Although you may not automatically think of golf when you think of Italy, there are many 9- and 18-hole courses around the country, particularly in the north, where there’s more flat land available.
As in most European countries, golf is generally a sport for the wealthy and it hasn’t caught on with the masses despite the best efforts of Constantino Rocco and a number of other Italian professional players to popularise the sport.
It’s usually necessary to join a club, many of which have long waiting lists, although there are a number of public courses where anyone can play a round for a fee and some private clubs allow visitors (with a handicap card) to pay a ‘green fee’ for a round.
Further information can be obtained from the Italian Golf Federation, Federazione Italiana Golf (www.federgolf.it ).
This article is an extract from Living and Working in Italy. Click here to get a copy now.