IRELAND’S BIGGEST-SELLING GOLF MAGAZINE 123

I t’s like being swept back in time to the days of those black and white movies when So-phia Loren would zip around those pastel seaside villages in her sports car.

The difference is that this is multi-coloured reality and while the car hire companies might be short of Ferraris, you’ll have room for your clubs and a GPS as you motor around a region jam-packed with golfing attractions, culinary delights and cultural wonders.

You can jet to Genoa direct via British Airways or Ryanair from London Stansted. But most cities have regular flights to Milan, which is an easy drive from this special part of the Mediterranean.

You’ll need your wheels as you make the short hops from one great venue to the next —all within a stone’s throw of the warm waters of the Mediterranean.

Liguria’s mild climate is perfect for year round golf as it’s a region that extends from beautiful Sanremo in the west to La Spezia in the east, the wonders never end.

With Genoa, the port capital, at its centre, there are 12 marvellous golf courses in the region and all of them are open all year round.

From Circolo Golf degli Ulivi in Sanremo to Garlenda Golf, St. Anna Golf in Cogoleto and Circolo Golf e Tennis Rapallo, there’s plenty to explore.

Wonderful nine-hole courses perched on green hills overlooking the sea can be found at Castellaro Golf, Albisola’s La Filanda Golf Club or Arenzano’s Golf & Tennis Club Pineta di Arenzano,

Then there’s magnificent Lerici near La Spezia where the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley tragically drowned in 1822.

Golf Club Marigola is the attraction here, while in Genoa, you can play on Garden Golf, the Cus Genova Golf Academy and in the east of Liguria Sarzana Golf Club and Golf Club Cinque Laghi, which are perfect if your partner is only getting started in the game.

Circolo Golf Ulivi is a great starting point, set in the hills of Sanremo. The course was first opened in 1932 and it offers visitors magnificent pan-oramic views of the Mediterranean as it wends its way through a natural valley.

Garlenda Golf Club, which was created by John Morrison and John Harris in 1964, is perfect for touring ancient olive groves and pine forests of the region or visiting nearby sites, such as Alas-sio or Albenga.

St. Anna Golf, designed by the prolific and

respected American architect Robert von Hagge, is built between the hills above Arenzano and it’s a great test with multiple hazards demanding sound technique and good course management.

Lovers of the jet set lifestyle will be familiar with the delights of the fishing enclave of Por-tofino, near rapallo where the Circolo Golf and Tennis Rapallo, founded in 1931, will test the course management skills of the very best.

Nestled in wonderful hills covered in maritime pine trees, it’s a beautiful and technical course, which needs to be played smartly to score well.

Not only that, the picturesque ruins of the Monastery of Valle Christi along the seventh hole are well worth seeing.

Even if your golf is not quite up to scratch, Liguria’s wonderful Blue Flag beaches are enough to make this an unforgettable trip.

Then there’s Genoa. A city of art, the Ligurian capital is the biggest medieval centre in Europe, famous for its palaces and churches such as the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Palazzo Ducale, once an ancient residence of the Doge and today a venue for exhibitions and events.

The Boccadasse —a scenic fisherman’s ham-let— is ideal for a romantic stroll and for tasting Genoese delicacies: fresh fish, focaccia, farinata and great ice-cream.

The market in Carmine, an old area behind Piazza della Nunziata, offers fresh produce daily.

Genoa is also a vertical city, climbing sharply from charming fishermen’s quarters to the moun-tains, meaning lifts and funicular trams are a must if you want to remain fresh for golf.

If you need to catch your breath, gentlemen might enjoy a stop off at the Antica Barberia Giacalone to enjoy a professional shave in a bar-ber’s where the allure of the Belle Époque has remained alive its Art Deco mirrors and coloured windows.

Ligurian cuisine is a reflection of the terrain. Simple and light, it offers the best of seafaring and farming life from fresh fish and vegetables to fragrant baked products.

If food and the culture aren’t enough, the golf on offer is sure to keep you entertained.

From 18-hole challenges such as Golf Club Rapallo, St. Anna Golf Club, Golf Club Garlenda, Golf Club Sarzana and Golf Club degli Ulivi to nine-hole gems like Golf Club Castellaro, Golf Club Arenzano, Golf Club La Filanda and Golf Club Marigola, there’s something for everyone.

LiguriaV I S I T

a c r e s c e n t- s h a p e d c r a d l e o f b e a u t y o n

t h e i t a l i a n r i v i e r a , l i g u r i a r e g i o n

i s n ’ t j u s t a d r e a m h o l i d ay d e s t i n at i o n ,

p u n c t u at e d w i t h q u a i n t s e a s i d e v i l l a g e s ,

i t ’ s a l s o a p a r a d i s e f o r g o l f l o v e r s

b y b r i a n k e o g h

visit www.liguriagolf.com for more details

Portofino

Golf Marigola

Golf Club Rapallo

Liguria has a mouth-watering array of seafood to enjoy

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LombardiaP L AY G O L F I N

I taly has produced its fair share of top golfers over the past 20 years and while they await their first major winner, the arrival of the

2022 Ryder Cup is a huge opportunity for further development of the game in the Transalpine country.

The biennial clash between Europe and the USA is set for Rome, of course, but when it comes to golf, the natives of Lombardy like to think they’ve got the upper hand.

