Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, host of the 2023 Ryder Cup and a leading buddies golf venue in Italy

Ranked · 7 courses · updated 2026

The Best Golf for a Buddies Trip in Italy

Italy has arrived as a golf destination, and for a group of mates it offers a rare double: a clutch of genuinely excellent courses and the food, wine and scenery that make the evenings as good as the rounds. From the 2023 Ryder Cup stage at Marco Simone to the classic Piedmont layouts near Turin, here are the seven courses we rate most highly for a buddies trip, ranked, with our verdict on each and how to play it.

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By the GolfForKings editorial desk · How we rank · Last reviewed June 2026

Photograph: Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome, via Google

How we chose them

A buddies trip wants a different mix from a couples holiday or a corporate day. The group wants courses worth talking about over dinner, a base with good food and a bar within walking distance, a spread of difficulty so the whole fourball stays in the game, and ideally a cluster that lets everyone play several rounds without long transfers. Italy delivers on all of it, but it asks you to choose a region: the great courses are spread from Piedmont to Sicily, and distances are real, so the smart trip picks one area and plays it out.

We weighed course quality and championship pedigree, how well each venue and its surroundings suit a group, the playability across a range of handicaps, and the strength of the wider cluster for building a multi round week. Piedmont scores highest as a base because three of our top courses sit within a short drive of Turin and the Barolo wine country; Rome, Sicily and Sardinia follow with championship golf wrapped in a city or a resort. Every detail was checked at the time of writing. The order and the verdicts are our editors' view, so reasonable people will reorder the list. If you want any of these built into a costed group trip, that is exactly what our concierge does.

The ranking

Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome

Rome · Jim Fazio, redesigned for the Ryder Cup · 2023 host

The course that put Italian golf on the world stage. Built in the 1980s by Jim Fazio on the Biagiotti estate and reshaped by Tom Fazio II and European Golf Design for the 2023 Ryder Cup that Europe won, the Championship Course is a bold, stadium style test with water, severe greens and a castle backdrop ten miles from central Rome. For a buddies group it is the ultimate bucket list round, a chance to walk the same holes as the world's best, with the eternal city for the evenings. Play it as the centrepiece of a Rome trip.

Read the Marco Simone profile

Biella Le Betulle, Piedmont

Piedmont · John Morrison · consistently top two in Italy

For many the finest course in the country, John Morrison's Le Betulle climbs the wooded slopes of the Serra moraine north of Turin, a heathland and birch layout of real class and quiet, where the golf and the alpine air feel a world away from the resort circuit. It is the heart of a Piedmont buddies trip, within reach of Royal Park and Bogogno, and the region's food and Barolo wine make the evenings as memorable as the rounds. A connoisseur's course and a superb group anchor.

Read the Biella profile

Royal Park I Roveri, Turin

Turin · Robert Trent Jones Sr · Italian Open host

A Robert Trent Jones Sr design from 1972 set in the La Mandria natural park just outside Turin, with a championship layout that hosted the Italian Open from 2009 to 2012 and a celebrated 17th once voted the best hole in Italy. The parkland setting among oaks and the polished, members club feel make it a treat for a group, and its proximity to Biella and Bogogno completes the strongest cluster in the country. The natural pairing with Le Betulle for a two course Piedmont week.

Read the Royal Park profile

Verdura Resort, Sicily

Sicily · Kyle Phillips · 45 holes by the sea

The most complete resort package in Italian golf, Kyle Phillips' 45 holes run along the Sicilian coast near Sciacca, with the East and West championship courses, both par 72s over 7,300 yards, sweeping down toward the Mediterranean. For a buddies group that wants golf, sun, sea and a single luxurious base, Verdura is the answer: stay, play and dine on one estate, with several layouts to keep a competition fresh. The standout choice for a group that prizes a beach and a bar alongside the golf.

Read the Verdura profile

Circolo di Golf Bogogno, Piedmont

Piedmont · Robert von Hagge · two courses near Novara

A two course Robert von Hagge complex between Milan and Turin, with the Bonora and Del Conte layouts and a backdrop of Monte Rosa and the Alps on a clear day. The pair of courses on one site makes it the most practical Piedmont base for a group that wants to stay put and play 36 a day, and von Hagge's bold American style shaping gives the low markers plenty to chew on. With Biella and Royal Park close by, it completes a superb northern cluster for a buddies week.

Read the Bogogno profile

Argentario Golf Club, Tuscany

Tuscany · David Mezzacane and Baldovino Dassu · opened 2006

A design led resort course carved through the Tuscan hills near Porto Ercole, opened in 2006 and laid out by David Mezzacane with the Italian professional Baldovino Dassu, most holes offering views toward the Tyrrhenian Sea. The eco minded layout and the contemporary spa hotel make it a stylish base for a group that wants golf wrapped in Tuscan food, wine and scenery, an easy drive from Rome's airports. A relaxed, scenic round and a fine excuse to explore the Maremma coast.

Read the Argentario profile

Is Molas, Sardinia

Sardinia · Cotton, Lawrie and Pennink · built 1975

Sardinia's grand old championship course, laid out in 1975 by the British partnership of Ken Cotton, Charles Lawrie and Frank Pennink near Pula on the island's south coast, with a 27-hole complex that has hosted the Italian Open. The mature parkland and the Sardinian sun make it a relaxed, sociable group venue, and with the beaches of the Costa del Sud minutes away it suits a buddies trip that mixes golf with downtime. A characterful, good value island base away from the busier mainland clusters.

Read the Is Molas profile

Designers, opening years and host events verified June 2026 from the clubs and leading databases; visitor access, group rates and tee times vary by season and party size. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking. Check tee time availability.

Plan your Italian buddies trip

Tell us the group size, the rough dates and whether you want a Piedmont cluster, a Rome trip around Marco Simone or a Sicilian resort base, and we will build it. One concierge secures the tee times, sorts the lodging and the group dinners, and costs the whole trip to the head, with no obligation.

Italian buddies golf questions

Where is the best base for a buddies golf trip in Italy?

Piedmont, between Turin and Milan, is the strongest single base: Biella Le Betulle, Royal Park I Roveri and Circolo di Golf Bogogno sit within an easy drive of each other, with Barolo wine country and great food on the doorstep. Rome suits a city and golf trip around Marco Simone, while Sicily's Verdura and Sardinia's Is Molas pair championship golf with a resort and a beach for a group that wants sun.

Is Italy a good buddies golf destination?

Increasingly so. The 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone put Italian golf on the map, and the country pairs a clutch of genuinely excellent courses with the food, wine and scenery that make a group trip memorable off the course as well as on it. Distances between clusters are real, so most buddies trips pick one region, base there and play three or four courses.

When is the best time for a golf trip to Italy?

Spring and autumn are ideal across most of the country, with warm, settled weather and courses in peak condition. The Piedmont and northern courses are best from May to October, while Sicily and Sardinia extend the season at both ends and play well into the cooler months. Summer is hot inland, so plan early tee times. Always confirm conditions before booking.

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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, course details and host events verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.