Golf in Italy
Golf in Liguria
8 courses
Golf in Liguria is played between sea and hills, often on narrow terraces: at Lerici, the Marigola began in 1960 as a private three-hole course in the grounds of a villa, and is now a nine-holer on terraces above the gulf.
At Rapallo, the par-5 7th hole has the Romanesque monastery of Valle Christi as its backdrop. Garlenda, designed in 1964 by the British pair Morrison and Harris, named its 11th hole "Amen Corner". At Arenzano, the Pineta is the work of Don Harradine, while at Albisola you can play all year round among olive trees and sea.
Guides and itineraries
Golf TravelGolf in Liguria: the Riviera from Sanremo to Rapallo
At the 11th hole in Garlenda, members say they play their own “Amen Corner”; at Rapallo a stream was moved to make room for the last nine holes; at Sanremo the course closes every autumn for reseeding. Liguria has few courses, nearly all short, nearly all open year-round: here is how to build a trip around them.
9 min read
Luxury StaysGolf hotels in Liguria: four addresses between Sanremo and Rapallo
Two sisters, two works at Garlenda: one had the 18 holes built, the other designed La Meridiana beside them in 1978. In Liguria golf is played all year round, and the best hotels for playing are almost all by the sea.
9 min read
Luxury StaysThe Riviera's Grand Hotels: Sanremo, Alassio, Rapallo
“I hate rectangular swimming pools. Are lakes and rivers rectangular?” With these words Gio Ponti presented the Royal's seawater pool in Sanremo in 1948. It is one of the Riviera's historic grand hotels, and like the other two, in Alassio and Rapallo, it has a golf course within driving distance.
7 min read