The Best Golf Clubs in Italy: Ten Destinations Worth the Journey

From the forests above Lake Como to the sun-bleached coast of Sicily, Italy has quietly built a canon of extraordinary golf.

Italy does not announce itself as a golf destination. It doesn't need to. Its landscapes — lake country shrouded in chestnut forest, Tuscany's quilted hills, the Adriatic glittering beyond a Puglian stone wall — happen to produce conditions for some of the most memorable rounds in Europe. What follows is a curated selection of nine courses that reward the discerning traveller: architecturally significant, scenically remarkable, and each surrounded by everything that makes Italy worth the flight.

Northern Italy

Golf Club Villa d'Este

Montorfano, Lake Como

Established in 1926, Villa d'Este is one of Italy's oldest clubs and remains one of its most demanding. Peter Gannon's layout threads through chestnut, birch, and pine, with tight fairways and small greens that punish imprecision without ever feeling unfair. The clubhouse preserves a quiet, unhurried elegance entirely in keeping with the Lake Como setting — a region where beauty is taken seriously and leisure is treated as an art form.

Golf Club Castelconturbia

Agrate Conturbia, Piedmont

Robert Trent Jones Sr. was at his prime when he designed this 27-hole layout in the Piedmont foothills, with Monte Rosa as a backdrop. The architecture is expansive and strategic — bunkers placed to reward the brave line, water hazards that require a decision — and the overall effect is one of grandeur without excess. For golfers with a serious game and an appreciation for iconic design, Castelconturbia belongs on any Italian itinerary.

Golf Club Milano

Monza Park, Milan

Set within one of Europe's largest enclosed parks, Golf Club Milano has a genuine pedigree: founded in 1928, it has hosted the Italian Open on multiple occasions and continues to draw players who appreciate its stately, tree-lined character. The fast greens and well-defined fairways designed by Cecil Blandford and Peter Gannon make it an intellectual challenge, and the proximity to Milan ensures that a round here can be woven effortlessly into a broader cultural programme.

Central Italy

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Guidonia Montecelio, Rome

The world took notice when Marco Simone was selected to host the 2023 Ryder Cup, and the course — renovated extensively in preparation — now stands as a serious test of championship golf. Originally designed by Jim Fazio and David Mezzacane, it combines water hazards and strategic bunkering across a varied, pressured layout. For those who want to walk the same ground as Europe's finest, the experience is unique and the Rome surroundings offer an obvious reason to extend the stay.

Golf Club Ugolino

Grassina, Florence

Founded in 1933 and designed by Cecil Blandford and Peter Gannon, Ugolino sits among olive groves and vineyards in the Florentine hills — a setting that feels less like a sporting facility and more like a landscape painting that happens to have a course in it. Narrow fairways and small greens demand precision and creativity in equal measure. The club's quiet dignity and its proximity to one of the world's great cities make it an ideal addition to a Tuscany programme.

Argentario Golf Resort & Spa

Porto Ercole, Maremma

In the Maremma — Tuscany's wilder, less-visited coastal hinterland — Argentario offers a different kind of luxury: one that emphasises the natural environment rather than competing with it. The eco-sensitive course, designed by David Mezzacane and professional golfer Baldovino Dassù, flows with the terrain rather than reshaping it, producing a round that feels genuinely connected to the landscape. The resort's spa and kitchen are serious complements to the golf, making Argentario one of the more complete escapes in Italy.

Antognolla Golf

Antognolla, Umbria

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and set within a 600-hectare estate in the Umbrian hills, Antognolla is one of Central Italy's most ambitious golf projects. The course works with the natural contours of the terrain — oak woods, river valleys, sweeping panoramas — producing a layout that is both visually spectacular and strategically demanding. The accompanying resort, anchored by a restored medieval castle, places it firmly in the category of destinations where the experience extends well beyond the eighteen holes. For those who want Tuscany's neighbour on their itinerary, Antognolla is the reason.

Southern Italy

San Domenico Golf

Savelletri di Fasano, Puglia

On the Adriatic coast of Puglia, San Domenico offers something most Italian courses cannot: sea views on almost every hole. Designed by European Golf Design, the course plays firm and fast, with coastal winds that alter every club selection and make the same round feel different each time. Strategic bunkering and quick greens reward local knowledge, which is precisely why returning visitors treat this club as a ritual rather than a novelty.

Acaya Golf Club

Acaya, Salento

Designed by the American firm Hurdzan-Fry and set within a nature reserve in the deep south of Puglia, Acaya is the kind of course that rewards players who take the landscape seriously. The 18-hole layout incorporates water hazards and undulating terrain within a protected natural setting, and the surrounding region — Salento's baroque towns, whitewashed trulli, and exceptional local cuisine — offers context that elevates the visit beyond the scorecard.

Verdura Golf & Spa Resort

Sciacca, Sicily

Verdura is Italy's most comprehensive golf resort, and one of Europe's finest. Kyle Phillips designed two full 18-hole championship courses and a 9-hole par-3 layout along Sicily's southwest coast, with the Mediterranean providing both backdrop and meteorological challenge. Coastal winds, strategic hazards, and the sheer visual drama of the setting make every round memorable. The resort itself — spa, multiple restaurants, seamless service — operates at the level one expects from a property of this calibre. It is, in short, a destination in its own right.

Planning Your Golf Trip to Italy

When to go

The optimal window is April through early June, and again from mid-September through October. Courses are in prime condition, temperatures are comfortable across all regions, and the light — particularly in Tuscany and the south — rewards the kind of slow, attentive pace that a well-organised golf trip deserves. August is best avoided: heat affects both course conditions and energy levels, and crowds dilute the experience.

Where to stay

The most rewarding itineraries combine resort-based golf (Verdura, Argentario, San Domenico) with access to nearby historic clubs that lack accommodation of their own. This structure — a resort as base, with day trips to Villa d'Este or Ugolino — gives variety without sacrifice of comfort. For multi-region programmes, a dedicated villa or boutique property in each zone tends to outperform any single hotel, both logistically and experientially.

Beyond the course

Italy's greatest contribution to a golf trip is what surrounds the golf. A round at Ugolino earns a long lunch in Florence. San Domenico sits thirty minutes from some of Puglia's finest masserie and the most underrated food culture in Italy. Verdura's position in western Sicily places Agrigento's Valle dei Templi and Palermo's baroque markets within easy reach. The itinerary that treats golf as one element among many — rather than the only point — almost always produces the better trip.

True Luxury Travels arranges bespoke golf programmes throughout Italy — combining access to the country's finest clubs with accommodation, cultural experiences, and private transportation curated to each client's preferences.

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