Golf in Rome and Lazio
No golf destination in Europe carries this much history per round. Northeast of the city, Marco Simone staged the 2023 Ryder Cup and lets visitors play the same amphitheater holes. South along the Appia Antica, Italy's oldest club has been playing golf beneath Roman aqueducts since 1903. Add the 27 championship holes of Olgiata on the Via Cassia, Robert Trent Jones Sr's course inside a volcanic crater at Castelgandolfo and his son's modern examination at Terre dei Consoli, and the Eternal City becomes a serious five round golf trip. The courses, the season, the costs and how to plan it.
Photograph: Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, via Google
Why golf in Rome and Lazio
The 2023 Ryder Cup changed what a Rome golf trip means. Marco Simone, a late 1980s layout by David Mezzacane with Jim Fazio, was rebuilt for the matches by European Golf Design working with Tom Fazio II into a rolling, water laced stadium course with the dome of St Peter's on the skyline, and unlike most Ryder Cup venues it stayed public. You can stand on the first tee where Europe won in 2023, pay an indicative 270 euros or so in 2026, and judge the famous drivable 16th for yourself. Three Italian Opens on the same turf mean the championship infrastructure never left.
The supporting cast is what makes it a week rather than a weekend. Olgiata, C.K. Cotton's 1961 design restyled by Jim Fazio in 1996, brings 27 holes of mature parkland on the Via Cassia and a history of World Cups. Acquasanta, founded in 1903 and the oldest course in Italy, plays through umbrella pines and ruined aqueducts beside the Appia Antica, golf in a landscape painters spent centuries on. In the Castelli Romani hills, Castelgandolfo fills the bowl of an extinct volcano below a 17th century clubhouse, a Robert Trent Jones Sr design of real theater, and at Monterosi his son's Terre dei Consoli, a two time Challenge Tour venue with an island green 9th, completes the modern flank. Between rounds you have Rome. No further argument is offered or required.
The regions
Guidonia and the northeast
Ryder Cup country: Marco Simone sits 17 kilometers from the center, with the championship course, a second course and the practice campus that hosted the matches in 2023.
Via Cassia and the north
The classic members belt: Olgiata's 27 holes inside its gated estate, with Terre dei Consoli twenty minutes further at Monterosi for the modern Trent Jones Jr counterpoint.
Appia Antica and the south
Acquasanta, the 1903 original, between the catacombs and the aqueducts on Rome's oldest road; the most atmospheric golf setting in Italy.
Castelli Romani
The papal hill towns above the lakes: Castelgandolfo's crater course under its Trent Jones Sr routing, with the wine of Frascati alongside.
Rome city
The base camp: every course above is within 45 minutes of the center, so the trip can live in one hotel and still play five different rounds.
The courses that matter
Marco Simone
Host of the 2023 Ryder Cup and three DS Automobiles Italian Opens: a muscular, water guarded modern course built for matchplay theater, with the drivable 16th already part of Ryder Cup legend. Indicative 2026 championship green fee around 270 euros. Public booking, early reservation essential.
Olgiata
27 holes of corridored parkland in a gated estate north of the city, host to the 1968 World Cup and a fixture of Roman championship golf since. The West is the tournament 18: long, tree framed and honest. The benchmark members club of Rome.
Circolo del Golf Roma Acquasanta
The oldest golf course in Italy, on turf its British founders first played in the 1880s, with Roman aqueducts striding across the property and the dome of St Peter's beyond. A private club that receives visitors by arrangement, generally weekdays, indicatively around 140 euros. Book well ahead.
Castelgandolfo
Golf inside the bowl of an extinct volcano below the papal summer town, the clubhouse a 17th century residence on the crater rim. Trent Jones used the walls of the caldera like an amphitheater. The most scenic inland round in central Italy.
Terre dei Consoli
The modern examination 30 kilometers north: a near 7,000 meter championship course and a two time Challenge Tour venue, its island green 9th the signature. Wide, strategic, American in scale, the strongest contrast to the old Roman clubs on any itinerary.
The second tier worth knowing
Rome supports a deep bench of members clubs and resort courses on both banks of the Tiber. We profile them as the directory grows; for a five round week, the five above are the spine, and our concierge can sequence the rest around your base and budget.
