Verdura Resort, Sicily, fairways running along the Mediterranean shore near Sciacca
Ranked · our verdicts, 2026

The Best Golf Courses in Sicily

Sicily plays a small but vivid hand: two Kyle Phillips courses running along the Mediterranean at Verdura, the only golf in Europe routed across the slopes of an active volcano, and a former monastery in the orange groves outside Siracusa. The island is not Portugal, and that is exactly the appeal: golf folded into one of the world's great food, ruins and beach destinations, with the courses uncrowded even in season. Here are the five rounds we would build a Sicily week around, ranked.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · Editorial policy · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte hotel, via Google

How we chose them

We rank on the quality and character of the golf first, then on what each course adds to a traveling golfer's week: setting, welcome, and what the green fee buys. One honest note on the field: Sicily's playable championship golf in 2026 is concentrated at a handful of properties, because the Donnafugata resort near Ragusa, host of the 2011 Sicilian Open, closed in 2020 and is not due to relaunch its Gary Player and Franco Piras courses until 2027. We rank only what you can actually book this year. Where we quote a fee it is the club's published or operator listed 2026 rate, marked indicative; always confirm directly before booking.

The ranking

01

Verdura Links Course

Kyle Phillips, 2009, reworked 2018 to 2021 · Sciacca · par 72 · indicative up to 150 euro high season

The best golf in Sicily and a fixture in any serious ranking of Italian courses. Kyle Phillips, the architect of Kingsbarns, laid out 45 holes on Rocco Forte's 570 acre estate near Sciacca in 2009, and after his 2018 rework the strongest holes play as the Links, formerly the East Course: a par 72 of around 7,300 yards that runs generous, strategic golf down to a genuine seaside finish along the Mediterranean. Conditioning, space and the five star resort behind it complete the case. Indicative 2026 high season fees run up to around 150 euros, with resort guests on preferred rates.

Read the full Verdura profile

02

Verdura Shore Course

Kyle Phillips · Sciacca · the second 18 at Verdura · indicative up to 150 euro high season

The other half of the Verdura estate, and barely a step behind. The Shore, formerly the West Course, took on the combination routing that hosted the European Tour's Sicilian Open and plays closer to the water for longer stretches, a softer, scenic counterpart to the Links with the same olive groves, the same sea light and the same immaculate presentation. Played as a 36 hole day with the Links, plus the nine hole par 3 Executive course in the evening, it makes Verdura the only true multi course golf resort on the island and one of the best in the Mediterranean. Fees mirror the Links; resort guests book first.

Read the full Shore profile

03

Il Picciolo Etna Golf Club

Luigi Rota Caremoli, 1989 · Castiglione di Sicilia · par 72 · Sicily's first 18 holes

The most singular round in Italy: golf on the slopes of an active volcano. Il Picciolo, designed by Luigi Rota Caremoli and opened in 1989 as the first 18 hole course in Sicily, climbs through oak and hazel woods, vineyards and old lava flows on Etna's northern side, with the summit smoking above the treeline on clear days. The course is short by modern standards and all about placement, the altitude keeps it playable through summer, and the Curio Collection resort behind it sits in the middle of the Etna wine country. Nobody forgets this one. Indicative 2026 fees are usually well under 100 euros.

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04

I Monasteri Golf Club

David and Vincenzo Mezzacane · near Siracusa · par 71 · former monastery estate

The southeast's round, twenty minutes from Siracusa and the baroque towns. I Monasteri is laid through the grounds of a former monastery, a par 71 winding among orange, mandarin and lemon plantations and prickly pear, with the old buildings converted into a relaxed resort. It is friendly rather than fearsome golf, but the setting is pure Sicily, the welcome is warm, and it slots perfectly into the island's best sightseeing corner: Ortigia, Noto and the southeastern beaches are all close. The natural pairing is culture in the morning, golf in the afternoon. Indicative 2026 fees are usually well under 100 euros.

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05

Golf Club Palermo Parco Airoldi

Favorita Park, Palermo · 9 holes · par 32 · the city round

The capital's course, and a charming oddity. Parco Airoldi, often listed as Villa Airoldi, plays nine holes of par 32 inside Palermo's Favorita Park, an eighteenth century royal park at the foot of Monte Pellegrino, with fountains, monuments and historic trees between the fairways and a floodlit range for the evening. It is not championship golf and does not pretend to be; it is the round you add because you are in Palermo anyway, the markets and the cathedral are twenty minutes from the first tee, and golf in a royal park in the middle of a great Mediterranean city is its own kind of luxury. Visitors are welcome daily.

Plan a Sicily golf trip

Fees are indicative 2026 rates from club and operator listings, verified June 2026. Donnafugata near Ragusa remains closed ahead of a slated 2027 golf relaunch. Always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Building the trip

Sicily golf is a two base week. Start at Verdura on the southwest coast for the serious golf: two or three days of the Links and Shore with the spa, the beach club and Agrigento's Valley of the Temples forty minutes away. Then cross to the east for the second act, either Etna and Taormina with a round at Il Picciolo among the vineyards, or Siracusa and the baroque southeast with I Monasteri in the citrus groves. Palermo's Parco Airoldi is the bonus nine if the trip starts or ends in the capital. Fly into Palermo for the west, Catania for the east, and plan on the spring or autumn shoulder, when the island is at its best and the courses are quiet. For the wider country see our Golf in Italy hub, the best courses in Italy ranking, our Sicily green fee guide and how to play golf in Sicily, and the luxury golf tours of Italy page for how a concierge builds the week.

Plan your Sicily golf trip

Kyle Phillips by the sea, a round on a live volcano and the best food on any golf trip in Europe: tell us roughly when and who is traveling, and one concierge prices the week to the head, with no obligation.

Sicily golf questions

What is the best golf course in Sicily?

The Verdura Links Course, Kyle Phillips' seaside championship course at the Rocco Forte Verdura Resort near Sciacca. Opened in 2009 as the East Course and reworked by Phillips after 2018 into today's Links, it runs along the Mediterranean shore and is widely rated the finest course on the island and one of the best in Italy. Indicative 2026 high season fees run up to around 150 euros, with resort guests on preferred rates; always confirm directly before booking.

How much do green fees cost in Sicily in 2026?

Roughly 60 to 150 euros depending on course and season. Verdura sits at the top of the card at up to around 150 euros in high season, with resort guests on preferential rates, while Il Picciolo Etna and I Monasteri are usually well under 100 euros. All fees are indicative for 2026; always confirm directly before booking.

Is Donnafugata golf resort open?

Not at the time of writing. The Donnafugata resort near Ragusa, whose Gary Player Parkland course hosted the 2011 Sicilian Open, closed in 2020 and its golf relaunch under new ownership is slated for 2027. It is the name to watch for a future Sicily trip, but it cannot be booked for 2026, which is why it does not appear in our ranking.

When is the best time to play golf in Sicily?

Spring and autumn, roughly March to May and October to November, when the island is warm but not fierce and the courses are in their best condition. Sicily is also one of Europe's genuine winter golf destinations, mild enough for golf year round on the coast. July and August are very hot inland, though Il Picciolo's altitude on Etna takes the edge off summer heat.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Rankings are our editorial verdicts; fees and course status verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.