Golf guide • Italy • Sicily

Golf in Sciacca: the Verdura links on Sicily's south coast

Sciacca is a fishing port and former spa town on the south-west coast of Sicily. About twenty minutes to the east, Verdura Resort has two links-style 18-hole courses designed by Kyle Phillips, Verdura East Links and Verdura West Shore, on an estate that has hosted the European Tour's Sicilian Open. Golfers come to play facing the Mediterranean, from March to June and from September to November.

Plan this tripUpdated 7 October 2026

On the southern coast of Sicily, between Marsala and Agrigento, Sciacca stacks its honey-coloured houses above a harbour where the fishing boats come in every morning. The Greeks were already using the hot springs of Monte Kronio, and the town has kept a 12th-century cathedral from its Norman past and 16th-century ramparts. Here, golf comes down to one name: Verdura, about twenty minutes' drive away, among olive groves, citrus orchards and beach.

The 230-hectare estate brings together 45 holes designed by the American Kyle Phillips: two championship courses and a short nine-hole course. In late 2018, storms flooded fourteen holes; Phillips came back to redesign both layouts, which reopened stronger, with a new irrigation system. The sea wind, firm greens and deep bunkers recall British links, under a sun that is anything but Scottish.

Three to five nights are enough to play each course at least once and keep a day for the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento or the ruins of Selinunte. The simplest option is to stay at the resort; those who prefer small-town life can stay in Sciacca's historic centre and eat fish by the harbour, before driving out to the course in the morning.

The courses

Deep bunker in front of a rolling fairway, umbrella pines and the sea on the horizon at sunset

Verdura East Links

Architect: Kyle Phillips
18 holes
Par 72

The better known of the two courses, a par 72, runs along the sea and never strays far from it. Reworked by Kyle Phillips in 2019 after the floods, it calls for strategy more than power: cunningly placed bunkers, a stream crossing the opening holes and vast greens where every putt needs careful reading. The stretch from the 6th to the 8th, along the bay, takes nerve, and the 10th shares a double green with the 8th, an open nod to traditional links. For good players who like to think before they swing.

Signature hole. At the 6th, a short par 4, the Mediterranean runs the full length of the fairway on the right and the second shot carries an inlet of salt water created by the 2018 floods. The 13th, a short par 3, plays to a green set right at the water's edge.

Official website

Verdura West Shore

Architect: Kyle Phillips
Opened 2010
18 holes
Par 70

Opened in 2010 and also renovated by Kyle Phillips, the West Shore is a par 70. It first crosses the estate, climbs towards the villas, then returns to the coast for a spectacular finish: the last six holes run a few metres from the shoreline. The rough punishes inaccuracy, the greens are fast and firm, and the sea breeze complicates club selection on the five par 3s. Shorter than the East, it is no less demanding, and suits every level.

Signature hole. The 18th, a par 4 with a generous fairway, climbs to a large sloping green below the clubhouse terrace: the resort itself compares it to the final hole at Pebble Beach.

Official website

Where to stay

Verdura Resort

Rocco Forte's resort covers 230 hectares between Sciacca and Agrigento, with almost two kilometres of private beach, an organic farm, a 4,000 m² seawater spa and eight restaurants and bars, including Nagori, Fulvio Pierangelini's Japanese-inspired restaurant, set in the estate's old Saracen tower. The 203 rooms, suites and villas are decorated by Olga Polizzi in the island's colours, and you reach the golf without getting back in the car.

Domus Maris Relais Boutique Hotel

A small hotel set in the courtyard of the Palazzo Amato Vetrano, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, between Piazza Scandaliato and the cathedral. The rooms, created in the palazzo in 2017 and renovated in 2020, are modern and soundproofed; several look over the old harbour. The choice for those who want to walk to dinner in the historic centre and reach Verdura in about twenty minutes.

La Foresteria Planeta Estate

The guest house of the Planeta family, one of Sicily's great wine houses, among vines and olive trees near Menfi, west of Sciacca. The rooms are named after the plants in the garden, the pool is surrounded by aromatic herbs, and the restaurant of chef Angelo Pumilia, a native of Sciacca, revisits the cooking of the monsù. Awarded a Michelin Key, it is about three quarters of an hour from Verdura.

Sicilian palazzo courtyard in golden stone, arcades, a stone staircase, potted lemon trees and bougainvillea

Where to dine

Hostaria del Vicolo

Opened in 1983 by Nino Bentivegna in a lane of the historic centre, the restaurant is listed in the Michelin Guide for its Sicilian cooking centred on fish, kitchen-garden vegetables and the island's cheeses, with a fine cellar. His daughter Lila and Angelo Principato have joined him. Closed on Mondays.

La Lampara

On the seafront, facing the fishing harbour, chef Gianni Morreale cooks Sciacca's traditions: raw local fish, pasta cu i saddi with sardines, raisins, pine nuts and wild fennel, or fish "cunzatu". The dining room watches the boats come in at sunset.

Beyond golf

Sciacca, its ceramics and its carnival

Ceramics have been one of the town's crafts since the late Middle Ages: yellow, green and cobalt-blue majolica decorates the staircases, façades and shops of the centre. The Sciacca carnival, one of the most famous in Sicily, parades papier-mâché floats with grotesque figures. The harbour, one of the island's leading ports for oily fish, comes alive when the boats return.

The Valley of the Temples

About an hour's drive east, the archaeological park of Agrigento preserves Greek temples from the 5th century BC, including the Temples of Concordia and Juno, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the golden stone catches the light and the heat eases.

Selinunte and Caltabellotta

Three quarters of an hour to the west, the ruins of Selinunte, the Greek city for which Sciacca once served as a spa town, overlook the sea from their coastal plateau. In the other direction, the hilltop village of Caltabellotta, half an hour away along a mountain road, offers a sweeping view over the coast and the sea.

Stone staircase with yellow, green and blue majolica risers, ochre façades and a fishing harbour below

When to go

The climate is dry and Mediterranean: average highs range from about 14°C in January to 29°C in July, and it barely rains from June to August. Spring, from March to June, and autumn, from September to November, are the best seasons for golf. Summer is hot and best played early in the morning. Winter stays mild but wetter, and the resort keeps its courses and clubhouse open all year.

Getting there

Palermo airport (PMO) is about an hour and a half's drive from Sciacca, a little more to Verdura, through the island's interior. Trapani (TPS) is a similar distance away. The simplest option is a hire car or a private transfer, all the more so as a car is also handy for the Valley of the Temples and Selinunte.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Sciacca?

Verdura East Links, a par 72 designed by Kyle Phillips and reworked by him in 2019, is the better known. Its neighbour, the par-70 Verdura West Shore, finishes with six holes along the sea.

How many golf courses are there in Sciacca?

Verdura Resort, about twenty minutes from town, has two 18-hole courses and a short nine-hole course, closed until spring 2027. Sicily's other courses are several hours' drive away.

When is the best time to play golf in Sciacca?

From March to June and from September to November. Summer is hot and dry, best played early in the morning; winter is mild but wetter.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Sciacca?

Palermo (PMO), about an hour and a half's drive away. Trapani (TPS), a similar distance away, is an alternative depending on flights.

Has Verdura Resort hosted professional tournaments?

Yes: the European Tour's Sicilian Open was played there in 2012, won by Thorbjørn Olesen, then in 2017 and 2018, won by Álvaro Quirós and Joakim Lagergren.

Tailor-made

Your golf trip: Sciacca

Tee times, suites, transfers and tables: your concierge replies within 24 hours with a proposal shaped around you.

Fairway lined with ancient olive trees and a dry-stone wall, sloping down towards the sea at sunset

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