It might not surprise others while playing golf in the land of la dolce vita, but American writer Roland Merullo was taken aback when he was invited for a bite with some locals at Italy’s top-ranked course, Olgiata Golf Club after nine holes. He encountered the furthest thing from hot dogs and beers at the turn—instead, it was a cloth-covered meal of salad, pasta, wine, espresso and a slice of torta before continuing to the back nine.
The quality of Italy’s golf courses doesn’t compare to the links of the British Isles or to America’s top clubs, but it’s the mixing of Italian culture and history with the sport that makes the country’s golf so appealing. Etruscan tunnels and caves sit under the land surrounding Olgiata (formerly ranked on Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest Courses), Le Pavoneiere—just outside Florence—was built on a former estate owned by the Medici family, and Italy’s oldest course, Acquasanta, offers views of nearby Roman aqueducts.
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The diversity of golf in Italy is impressive. In the northern region where many of the country’s courses are located, tighter tree-lined designs like Villa d’Este and Milano Golf Club are common. The rolling Tuscan countryside creates not only a tasteful glass of red but also a perfect landscape for a course. La Bagnaia, a Robert Trent Jones Jr. resort course, capitalizes on the terrain, and the wispy fescue that lines the fairways blends with the surrounding Tuscan architecture to create a rustic feel—in case you forgot where you were. Farther down on the southwestern tip of Sicily, Verdura Resort hugs the Mediterranean with several seaside holes.
This is all without mentioning 2023 Ryder Cup venue Marco Simone, which hosts Italy’s first Ryder Cup. Situated just outside the heart of Rome, the design at Marco Simone screams new and modern, contrasting with the city that is anything but.
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Here are the 10 best golf courses in Italy, as judged by our 1,900 well-traveled panelists from North America, as well as our panel of 500 golf enthusiasts from around the globe.
Courtesy of Verdura Resort
1. Olgiata G.C. (West), Rome
2. Villa d’Este G.C., Montorfano, Como
3. La Bagnaia G.C., Murlo
4. Biella Le Betulle G.C., Magnano
5. Le Pavoniere G. & C.C., Tuscany
6. Verdura Resort (East), Sicily
7. G.C. Roma Acquasanta
8. Castiglion de Bosco G.C., Siena
9. Marco Simone G. & C.C., Guidonia
10. Milano G.C., Monza
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