VILLA D'ESTE LEADS THE RANKING
There is something sexy about Italy right down to the country’s over-the-knee book shape. Pizza, pasta, Parmesan, Prosecco, Piaggio and even the Pope spring to mind along with Ferrari, Ducati and even Fiat, all these symbols are synonymous with the stylish Italian culture.
With Roman ruins, Renaissance art, the Alps, Venice and naturally some chic shopping, it is not surprising that Italians called their homeland “Il Bel Paese” (The Beautiful Country).
Golf in Italy dates back more than a century when, in 1889, the then English colony of Florence founded the Florence Golf Club, the first Italian golf association. Florence Golf Club was renamed in 1933 to Ugolino Golf Club. Roma Acquasanta owns Italy’s oldest golf course (the club was founded in 1903), but golf is a sport that has somehow failed to grip the Italian imagination unlike football, which is the country’s national sport. There are only 90,000 affiliated Italian golf club members who play their game on Italy’s 250 or so golf courses.
Please, click on the following link to check which are the best 50 golf courses in Italy.
The ranking sees at the first place Villa d’Este (in the picture the club house),whose course was cut by Peter Gannon through a pine, ash and chestnust forest back in 1926 and this former Italian Open venue is still as stylish today as it was back then. The course is classified at the 49th place in Europe.
At the second place, we find the course Sir Robert Trent Jones designed in Turin for the Royal Park I Roveri which opened its doors for play in 1971. The course is classified at the 53th place in Europe.
To follow, we have another course in Piedmont, Biella (56th in Europe) known locally as “Le Betulle” (the birches), one of the most evocative and serene spots in northern Italy. The club was founded in 1958 and the English architect John Morrison designed it.
Always in Piedmont, but in the area of Lake Maggiore, we have at the 4th place Castelconturbia with the Blue & Yellow courses). The course has been designed by Sir Robert Trent Jones and opened for play in 1984. In Europe, it occupies the 71st place.
To find the 5th place, we must move down to the capital of Italy Rome where Roma Acquasanta is located. Laid out over an enchanting parkland landscape, with views of the Via Appia Antica, Aqua Claudius arches and ancient tomb of Cecilia Metella, the course seems suspended in a time warp (90th in Europe).