Playing on a volcano: golf on Etna

On the northern slope of Etna, at Castiglione di Sicilia, golf is played where the volcano has left its mark. Il Picciolo Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 course of 5,870 metres, opened in 1989 on 44 hectares of rolling hillside. According to the resort that hosts it, it was the first 18-hole par 72 built in Sicily.

Its distinctive feature is not length but material: lava stone comes into play as a hazard, alongside lakes, wind and multi-tiered greens. Below, how the course is laid out, what you need to play it and where to stay.

The course: lava as a hazard

The design is by Luigi Rota Caremoli, who according to the resort was the only Italian admitted to the British Golf Course Architects. The hazards were placed so that the layout would look natural, using volcanic rock and the old lava flows. The result, says the club, is short on paper but anything but docile: narrow fairways, greens on two or three levels and a wind that changes the difficulty of the exposed par 3s.

The holes to mark on the scorecard

• The 4th, uphill: the approach to the green is blind, unless the drive clears a tower of stones.
• The 5th: play begins from tees set into the lava.
• The 7th, the hardest par 5: a double dogleg to the right, uphill, and a raised green that borders an old lava flow on the left.
• The 8th, a par 3 played from an elevated tee: it changes face with the direction of the gusts. The 10th, the longest par 3, also often plays in a crosswind.
• The 11th, stroke index 1: a long, narrow par 4 with water and out of bounds. The club admits that a bogey here is nothing to throw away.
• The 14th: anyone who drives short has to play blind over a field of stones lying across the fairway, with the lake right behind the green.
• The 15th, the breather: a par 3 in a natural amphitheatre with Etna in the background.
• The 16th, uphill again, towards a three-tiered green with a steep drop and rough ground all around.

Wind matters more than length

At only 5,870 metres, Il Picciolo cannot be won by strength. The wind changes the character of the 8th and the 10th, and the three-tiered greens of the 4th, 15th and 16th ask you to study the pin position before choosing a club. For the 16th the club itself names a pin on the top tier as the most treacherous position.

Playing Il Picciolo as a guest: 2026 rates

The green fee is reserved for players with a certified handicap or a green card. Those without either can take lessons with the pros and use the practice area. Tee times are booked online.

The other costs listed: golf cart €50 for 18 holes, electric trolley €20, rental bag €30; the manual trolley is included in the green fee. For those staying at the hotel, driving range, putting green and pitching green are included, according to the resort's own page.

The course is open all year, with seasonal hours: from 8 am to 5 pm in winter, while for summer our sources give different closing times (7 pm or 8 pm), so it is best to confirm the last tee time when booking.

Opens, academy and equipment

In just over twenty years Il Picciolo has hosted five opens. The Sicilian Ladies Italian Open was played here for three years running, from 1995 to 1997, and returned in 2011; in 2010 it was the turn of a stage of the European Senior Open.

The academy is led by Giuseppe Marra, head pro since 2019, a graduate in Biology and a certified TrackMan and AimPoint instructor. According to the hotel, a lesson with him costs €70 an hour (the price carries no year). The practice area has 16 bays, five of them covered, with putting and pitching greens; in the clubhouse there is a TrackMan simulator. Beginners are lent a full set of clubs by the club.

Sleeping on the course: Il Picciolo Etna Golf Resort

The course is the heart of the Picciolo Etna Golf Resort & Spa, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton: 100 rooms and suites in seven types. The Etna rooms have a balcony facing the volcano and the vineyards; almost all the others look over the course. There are no sea-view rooms: the coast is about 25 minutes away by car and the hotel has no beach of its own, but has arrangements with some beach clubs, including those at Giardini Naxos.

The Golf Escape package, according to the hotel's page on sale from 28 March to 9 November, combines stays of 3, 5 or 7 nights with breakfast, 2, 3 or 5 discounted green fees, unlimited practice-range tokens and 90 minutes of spa time a day. Anyone accompanying a golfer without playing can spend the value of the green fees on spa treatments. For families there are connecting rooms, but no kids' club.

Curiosities

• A tower of stones as an aiming point. At the 4th, the tower of stones is the obstacle the drive must clear to see the green.
• Three opens in a row. Between 1995 and 1997 the European women players came back here every year for the Ladies Italian Open.
• Car-free as far as Catania. About 100 metres from the hotel there is a stop on the Circumetnea, line A1 Randazzo-Catania.
• The trolley is included. With the green fee, the manual trolley is not charged separately.

To complete the trip: Verdura

Anyone with a week can pair Il Picciolo with a course on the opposite side of the island. The Verdura Golf Club, in Sciacca, has 36 holes designed by Kyle Phillips, plus a 9-hole par 3 course, across 570 acres with more than a mile of private coastline. The Verdura Resort is, by Sir Rocco Forte's choice, low in density: motor cars are banned within the resort and guests get around on electric vehicles.