If the boutiques of Milan’s fashion dis-trict or the fruits of Leonardo da Vinci’s artistic genius aren’t enough to bring you to Lombardy, perhaps the choice of 60 golf courses – 28 of which feature 18, 27 and 36 holes – will persuade you to make this trip.

Getting there is easy with daily direct flights from both the UK and Ireland to Milano Malpensa, Milano Linate and Ber-gamo Orio al Serio “Caravaggio” airports.

As for the golf, Lombardy can be divided into four distinct areas — Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore and the Milan area.

And each has its charms.Lake Como offers no fewer than nine

courses and with a multitude of luxury hotels and historical villas in an area of un-paralleled beauty, it’s an ideal destination.

The clubs in the area vary from new facilities to those with an ancient history, including the 36-hole Golf Club Monticel-lo, considered the pride of the Italian golf. Founded in 1974, it has hosted the Italian Open seven times and it offers first-class golf facilities.

Menaggio and Cadenabbia Golf Club, on the other hand, was founded in 1907 and is the second oldest golf club in Italy.

It is a course that will live long in the memory, and it’s essential to find the right position off the tee to score well, as illus-trated by the club’s motto — “far and sure”.

The course’s elevated location allows for magnificent views of the charming scenery near Lake Como.

Golf Club Villa d’Este, set amongst chestnut, birch and pine forests, 400m above sea level is renowned for being one

of the most difficult par-69 layouts in Eu-rope, hosting international competition on a yearly basis.

In the Lake Garda area, there are five great venues such as Arzaga Golf Club, a 27-hole resort at the Palazzo Arzaga, a for-mer 15th-century mansion which has been converted into one of the most prestigious golf and spa resorts in Europe.

The 18-hole, par-72 Championship Course has been designed by Jack Nick-

it’s a global hub of fashion and finance but there is

much more in lombardy than stylish milan or upmarket

lake como. there’s culture - and golf by brian keogh

Milano, founded in 1928, is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf courses in the country.

After the renovation, this year will host the Italian Open for the eighth time, con-tinuing its rivalry with the 36-hole Castello di Tolcinasco, which was designed by Ar-nold Palmer and hosted the Italian Open five years in a row, from 2004 to 2008.

Molinetto Country Club has one of the most highly regarded and popular venues in the Lombardy region while Golf Club Le Rovedine, built in 1976, is the only venue in the country to have hosted both the Italian Open (1995) and Ladies Italian Open (2009).

It’s impossible to mention the Lom-bardy region without any reference to Bergamo’s Costantino Rocca, who is synonymous with Golf Club Bergamo l’Albenza, just 13 kilometres away from the city of Bergamo and only 50 kilometres from Milan.

Following the addition of a further nine holes in 1998, the club boasts three loops of nine and is always well worth a visit.

Lake Maggiore, replete with lush forests and myriad streams and ponds, is ideally situated near the Monte Rosa mountain range and hosts great courses, so there’s no excuse for not getting in at least one game.

Golf dei Laghi is a gem with the club-

house created by restoring the old stables of Modrone’s Visconti family.

Then there’s Golf Club Le Robinie — the only course in Italy to have been designed by 18-time Major winner Jack Nicklaus.

The layout is a landscaping masterpiece full of hollows, bunkers and terraces, and provides a challenging venue which players of all abilities can enjoy. It is situated just 10 minutes from Milano Malpensa airport and 30 minutes from the centre of Milan.

Golf Club Varese is situated in an an-cient Benedictine Monastery and de-scribed by the Lombardy tourism board as a place “where sport, nature and art meet each other in charming harmony.”

It’s also an apt description of Lombardy itself with cities such as Bergamo, Milan, Mantua, Varese, Brescia, Cremona, Monza Como and Vigevano offering spectacular cultural and artistic riches.

The Region of Lombardy boasts the highest number of UNESCO Sites in the Italy — 10 in total.

In short, it’s the trip of a lifetime and with plenty of cultural and culinary won-ders to enjoy, you may be briefly tempted to leave the clubs in the car.

laus II, while the nine-hole, par-36 course was created by nine-time Major winner Gary Player.

Chervò Golf San Vigilio and Gardagolf Country Club both have 27 holes, the lat-ter being designed by the team of Cotton, Pennink, Steel and Partners. Featuring the red, white and yellow nine, the club hosted the Italian Open in 1997 and 2003, as well as numerous other high-profile tournaments.

Franciacorta Golf Club has a fine 18-hole championship course and a nine-hole ex-ecutive course while Golf Club Bogliaco, with its fifth hole, offer a fantastic view of Lake Garda.

