How to Play the Best Golf in Sicily
Sicily is honest golf math: one genuinely world class resort, Verdura, where Kyle Phillips laid two championship courses along the Mediterranean, plus a handful of character rounds, volcanic golf below Etna, an 18 around a former monastery near Siracusa and nine holes in the middle of Palermo. Here is how to get on each of them in 2026, which ones to trust, and how to route the island around the golf.
Photograph: Verdura Resort, a Rocco Forte Hotel, via Google
The short answer
There is no gatekeeping in Sicilian golf, only geography and one busy resort tee sheet. The island's flagship is Verdura, the Rocco Forte resort near Sciacca on the southwest coast, opened in 2009 with two Kyle Phillips championship courses, the East and the West, plus a short par 3 course, all of it renovated and reopened in late 2021. The resort has hosted DP World Tour golf, the Rocco Forte Open, on a composite of the two big courses. Access is simple but tilted: hotel guests get preferential rates, golf inclusive packages and first call on tee times, while outside visitors are welcome subject to availability with a handicap certificate at an indicative high season fee of about 150 euros for 18 holes, and booking five or more green fees earns a 20 percent discount.
Everything else on the island books direct with no formality. Il Picciolo, Sicily's first 18, sits on Etna's northern slopes at around 80 euros indicatively; I Monasteri near Siracusa and Villa Airoldi in Palermo round out the card, and Donnafugata near Ragusa, with its Gary Player parkland, adds a value alternative in the southeast. Fly into Palermo for the west or Catania for the east, rent a car, and accept the honest framing: this is a holiday island with one great golf resort on it, not a course collecting destination. Every number on this page sits in fuller detail in our Sicily green fees guide; this page is about getting on.
Sicily's courses: who built them and how to get on, 2026
| Course | Designer | Location, nearest airport | Indicative 2026 fee | Booking note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdura East | Kyle Phillips, opened 2009, renovated 2021 | Near Sciacca, about 1h30 from Palermo | About 150 euros high season, 18 holes | Hotel guests preferential; outside visitors on availability with handicap card |
| Verdura West | Kyle Phillips, opened 2009, renovated 2021 | Same estate as the East | About 150 euros high season; 20 percent off at five or more rounds | Composite of East and West has hosted the DP World Tour's Rocco Forte Open |
| Il Picciolo Etna | Luigi Rota Caremoli, 1989, Sicily's first 18 | Castiglione di Sicilia, about 1h from Catania | Around 80 euros; resort guests lower | Book via the Curio Collection resort; volcanic terraces, Etna on the skyline |
| I Monasteri | Par 71 through old olive groves, commonly credited to David Mezzacane | Near Siracusa, about 45 minutes from Catania | Confirm directly | Course reported closed for works with reopening flagged for late 2026; confirm before planning around it |
| Villa Airoldi | 9 holes, par 32, in the Parco Airoldi | Central Palermo, 30 minutes from the airport | Around 40 to 50 euros | Book direct; a city curiosity round, clubs rentable on site |
| Le Madonie | 18 holes at Collesano, opened 2004 | Hills behind Cefalu, about 1h from Palermo | Not reliably bookable | Closed in 2012 after the operator failed; site sold in 2023, confirm any revival directly |
Access rules, designers and indicative 2026 fees verified June 2026 and subject to change without notice. Always confirm current rates and tee times directly before booking. Check Sicily tee time availability.
How to book Sicily, step by step
- Pick a side of the island first. Verdura and Palermo anchor the west, Etna, Taormina and Siracusa the east, and the two are about three hours apart by road. Fly Palermo, PMO, for the west or Catania, CTA, for the east, and book a rental car at the airport in the same sitting; there is no golf itinerary here without one.
- Fix dates inside the March to June or September to November windows. August is very hot and resort high season; winter is mild, quiet and playable on bright days.
