Golf is a sport that conquers the interests of more and more people and in recent years a golf tourism movement has also been born in Italy. Golf courses in and around Rome are an increasingly popular destination and host tournaments, while enjoying natural and historical beauty.
The game is practised but one also walks through history and it is not unusual to find oneself a short distance from some archaeological area where one can breathe the glories of the empire of the past. A unique experience that can be tried only in Italy and especially in the golf courses near Rome.
In Lazio, golf players with their families plus the large audience of passionate golfers find an offering capable of meeting their needs. Avant-garde courses are fully equipped from a sporting point of view with a club house providing every service, culture, leisure and excellent cuisine.
The 2022 Golf Ryder Cup was assigned to this extraordinary territory and Rome was chosen as the venue for the most important golf tournament in the world. The beautiful structure of the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club is among the most functional and innovative in Europe and will be the course where the famous event will be played.
Beyond the headquarters for the 2022 Ryder Cup, in Lazio there are 15 other first-rate courses where experienced players can enjoy the challenges . It is possible to organize an unforgettable vacation that combines sport, history and the Italian lifestyle with its famous cuisine that the whole world loves.
Guidonia
The Marco Simone Golf & Country Club is located on the eastern outskirts of Rome in Guidonia, a Foundation City (built in the twentieth century) where the first airport in Italy was built, today being partly a museum. The course is dominated by the castle of Duke Francesco Cesi, a building now considered a national monument, and the most striking part of the course is located at hole number 2 where the lake's waters reflect the image of the castle.
The course was designed in the late 1980s and covers an area of 10 hectares, offering players 2 courses. The "Championship" course has 18 holes of high technical difficulty which are arranged in just over 6,000 meters and has a Par of 72. The "Resort" course includes 9 holes distributed in just over 2,000 meters with Par 32.
These courses have been designed with respect to the vegetation present in the park: ancient oaks, walnuts and wild pines, flowering trees and bushes. The park's wetlands are frequented by mallards, grey herons and cormorants, foxes, porcupines and pheasants.
A paradise for those who want to spend an outdoor day in contact with nature just a stone's throw from Rome. Going to play a game at Marco Simone is an experience to enjoy.
Rome
The Rome Acquasanta Golf Club was founded in the early 1900s when a group of British and American diplomats chose the grounds of the Acqua Santa, owned by the Torlonia princes, to found this course. At that time golf was already widely practiced in the Anglo-Saxon world while little known in Italy and from this first course was born the passion that today has led golf to be a leading sport.
The design of the course as it appears today has remained very similar to that of the 1900’s and has 18 holes which are arranged on almost 6,000 meters and which can be concluded in Par 71.
The most difficult hole in the field is the number 12 because of its length and the presence of a dogleg on the right. To make the game more difficult, at this point it also has a water obstacle that runs along the entire hole on the right and, having reached the green, there is a bunker on both sides.
This course in the centre of Rome is at the centre of history giving a unique experience to those who practice this sport.
The Fioranello Club is located a few kilometres south of the capital and is immersed in the charming Roman countryside. The course, designed in the 1980s, includes 18 holes which are arranged on 5,000 meters length and with Par 70. A stream that crosses the path in several points and forms a lake.
The course winds through the remains of an ancient Roman aqueduct and a nature reserve area where wild flowers of rare beauty grow. Along the way it is possible to spot some species of animals in the park, including swallows, saltimpalis (stonechats), nightingales, goldfinches and greenfinches.
The most difficult hole is the number 15 with the lake on the left and ‘out of bounds’ and the water obstacle on the right.
The Archi di Claudio Golf Club is located in the wonderful Appia Antica Regional Park, known as the highway of the ancient Romans that connected the capital with the port of Brindisi and, therefore, with all the East. The camp is located just below the ancient walls of the Roman aqueduct, finished by Emperor Claudius in 52 BC, who brought water to the city of Rome (hence the name of the area – Archi di Claudio).
Created in the 1990s, the course has 9 holes which are distributed in about 2,400 meters length and has a Par of 33. The course includes a flat terrain immersed in rich vegetation and a surprise awaits at hole number 7 where you can admire a colony of parrots that live in eucalyptus trees.
The club also promotes golf among disabled people thanks to the Disabled Golfers Association.
The Olgiata Golf Club is in an impressive residential area north of Rome along the Via Cassia, where green sports centres such as equestrian centres and a new golf course have been created in the countryside.
The first course was built in the 1960s and today the club consists of 2 different courses. The oldest, which is located to the west, is composed of 18 holes that are distributed over almost 7,000 meters length and has a Par varying from 71 to 73. The second is located to the east and is much smaller than the first: it is composed of 9 holes with Par 36. The Olgiata Golf Club covers about 100 hectares and is a site of great natural interest, a stone's throw from the Etruscan area where the famous necropolis are located.
The Parco De' Medici Golf Club was built in 1990 by the Roman family Rebecchini who decided to recover the entire area of 85 hectares by building different playing routes (white, blue and red course), transplanting about 4,000 plants, building 6 small artificial lakes and by raising the ground in several places to change the hole.
The course has 27 holes total divided between the different routes and arranged on a total of about 8,800 meters length, with Par 72 for the white and blue routes and Par 35 for the 9 hole red route.
The Parco di Roma Golf & Country Club is located in the marvelous scenery of the Nature and Archaeological Park of Veio, the ancient Etruscan city just a few minutes from the centre of Rome. Playing on its lawns the view can range from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica (seen from the highest points of the course) to the Mediterranean scrub.
But the surprise comes between the green of the 5th hole and the tee of the 6th hole, where there is an archaeological area that offers unique experiences making the players feel immersed directly in the history.
