spring 2027. The Picciolo plays from 8 am to 5 pm in winter and from 8 am to 7 pm in summer. Metaponto, in Basilicata, declares that the mild climate of the Ionian coast allows play all year round.
South Tyrol and Trentino: from March to November
Here the season is short and declared. The Petersberg club, at about 1,250 metres, opens from 17 April to 1 November; St. Vigil Seis plays from 9 April to 25 October in 2026; Brunico opens on 4 April; Sarnonico (Dolomites) is open from March to the end of November; Bormio, in Lombardy but Alpine, from early April to the first week of November. In Val Passiria the hours published by the Quellenhof club cover March to November and in March there is a special green fee of 60 euros; the Andreus hotel, which stands on the course, gives the season as March to December. At higher altitudes the window narrows: Alta Badia from June to September-October, Folgaria from May to October, Madonna di Campiglio from 19 June (rates from 13 June to 13 September), with 50 euros at the start and end of the season and 75 from 13 July to 23 August.
Aosta Valley, Alpine Piedmont and the Dolomites: the short season
The Golf Club Courmayeur opens on 29 May in 2026 (the tourist board gives 4 October as the closing date, the rate card runs to 11 October: it is best to ask the secretary's office); 59 euros in late May, June and mid-September, 99 in August. Cervino declares opening from 30 May to 13 September (55 euros in June, 75 in August), Gressoney from early June to well into autumn; Aosta-Arsanières speaks of almost nine months of play thanks to its microclimate, with reopening in March. Sestriere plays from June to September on what in winter are ski slopes, and Claviere has already announced the end of the 2026 season with an appointment for summer 2027. Ponte di Legno reopened on 30 May and Cortina publishes a rate card for June-September; Cansiglio is open from 1 May to the end of October and Asiago from late April to the end of October depending on the weather, with a green fee that in the club's rate card goes from 70 euros (until 14 June and from 14 September) to 110 (from 15 June to 13 September).
Month by month: where to aim
- January and February: Liguria, Lazio, coastal Tuscany, southern Sardinia, Apulia and Garda. Low season almost everywhere (Marco Simone 195 euros, Is Molas 80).
- March and April: the lakes open (Villa d'Este, Menaggio) and South Tyrol (Passiria, Sarnonico, Brunico, Petersberg from 17 April). At the Argentario the green fee goes from 120 to 160 euros in spring.
- May and June: the widest window: lakes, South Tyrol, Aosta Valley (Courmayeur from 29 May, Cervino from 30 May). June opens Sestriere and Campiglio.
- July and August: it is peak season in the mountains (Cervino 75 euros and Courmayeur 99 in August) and by the sea the rate cards reach their peak: Pevero 180, San Domenico 150, Is Molas 135, Tanka 100.
- September and October: the high-altitude courses are mostly still open (St. Vigil Seis until 25 October, Petersberg until 1 November) and some seaside rate cards come down from the peak: the Argentario goes from 170 to 160 euros in October. The Royal Golf Challenge in Sanremo is played on 24 and 25 October; the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open at San Domenico from 21 to 25 October.
- November and December: South Tyrol and the Alps close (Petersberg on 1 November, Courmayeur in October); Liguria, Lazio, Tuscany, Sardinia, Apulia and Garda remain; Villa d'Este closes at the end of December.
How to choose the date: three practical criteria
1. If prices matter, start from the low season. The gap between the 2026 rate cards is wide: at the Argentario 120 euros against 170, at Is Molas 80 against 135, at San Domenico 95 against 150. The exception is Marco Simone, where the low season includes July and August.
2. If you want the mountains, book the window, not the month. Alpine courses declare precise but movable dates: Courmayeur gives 29 May for 2026 but the rate card runs to 11 October while the tourist board speaks of 4 October; Pustertal gives the closure at the end of October on one page and 2 November on another. When two sources from the same club do not match, phone the secretary's office before you leave.
3. If you travel out of season, check the services, not just the course. An open course may have a clubhouse, restaurant or shuttle with reduced hours: at Verdura the clubhouse and golf services stay open even in winter, while Puntaldia warns that its dates may change with the opening periods of the Due Lune resort.
Curiosities about the Italian golf calendar
- A course that skis. At Sestriere golf is played on the slopes that have hosted Olympic Games and ski world championships.
- Snow in May. In 2018 the April avalanches delayed the 6th hole at Gressoney until the end of July.
- Closed two days. Marco Simone is closed only on 1 January and 25 December.
- The winter sun. At the Des Iles Borromées the holes face south and in winter the sun warms them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to play golf in Italy?+
It depends on the area. For the Alps the window is from June to September, for South Tyrol from April to October, for the coast and the South, where the courses are open all year round, even in winter; September and October are the months when almost all areas are open.
Can you play golf in Italy in winter?+
Yes: the courses of Liguria, Lazio, coastal Tuscany, southern Sardinia, Apulia and Garda declare themselves open all year round, often with lower winter rates.
When do the mountain golf courses open?+
It depends on the altitude: South Tyrol in mid-April (Petersberg from 17 April), the Aosta Valley in late May (Courmayeur from 29 May), Sestriere and the Dolomites in June.
How much does the green fee change over the year?+
A great deal: in 2026 San Domenico costs from 95 to 150 euros, Is Molas from 80 to 135 on weekdays, Marco Simone from 195 to 270, the Argentario from 120 to 170.
What is the most expensive month to play?+
August, in the 2026 rate cards of the seaside and mountain resorts (Pevero 180, San Domenico 150, Courmayeur 99). Marco Simone is the exception: high season in spring and autumn.
Where can you play golf in Italy in January?+
For example at Rapallo, Garlenda, the Argentario (from 12 January in the rate card), Is Molas, Marco Simone (closed only on 1 January) and on Garda at Arzaga.