- Book Verdura before anything else. Staying at the resort is the smart play, with preferential rates and golf inclusive packages; outside visitors should request tee times well ahead, carry a handicap certificate, and budget about 150 euros for 18 holes in high season. Five or more green fees earns 20 percent off either way.
- Add the character rounds by geography: Il Picciolo on Etna's slopes for an east coast trip, Villa Airoldi's nine holes for a Palermo city day, and I Monasteri near Siracusa only after confirming it is open, since works have been reported with reopening flagged for late 2026.
- Build the golf free days in from the start, the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento near Verdura, Taormina and the Etna wineries near Il Picciolo, and Ortigia at Siracusa. In Sicily the days off are half the argument for coming.
Dress codes are standard resort golf, a collared shirt and tailored shorts or trousers, and Verdura is the only tee sheet on the island that ever feels tight, mostly inside resort high season. Buggies are widely available and worth it in the heat; at Il Picciolo the altitude, around 600 meters, takes the edge off summer afternoons. Booking is email and confirmation simple everywhere outside Verdura's online tee sheet.
Routing the trip, and where to stay
The clean version is a one base trip. Stay at Verdura Resort itself for the golf heavy week, with the two championship courses and the par 3 loop outside your door, Sciacca's fishing harbor ten minutes away and Agrigento's Greek temples under an hour. A touring version flips it: base in Taormina or Siracusa on the east coast, play Il Picciolo with Etna smoking on the skyline, confirm I Monasteri's status, and treat Verdura as a two night detour west rather than a daily commute, because the cross island drive eats half a day each way. Palermo works as a city bookend with Villa Airoldi's nine holes as the warm up or warm down round.
For the wider picture, the Italy destination hub maps every region, our best courses in Italy ranking shows exactly where Verdura sits nationally, and golfers weighing islands should read the 3 day Sardinia itinerary, since Pevero and Is Molas make Sardinia the stronger pure golf island. To have the week costed and booked as one piece, start from Italy golf holidays, or go full service with luxury golf tours of Italy, which is the natural register for a Verdura trip.
Plan a Sicily golf trip
Tell us roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge holds the Verdura tee times on the right days, prices the golf inclusive stay against walk up fees, confirms which of the island's other courses are actually open, and routes the temples, Etna and the food around the golf. We reply within one working day, with no obligation.
Sicily golf access questions
Can you play Verdura without staying at the resort?
Yes. Verdura's East and West courses are open to outside visitors subject to availability, with advance booking essential and a valid handicap certificate or card required. The indicative high season fee is about 150 euros for 18 holes, hotel guests play on preferential rates, and booking five or more green fees earns a 20 percent discount. Resort guests get first call on the tee sheet, so outside players should request times well ahead. Always confirm current rates and availability directly before booking.
Do you need a car for a golf trip to Sicily?
Yes, a rental car is essential. Verdura sits on the southwest coast near Sciacca, about an hour and a half from Palermo airport, with no practical public transport link. Il Picciolo is about an hour from Catania on Etna's northern slopes, and I Monasteri is roughly 45 minutes south of Catania near Siracusa. The west and east of the island are around three hours apart by road, so most golfers pick one side per trip.
When is the best time to play golf in Sicily?
March to June and September to November are the sweet spots, with warm days, green courses and lively towns. July and August are very hot, regularly well above 30 degrees Celsius, and better suited to early tee times and the beach. Winters are mild and playable on bright days, especially on the coast at Verdura, and tee sheets are quiet outside the resort high season. Always confirm conditions directly before booking.
Is Sicily worth a dedicated golf trip?
It depends what you want. As a pure golf destination Sicily is really one world class resort, Verdura, plus a handful of character courses, so course collectors will run out of headline golf inside a week. As a golf plus travel destination it is hard to beat: Greek temples, Etna, baroque towns and some of the best food in Italy sit within day trip range of every course. Plan it as a holiday with serious golf in it rather than a course count, and it delivers.
Related
The Tee Sheet
Tee time releases, access changes and the booking windows worth moving on first. Every other week.
Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Access rules and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.