Designers, dates and access verified June 2026 from the clubs and leading databases. Always confirm visitor access and fees directly before booking.
When to go
| Season | Conditions | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| April to June | Warm, green, long evenings; the parkland courses at their best | Prime season; book Marco Simone weeks ahead |
| July to August | Hot in the city, 30 degrees plus; courses quieter | Early tee times and afternoon ruins; value on fees |
| September to November | Ryder Cup weather: warm, settling, soft light | The connoisseur's window; September fills first |
| December to March | Mild winters, rain in spells, courses open year round | Quiet, cheap, and Rome without the crowds |
Lazio golf is a twelve month proposition; the 2023 Ryder Cup was played in late September for a reason.
Indicative costs
| Item | Indicative 2026 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Simone Championship Course | Around 270 euros | The Ryder Cup round; seasonal movement either side of the headline rate |
| Acquasanta visitor green fee | Around 140 euros | By arrangement, generally weekdays; a private club first |
| Classic members clubs | Below the flagship | Olgiata, Castelgandolfo and Terre dei Consoli price under Marco Simone, midweek lower; confirm with each club |
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. Green fees move with season and demand. Always confirm directly before booking.
Getting there and around
Two airports serve the trip: Fiumicino for the intercontinental schedule and Ciampino, conveniently on the southern side near Acquasanta and the Castelli Romani, for European low cost routes. A car is the honest answer for the golf, since the courses ring the city in four directions and Roman taxis price accordingly, but drivers should base outside the historic center and ride the metro in. Many groups split the difference: a hotel near Villa Borghese or Trastevere for the Rome half, with a driver booked for the golf mornings. Nothing on the itinerary is more than 45 minutes from the center without traffic, a clause that does real work in Rome.
Where to stay
Marco Simone has resort lodging beside the courses for golfers who want the Ryder Cup turf at dawn, and the gated quiet of the Cassia corridor suits a golf first week near Olgiata. Most visitors rightly stay in Rome itself: the grand hotels above the Spanish Steps, the quieter luxury of the Aventine, or an apartment in Trastevere, treating each course as a half day sortie. For a softer landing, the wine towns of the Castelli Romani put Castelgandolfo's crater and the Frascati cellars outside the door, twenty minutes from Ciampino.
Plan your Rome golf trip
Tell us whether the week is built around the Ryder Cup course, the historic clubs, or both with Rome's tables in between, and roughly when. One concierge secures the tee times, including the arrangements Acquasanta requires, sorts the base and the drivers, and costs the whole trip to the head, with no obligation.
Rome and Lazio golf questions
Can visitors play the Ryder Cup course at Marco Simone?
Yes. Marco Simone, in Guidonia northeast of Rome, is open to visiting golfers on its public booking system, and playing the 2023 Ryder Cup course is the anchor of most Rome golf trips. Indicative 2026 green fees on the Championship Course run around 270 euros, with seasonal movement either side, and tee times in spring and fall go early. Always confirm current fees and availability directly before booking.
What is the oldest golf club in Italy?
Circolo del Golf Roma Acquasanta, beside the Appia Antica south of the center, dates to 1903 and is the oldest golf course in Italy, with club roots among British residents going back to the 1880s. It is a private members club that receives visiting golfers by arrangement, generally on weekdays, with indicative green fees around 140 euros. The aqueduct ruins along the fairways make it one of the most atmospheric rounds in Europe. Always confirm access directly before traveling.
How expensive is golf in Rome and Lazio?
Reasonable, given what is on offer. The headline fee is the Ryder Cup course at Marco Simone, indicatively around 270 euros in 2026. Acquasanta receives visitors at around 140 euros, and the classic members clubs at Olgiata and Castelgandolfo, along with Robert Trent Jones Jr's Terre dei Consoli north of the city, generally price below the flagship, especially midweek. Always confirm current fees directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Rome?
April to June and September to November. Spring and fall in Lazio are warm, mostly dry and ideal for walking the parkland courses; they were good enough for a late September Ryder Cup in 2023. July and August are hot in the city, with early tee times the sensible play. Winter golf is mild and entirely possible, and the courses are at their quietest, though rain arrives in spells from November.
Related
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts, access and seasons verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.