Golf Club Punta Ala

The verdict

Punta Ala is one of the oldest and best loved seaside courses in Italy, the centerpiece of a smart resort village on the Maremma coast of southern Tuscany. Designed by Giulio Cavalsani and opened in 1964, it runs through dense umbrella pine and Mediterranean maquis on rolling ground above the Tyrrhenian Sea, with views out to the island of Elba and the constant scent of pine and salt in the air.

It is a proper test, a par 72 of about 6,168 meters, roughly 6,745 yards, with elevated greens and tree lined corridors that ask for accuracy and a feel for the slope rather than length alone. The setting is the point: a round here is a Tuscan holiday in itself, golf in the morning and the beach, a boat or a long lunch in the afternoon, which is exactly why it has drawn travelling golfers and Italian families to this stretch of coast for sixty years.

The holes worth the trip

Punta Ala plays through the trees, and the umbrella pines are the defining feature: tall, broad canopied and close enough to the fairways that a wayward drive is quickly punished, so the tee shot is about position and shape as much as power. The ground moves throughout, and Cavalsani used the slopes to set many greens above the level of the fairway, where the approach must carry the full distance and a short shot rolls back off the front.

The best holes use the elevation and the glimpses of the sea, climbing to high tees that open up views over the pines to the bay and Elba beyond before plunging back into the forest. There is little water, but the combination of narrow pine corridors, raised greens and the sea breeze keeps the scoring honest, and the greens themselves are subtle and quick when the course is in good trim.

It is a hilly walk, so a buggy is popular in the heat, and the round rewards the player who stays patient, finds the fairway and accepts that par is a good score on the tougher uphill holes.

Where to stay nearby

Punta Ala is a resort village in its own right, with beach hotels, a marina and self catering villas all within a few minutes of the course, which makes it an easy place to settle for a week of golf, sea and slow lunches. The wider Maremma adds quiet beaches, the medieval hill towns of the Tuscan interior and the wine country of Bolgheri and Morellino di Scansano for non golfing days.

For a fuller golf trip, Punta Ala pairs with the other courses of central and southern Tuscany, Argentario down the coast and the celebrated resort layouts of Castiglion del Bosco and the Siena hills inland, so a group can combine seaside and rolling Tuscan golf in a single week. Pisa and Florence both put the region within easy flying reach.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near Golf Club Punta Ala.