The course consists of 18 holes located on a length of 6,000 meters of land (Par 72) and the course has both very demanding white sand bunkers blended with large fairways.
Rieti
The Rieti Golf Club "Centro d’Italia" is located just 3 km from Rieti, which is considered "the navel of Italy", the centre of the Sabina area. This area is known for the natural beauty of the landscape and for its historic villages dominated by medieval castles as well as for its famous cuisine prepared with Olio della Sabina DOP.
Rieti is one of the most beautiful cities near Rome and a city just waiting to be discovered: walking in its historic centre crossed by the clear waters of the Velino river or visiting the Underground Rieti to learn about Rome's history are unique experiences.
The golf course has 9-holes that stretch over almost 3,000 meters and has a par of 35. The course is located on a plateau at the foot of Mount Terminillo and near the Franciscan convent Santa Maria La Foresta, where, according to some scholars, St. Francis wrote "The Canticle of the Creatures".
Castel Gandolfo
The Castel Gandolfo Country Club is a playground with great charm in the Castelli Romani Park, the course has 18 holes positioned in almost 6,000 meters length (Par 72) with 3 lakes and 93 bunkers and was transformed at the end of the 1980s from a volcanic crater.
The Club House was created from a seventeenth-century villa by Cardinal Chigi, one of the most important families of popes originally from Siena. Castel Gandolfo is the centre chosen by emperors and popes for their summer residence. Emperor Diocletian began by building a villa that occupied the territory of Castel Gandolfo and Albano and from which Lake Albano was dominant. Then on its ruins the famous Pope's summer residence was born.
For those who cannot help but separate from their animal friends, the Castel Gandolfo Country Club is a "pet friendly" course.
Fiuggi
The Fiuggi Golf Club is one of the oldest clubs in Italy and was founded in 1928. It covers about 70 hectares and the course is located in the area of Fiuggi where the famous springs emerge and is in fact inside the Nature Reserve of the Lake of Canterno.
The course includes 18 holes arranged over 6,000 meters and with Par 70. The club is based on the concept of "public course", that is, you can practice golf without having to buy membership.
Ardea
The Marediroma Golf Club is located on the Roman coasts just a few km from Anzio and Nettuno, the landing zone of the Second World War, in the hamlet of Marina di Ardea.
It was founded in the 1990s and the course has a total length of about 5,500 meters and has a par of 70. The course is mostly flat and is very technical. The holes are located around three ponds fed by natural springs and the course has water in play on most of the holes.
Sutri
The National Golf Club, Official Club of the Fig is located in Sutri, along the Via Cassia north of Rome and near Viterbo. Sutri is one of the most beautiful towns in Italy with its medieval centre and its large archaeological area where it is possible to enter into history starting from the Etruscans to find oneself in the twentieth century and it is possible to visit an especially interesting Roman amphitheatre.
The course consists of 18 holes distributed over 6,400 meters and with Par 72. The undulating terrain on which the course stands is located 300 meters above sea level, surrounded by oak trees and crossed by a horseshoe-shaped moat .
The most difficult hole is the number 4 which has an initial bunker and then on the whole left side the green it is defended by a large oak and 2 bunkers, with slopes both from the right and from the left. For those who want to stay overnight, the National Golf Club has a guesthouse with 22 rooms.
Aprilia
The Oasi Golf Club is a course founded in the late 1990s which is located in Aprilia, one of the major wine production centres near Rome. The course covers about 70 hectares with 18-holes arranged along approximately 6,300 meters of the course (Par 72).
The holes are surrounded by holm oaks and strawberry (arbutus) trees, among which you can see grey herons, pheasants, foxes and hedgehogs. The most difficult hole is the number 5 which includes an out of bounds on the right and a large bunker in front of the green.
For those who want to bring their animal friends with them, the Oasis Golf Club is a "pet friendly" camp.
Tarquinia
The Tarquinia Country Club is located in Tarquinia in the province of Viterbo, a few kilometers from the coast and the splendid medieval town declared a UNESCO heritage site for its important Etruscan necropolis.
The course is in the hills and has 9 holes arranged in 2,700 meters length with a Par of 35. Playing these holes it is possible to admire a interesting panorama between towers and medieval walls, the sea, the Cimini mountains and the valley of the Marta river.
The most difficult hole is number 4, built in an elevated position and is located near one of the many Etruscan tombs in the area. Playing on course field gives a unique feeling of being immersed in a thousand different natural environments and in the history of the world.
Monterosi
The Terre dei Consoli Golf Club is located in Monterosi just north of Rome along the Via Cassia built for when Roman troops once travelled to conquer the world. In the Middle Ages it became a stretch of the Via Francigena on which the pilgrims went to Rome to the tomb of St. Peter.
The holes present natural obstacles, lakes and huge bunkers perfectly inserted in the surrounding landscape. Inside there are 2 courses, the first called "Championship" consisting of 18 holes arranged on a total length of almost 7,000 meters, with Par 72.
The second course, called "Family Course", has 9 holes located on almost 2,000 meters length and has a Par of 32. On this course even the less experienced players can try their hand at golf.
Very interesting is the hole number 9, called "The Island", in which the green, under a play of lights, seems to emerge from the body of water.
There are also many other golf courses for amateur players.
In Viterbo you can practice at the Viterbo Golf Club. In the province of Frosinone you can play golf at the Casale Golf Club at Posta Fibreno, at the Cassino Golf Club in Cassino, at Le Grotte Golf Club which is located in San Donato Val di Comino, at the Hernicus Golf Club in Ferentino.
In Rome the other golf courses you can play are the Garden Golf, the Castelluccia Golf Club, the Maggiolino Golf Club, Simon's Green, Tevere Golf and the Tiber Golf Club.
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