Milan area is teeming with courses — more than a dozen — and Golf Club

for more details check outwww.in-lombardia.com

Milan’s world-famous ‘La Scala’ opera house Sacro Monte di Varese

Golf Brianza Country Club Chervò Golf San Vigilio’s magnificent clubhouse Golf Club Monticello

Limone Sul Garda

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PiedmontD I S C O V E R

i t ’ s w here h a nnib a l c r o s s ed t he a l p s a nd w here

r o ry m c i l r oy b eg a n hi s w o r l d b e at i n g c a r e e r

with v ictory in the europe an amateur championship.

b o r d er ed b y f r a n c e a nd s w i t z e r l a n d , p ied m o n t

i s n ’ t j u s t s t u n n i n g ly b e a u t i f u l , i t ’ s a l s o h o me

to some wonderful golf c ourses . b y b r i a n k e o g h

Founded by Celts — the Taurini tribe gave the city its name — Turin is the capital of Piedmont and the ideal hub for exploring

the delights of a region that boasts more than 60 golf clubs, ranging from mod-est nine-hole affairs to 36-hole resorts designed to test the world’s best.

Golf is possibly the ideal excuse for a cultural excursion around one of Italy’s richest regions in terms of art, history and culture. And with its unspoiled coun-tryside, soaring Alpine peaks and wide valleys, pristine lakes and some of the world’s choicest food and wine, it’s po-tentially the trip of a lifetime.

As far as the nuts and bolts of organ-isation go, Ryanair jets to Turin from London Stansted; while routes are also on offer from Gatwick (British Airways)and Luton (Blue Air).

Several other airlines fly from UK airports to Milan Malpensa and while there are no direct flights from Ireland to Piedmont, Aer Lingus operates non-stop services from Dublin to Malpensa, which is a 50-minute bus ride from Turin.

You can hire a car there too and that’s perfect because you will have a ball touring this spectacular part of north-west Italy.

There are 18 principal courses and each is special in its own way.

Take Golf Club Biella “Le Betulle” — an English-style country club and the course – which was created by John Morrison and witnessed Rory McIlroy’s 2006 Eu-ropean Amateur Championship victory.

It was a win that secured McIlroy’s place in the 2007 Open Champion-ship at Carnoustie, where he finished as the leading amateur behind Pádraig Harrington.

In other words, it’s a significant venue for McIlroy and Irish golf and the course is a worthy test, even if you are not of McIlroy’s standard.

Circolo Golf Bogogno, set in the coun-tryside between Lake Orta and Lake Maggiore, is another gem and it will be

familiar to many Irish professionals as a Second Stage venue for the European Tour Qualifying School.

A 36-hole complex designed by Robert Van Hagge, the two 18-hole courses are characterised by sinuous ups and downs, making them an invigorating but enjoy-able challenge.

Designed and built by Robert Trent Jones Sr, tree-lined Castelconturbia is another wonderful venue, an hour’s drive from Turin.

Trent Jones Snr was also the creator of the original course at Royal Park Golf & Country Club, and it is consistently rated the best golf course in Italy.

Framed by the Alps in La Mandria Regional Park, it is just a stone’s throw from la Reggia di Venaria (Royal Palace of Venaria) and also boasts the spec-tacular new Pramerica Course, created by Dr Michael Hurdzan and Dan Fry in 2006.

Another superb venue is Sestriere Golf Club, which was founded in 1932 under the guidance of Edoardo Agnelli and a number of British architects. Then there’s Circolo Golf Torino, La Mandria, which was founded in 1924 before mov-ing to its current site in 1957.

Featuring two 18-hole courses framed by mature trees, streams and small lakes, it’s a charming venue near the region’s capital city.

Head south from Turin towards Genoa and you will find Golf Club Villa Carolina, which is a 36-hole resort, set in a 200-year old park where the villa has been used as a country house by the nobility

since the early 19th century. Culture and cuisine are two of the big-

gest attractions of Piedmont and Turin, which was the capital of the duchy of the House of Savoy from the middle of the 16th century. It is teeming with sights to see and flavours to savour.

It boasts an artistic and architectonic heritage that covers the entire spectrum from Roman times to La Belle Époque. With a surprise around every corner, it’s a dream destination for lovers of culture thanks to numerous art galleries, church-es, palaces, opera houses, gardens and prestigious museums.

The Egyptian Museum, for example, is the second most important on the planet with its extraordinary collection of more than 30,000 artefacts. There’s also the National Museum of Cinema and the Gal-lery of Modern Art. In short, you could spend a lifetime exploring every nook and cranny.

Those pushed for time can still capture the essence of Turin by visiting the sym-bols of Savoy power: The Palazzo Reale (Royal Palace), the Biblioteca Reale (Roy-al Library), the Galleria Sabauda (Savoy Gallery) and the Armeria Reale (Royal Armory).

As for the food, Piedmont is also syn-onymous with superb cooking and the white truffle of Alba is a speciality. Add to that its wonderful wines and a trip there doesn’t just sound like a good idea, it sounds like a must.

for further details, check www.piemonteitalia.eu

Royal Park

Golf Acosto Golf Valcurone