The Best Golf Courses in Malta
Let us be straight with you. Malta has exactly one golf course, the historic Royal Malta Golf Club, and we rank it honestly here, then show you the Sicilian courses a short flight away that turn a single round into a proper golf holiday.
Photograph: Royal Malta Golf Club, Royal Malta Golf Club, via Google
The honest picture
Most guides padding out a top ten in Malta are inventing courses that do not exist. There is one, and one only. The Royal Malta Golf Club at Marsa, founded in 1888 and one of the small handful of clubs in the world to hold Royal status, is the single course on the Maltese islands, a flat, short, quirky parkland that shares its ground with a horse racing track and other sports. It is a piece of golfing history rather than a championship test, and for a golfer who wants to play in Malta, it is the round to play.
So the real question is not which Maltese course is best, but how to build a golf trip around the one that exists. The answer is Sicily, a short flight or a fast ferry across the water, where Verdura, Donnafugata and Il Picciolo offer the variety and the resort quality Malta cannot. Below we rank Royal Malta first as the home course, then the three Sicilian courses that complete a genuine golf holiday from a Maltese base. All four welcome visitors, and the best trips pair the warmth and history of Malta with a couple of championship rounds across the water.
The course in Malta
Royal Malta Golf Club
The only golf course in Malta and one of the oldest clubs in the Mediterranean, founded in 1888 and granted Royal status, on its present Marsa site since 1904. A short, flat parkland of roughly 5,600 yards to a par in the high 60s, refurbished in 1989 by Welsh tour player David Llewellyn, it famously shares its ground with the Marsa Sports Club, where a horse racing track once crossed several holes. Not a championship test, but a warm, walkable, characterful round full of history, and the only place to play golf on the island.
Indicative 2026 visitor green fee modest by Mediterranean standards, handicap certificate required. Always confirm directly before booking.A short flight away: the Sicilian courses
Verdura Resort
The flagship golf resort of the Mediterranean and the obvious pairing with a Malta trip, Sir Rocco Forte's Verdura on the south coast of Sicily, a short hop to Palermo or Catania. Two Kyle Phillips championship eighteens, the East and the West, run along the sea with several holes hard against the Mediterranean, plus a par 3 short course. Big, open, beautifully conditioned and a regular European Tour host. The golf Malta does not have.
Indicative 2026 green fee resort and seasonal. Always confirm directly before booking.Donnafugata Golf Resort
In the baroque southeast of Sicily near Ragusa, closest of the island's resorts to Malta, Donnafugata offers two contrasting eighteens, a Links course and a Parkland course designed by Gary Player, set among carob trees and dry stone walls. A relaxed, scenic resort with a restored country house at its heart, it suits a group wanting variety and value alongside the Sicilian baroque towns and the food.
Indicative 2026 green fee resort and seasonal. Always confirm directly before booking.Il Picciolo Etna Golf
The oldest course in Sicily, a par 72 designed by Luigi Rota Caremoli in 1989 on the lower slopes of Mount Etna near Catania, framed by vineyards with the smoking volcano above. A characterful, rolling layout rather than a manicured resort course, it is a memorable round and an easy add for golfers flying into Catania, the more convenient of Sicily's two airports for a trip from Malta.
Indicative 2026 green fee moderate and seasonal. Always confirm directly before booking.Designers, founding years and tournament history verified June 2026. Malta has a single golf course, Royal Malta. The Sicilian courses are a short flight or ferry away and are included to plan a complete trip, not to overstate Maltese golf. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking.
How to play it
A Malta golf trip works best as a winter sun escape with one round on the island and the bulk of the golf across the water in Sicily. Fly into Malta for the history, the harbours and the warmth, play Royal Malta for the experience and the story, then take the short flight to Catania or Palermo for two or three championship rounds at Verdura, Donnafugata or Il Picciolo. The cooler months from October to April are the prime golf season in both Malta and Sicily, with comfortable temperatures and the courses in good order, while high summer is hot for walking. Let one planner sequence the flights, the rounds and the hotels so the two islands link cleanly.
Plan your Malta and Sicily golf trip
Tell us how many rounds you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Malta golf questions
How many golf courses are there in Malta?
Just one. The Royal Malta Golf Club at Marsa, founded in 1888 and one of only a small number of clubs in the world granted Royal status, is the single golf course on the Maltese islands. It shares its ground with a horse racing track and other sports at the Marsa Sports Club. Golfers wanting more variety pair Malta with the resort courses of Sicily, a short flight or ferry away.
Can you play golf in Malta?
Yes. Visitors are welcome at the Royal Malta Golf Club at Marsa, subject to a handicap certificate and tee sheet availability, and it is busiest in the cooler winter months. It is a flat, walkable, quirky course rather than a championship test, best enjoyed for its history and setting. Always confirm visitor access and green fees directly before booking.
Where else can you play golf near Malta?
Sicily is the natural addition, a short flight to Catania or Palermo. Its leading courses are the two Kyle Phillips championship layouts at Verdura, the Links and Gary Player parkland courses at Donnafugata, and Il Picciolo Etna Golf on the slopes of Mount Etna. A combined Malta and Sicily trip turns a single round into a varied golf holiday.
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