Golf hotels in Apulia: the masserie for golfers

Four of these five addresses for golfers stand around Savelletri di Fasano; the fifth is in the Salento, at Melendugno, and sends its guests to a nearby course. Understanding how each hotel relates to its course is the most useful part of choosing, because the differences are substantial.

The masserie and their courses compared

One limit applies to all of them: no masseria has an 18-hole course on its estate, and at San Domenico Golf outside players are admitted only at certain times.

Masseria San Domenico and Borgo Egnazia: the Savelletri course

San Domenico Golf is a par-72, 18-hole course of more than 6,300 metres, designed by Andy Haggar of European Golf Design with shaper Brian Jorgensen: it runs along the Savelletri coast, with the sea in view from every hole and, in the background, the ruins of Egnazia. The wind, the club warns, changes its role from hole to hole; the greens are penncross, fast and with demanding slopes. The Italian PGA Championship and the Grand Final of the European Challenge Tour have both been played here.

The Masseria San Domenico, reserved for guests aged 14 and over, has the same owner as the course. The San Domenico Hotels agreement brings the 2026 green fee for 18 holes to 65-105 euros depending on the season, against 95-150 for the public. An EGA handicap of up to 36 is required. The Play & Stay package combines three nights, three dinners at the San Domenico restaurant, two green fees and a golf buggy for two days, in spring and in October; per-person prices are published by the hotel.

Borgo Egnazia is next to the course: from the clubhouse you can see the rooftops of the village. Resort and club belong to the same group, that of the Melpignano family, and the hotel publishes neither packages nor dedicated golf services: tee times are requested when booking. According to Golf Digest, the resort was among the best golf resorts in continental Europe in 2021 and 2022.

Torre Coccaro and Torre Maizza: the nine-hole course among the olive trees

Here the offer is different: a nine-hole par-27 executive course, of about 1,150 metres, among centuries-old olive trees, almond trees and water hazards, with glimpses of the sea. The same course is promoted by two hotels: by Torre Maizza, on whose estate it lies, and by Torre Coccaro, which calls it Coccaro Golf Club and places it 400 metres from the masseria. The olive trees of Coccaro Golf Club are, according to the club, about 700 years old, and the almond trees bloom in March.

It is a course for working on the short game, not for a championship round; it has a driving range, putting green, pitching green and a bunker area. At Torre Maizza, a Rocco Forte hotel since 2019, several rooms may have a view over the green. For an 18-hole round, Torre Coccaro points to San Domenico Golf, one kilometre away, but warns that the club accepts outside players only at certain times, to be requested directly from the club office. The hotel's list also includes four other, more distant 18-hole courses, from Acaya to Barialto.

Beyond golf: what sets each address apart

Course aside, the hotels are very different. Borgo Egnazia, with 184 rooms spread across La Corte, Il Borgo and the villas of Le Case, hosted the G7 heads of government in June 2024; its restaurant Due Camini held a Michelin star every year from 2019 to 2024. Masseria San Domenico has 40 rooms and suites, a thalassotherapy spa and a brackish-water pool among the rocks. Torre Coccaro has an Aveda spa set in natural caves, two beach clubs and one Michelin Key; Torre Maizza has two Michelin Keys, interiors by Olga Polizzi, the Irene Forte Spa in a former olive mill and the restaurant Carosello by Fulvio Pierangelini. Posia has 23 rooms and a heated rooftop infinity pool, reserved for adults.

Posia: in the Salento, with the Acaya course

In the Salento, at Melendugno, Posia Retreat & SPA has no course of its own, but presents Acaya Golf Club as its official partner, about 15 minutes away by car. Reception books the tee time and arranges equipment hire and a tailor-made transfer. The course, designed by Hurdzan/Fry, is a par 71 of 6,192 metres among olive trees and Mediterranean scrub, and according to the club it was the first course in southern Italy to receive 5 BVGA stars.

When to go

San Domenico Golf is open all year, and the Play & Stay at Masseria San Domenico is valid in spring and in October. March is the month when the almond trees bloom at Coccaro. As for airports, according to the hotels Brindisi is 30 minutes from Borgo Egnazia and 35 from Masseria San Domenico, while Torre Coccaro states 40 minutes from both Bari and Brindisi.

Curiosities

• A dovecote on the tower. On the terrace of the sixteenth-century tower of Torre Coccaro the old dovecote is still there: from it, the Muolo family recounts, messages were sent in wartime.
• A family tower. Until 1996 the Knights of Malta tower at Savelletri was the Melpignano family's summer home; today it is the Masseria San Domenico.
• A tournament for a father. San Domenico Golf hosts the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open, named after the father of Aldo Melpignano, who runs the group.