International Olympic Academy Course

The verdict

Costa Navarino spent a decade turning a quiet corner of the southwest Peloponnese into the most serious golf resort in the eastern Mediterranean, and the International Olympic Academy Course is its statement of intent. Designed by Jose Maria Olazabal and opened in 2022, it sits at Navarino Hills, a 125 hectare site set back and up from the coast, sharing the high ground with the resort's Hills Course. The name salutes golf's return to the Olympic Games, and the course was conceived as a place to grow the game as much as a championship test.

What you get on the ground is big, generous, photogenic golf with the Ionian Sea on the horizon and the mountains of Messinia behind. Olazabal routed wide fairways and bold green complexes into terrain that tumbles and rises, so the round has rhythm and the views keep changing. It is not the firm, running seaside golf of the resort's Dunes and Bay courses down by the water; this is hillside golf, with carries and elevation changes that reward a player who can flight the ball and judge the slope. Of the four Costa Navarino courses it is the one most people remember for the scenery.

The holes worth the trip

The character of the round comes from the land. Olazabal worked the holes into the natural folds of the Navarino Hills, so you play across ridges, along sloping fairways and to greens that often sit on shoulders of ground with the sea spread out beyond. The strongest stretches are the ones that frame the bay, where a downhill tee shot opens up the whole coastline and the temptation is to admire the view rather than commit to the line.

It is a course that asks for thought rather than brute force. The fairways are wide enough to keep the resort golfer in play, but the green complexes are where Olazabal earns his fee, with run offs, tiers and false fronts that turn a loose approach into an awkward up and down. The par 3s use the elevation cleverly, playing across or down the slope, and the par 5s give the bigger hitter a decision without punishing the steady player who lays back. Through it all the wind off the Ionian and the firmness of the Mediterranean turf keep the test honest.

Played as part of a Costa Navarino week, the International Olympic Academy Course is the high country counterpoint to the linksier Dunes Course and the seaside Bay Course down by the water, and it shares the Navarino Hills ground with the Hills Course. Most visitors play all four and rank this one first for sheer spectacle.

Where to stay nearby

The course is part of the Costa Navarino resort, so the natural bases are on site, at The Westin and The Romanos down by Navarino Dunes, or W Costa Navarino on the coast, each a short shuttle from the Navarino Hills clubhouse. Staying in the resort buys the easiest tee times across all four courses and the preferential green fee, which is how most golfers play here.

Beyond the resort, the wider Messinia coast and the town of Pylos give you tavernas, beaches and the history of the Bay of Navarino, and Kalamata is the gateway by air. A golf trip here works best as a four course week in one place rather than a touring itinerary, with the International Olympic Academy and Hills courses up in the hills and the Dunes and Bay down by the sea.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts at Costa Navarino and along the Messinia coast.