Golf in Italy
The country that hosted the 2023 Ryder Cup pairs serious championship golf with the best food, wine and scenery in the game. The courses that matter, from Rome to Sicily and Sardinia, the regions, the seasons and how to plan it.
Photograph: Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, via Google
Why golf in Italy
Italy spent decades as a connoisseur's golf destination, a country you went to for the scenery and the lifestyle more than the courses. The 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone changed that conversation for good. The win on home soil put Italian golf on the front pages, accelerated a wave of resort investment, and gave travelling golfers a marquee venue half an hour from the center of Rome. The golf is now genuinely good, and it comes wrapped in the things Italy has always done better than anyone: the table, the coast, the hill towns and the welcome.
What makes Italy unusual is how spread out and varied the golf is. The north holds the classic Robert Trent Jones parkland courses of Piedmont and the lakes near Milan and Turin. The center gives you Tuscany and the Rome courses. The islands are the prize, with Kyle Phillips links at Verdura in Sicily and the Robert Trent Jones clifftop at Pevero on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia, both playable deep into the shoulder seasons. You will not play a tight cluster of links the way you would in Ireland. You will build a trip around two or three regions and eat extremely well between them.
The regions
Rome and the center
Marco Simone, the 2023 Ryder Cup stage, sits half an hour from the city, with Argentario and the Tuscan resorts a short drive north. The easiest region to pair golf with a city stay and the great sights.
Piedmont and the lakes
The classic parkland heartland around Turin and Milan: Royal Park I Roveri, Castelconturbia and Biella, set among woodland and water near the Alps, an hour from Lake Maggiore and Lake Como.
Sicily and Sardinia
The islands hold the resort showpieces. Verdura on the Sicilian south coast and Pevero on the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia stay warm and playable from autumn into spring, long after the north has closed for winter.
The courses that matter
Marco Simone, Championship
The rebuilt championship course at Guidonia Montecelio that staged the 2023 Ryder Cup, a bold, watery, amphitheater layout with the Rome skyline in the distance and a closing stretch built for drama.
Verdura, East and West
Two seaside championship courses on the south coast of Sicily at the Rocco Forte resort, with holes running right along the Mediterranean. The best pure golf in southern Italy and warm well into winter.
Pevero Golf Club
A Robert Trent Jones masterpiece on the Costa Smeralda above Porto Cervo, threading between granite outcrops and the bays of the Emerald Coast, long ranked among the most beautiful courses in Europe.
Royal Park I Roveri
Robert Trent Jones senior's first Italian design, a refined parkland near Turin set among oak woodland, a former Italian Open host paired with a modern Hurdzan and Fry championship course.
Argentario Golf Resort
A scenic, hilly resort course on the Monte Argentario peninsula in southern Tuscany, all small greens and sea views, with a five star wellness hotel that makes it an easy luxury base.
Castelconturbia
Twenty seven holes of classic Robert Trent Jones parkland near Lake Maggiore, mature, tree lined and consistently rated among the finest inland courses in the country.
Biella Le Betulle
A serene woodland course in the foothills of the Alps above Biella, framed by silver birches, regularly named the best traditional parkland in Italy and a connoisseur's favorite.
Is Molas Golf Club
A long established resort course on the south coast of Sardinia near Cagliari, a former Italian Open venue that, with Pevero, anchors the island's golf at the warmer southern end.
Olgiata Golf Club
A mature Robert Trent Jones parkland on the northern edge of Rome, a multiple Italian Open host that pairs naturally with Marco Simone for a two course stay in the capital.
Designers and host history verified June 2026. Course profiles are added across the site as the directory grows. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking.
When to go
| Season | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| April to June | Warm, settled, courses at their greenest | Prime spring window across the whole country |
| September to October | Warm days, the grape harvest, firm fairways | The best all round time to travel |
| July and August | Hot inland, busy on the coast | Early tee times only, or stay by the sea |
| November to March | Cold and quiet in the north, mild on the islands | Sicily and Sardinia only, the rest closes down |
The islands are the winter golf story. Verdura and Pevero stay playable when the Piedmont and Rome courses are cold and empty.
Indicative costs
| Item | Indicative 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Inland green fee | Around €90 to €160 | Royal Park I Roveri, Argentario, Castelconturbia |
| Resort showpiece | Higher, varies by season | Verdura and Marco Simone, often as a stay and play |
| A week, all in | Around €2,500 to €5,000 per person | Resort golf, 4 to 5 star hotels, a car, excluding flights |
Indicative third party figures for the 2026 season, shown to set expectations only. We are a guide, not an operator, and never quote our own pricing. Always confirm directly before booking.
Getting there and around
Italy is easy to reach and rewards a regional plan. Rome Fiumicino is the gateway for Marco Simone, Olgiata and the Tuscan courses, with Argentario about ninety minutes north. Milan and Turin serve the Piedmont and lakes parkland, an hour or so from Royal Park I Roveri and Castelconturbia. For the islands, fly into Palermo or Catania for Verdura, and Olbia for Pevero and the Costa Smeralda. A hire car is essential everywhere outside the cities, since the best courses are rural and the drives through the countryside are part of the pleasure.
Where to stay
Italy does the golf resort better than almost anywhere. Verdura, Argentario, Pevero and the Marco Simone area all have hotels built for golfers, so the simplest trips base in one resort and play out from it. For a touring trip, pair a Rome city hotel with the capital's two courses, then move north to Tuscany or south to the islands. Book the resort hotels well ahead for spring and autumn, the two busiest windows, and let one planner sequence the regions so the drives stay short.
Plan your Italy golf trip
Tell us the courses you want and roughly when. One concierge costs the whole trip to the head and replies within one working day, with no obligation.
Italy golf questions
When is the best time to play golf in Italy?
April to June and September to October are the prime windows almost everywhere, with warm, settled weather and firm fairways. Sicily and Sardinia stretch the season into winter, when Verdura and Pevero stay playable while the north is cold and quiet. July and August are hot inland and best reserved for early tee times or the coast.
Where is the Ryder Cup course in Italy?
Marco Simone Golf and Country Club at Guidonia Montecelio, about half an hour northeast of Rome, hosted the 2023 Ryder Cup. The championship layout was rebuilt by European Golf Design and is open to visitors by advance booking, which makes it the natural centerpiece of a Rome golf trip.
How much does a golf trip to Italy cost in 2026?
Indicative 2026 green fees run from roughly €90 to €160 at the inland clubs such as Royal Park I Roveri and Argentario, and higher at the resort showpieces like Verdura and Marco Simone. A week of resort golf with four and five star hotels and a car typically lands between €2,500 and €5,000 per head. Always confirm directly before booking.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Italian resort openings, Marco Simone access and the best shoulder season tee times. Every other week.