Discovering the best golf courses in Northern Italy

On this trip in June 2022, we did a 2-week tour in the Northern part of the country, although we started at the southernmost part of Tuscany in Sienna.

The first club on the list was Castiglion Del Bosco (Cdb) in Sienna, a Tom Weiskopf design (He also designed Loch Lomond in Scotland). In a way this club reminded me of Vidauban in France, they both are very discrete and CdB is not a member of the Italian Golf Federation.

It’s Italy’s only private course, but luckily there is a way to play it, and that is to book a stay at the Rosewood Castiglion Del Bosco hotel on the property. Admittedly it is not cheap, but if you want to play the best courses in Italy, you can’t avoid this club. Everything here is of the highest quality (except the cart paths perhaps) and the course is just excellent.

After our round we enjoyed the wine that is made on the property so much, that we immediately went to buy two boxes in the wine shop.

A long way further North East in the Milano area we went to Villa d’Este, often named the number one in the country. It’s a Peter Gannon design from 1926. A beautiful old-fashioned course that did not disappoint. It’s wonderful to be able to visit these kinds of clubs, for a very fair price.

Closer to Milano, there is Milano Golf Club, a 27-hole golf course close to the Monza race track, and it also hosted several Italian Opens. I had a very enjoyable day here and played all 3 9 hole loops. Another attractive layout in very good shape. Highly recommended.

From Milano we went to Biella. When we arrived they took us around the clubhouse to see some of the names that won competitions here. They were particularly proud with Rory McIlroy and Flory Van Donck also won here. Once again it is an excellent classic layout. I had a preference for the front nine. We stayed in the hotel, which was located just next to the clubhouse, very convenient.

We moved further West from there to Torino. First there we went to Circolo Golf Torino La Mandria. The first thing you notice from driving to the parking from the entrance is their amazing practice facilities. Interesting to know is that the (higher) green fee here is a daily green fee. If you play it in summer, you can play all of their two 18 holes courses, as we did, and then it’s a pretty good deal.

This club is located just next to La Mandria (in fact you can see it from a certain hole), and again here it is a day green fee, and we played 36 holes on the Italian National Day, great value for money. The first layout we did was the Hurdzan Fry and I must say, that was very good. The second was the better-known Robert Trent Jones course. We had to wait until after a competition and returned to the clubhouse at 9 PM when it was nearly dark. 

Even though Italy is not the most well-known country in Europe when it comes to golf tourism, it certainly has the potential. The courses we visited all had attractive layouts and maintenance was gernerally good. The price-quality rate of the courses is very good, especially when you pay for an all-day green fee. Combined wih the Italian cuisine and dolce vita lifestyle, I would absolutely recommend Northern Italy for a golf trip.