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Golf guide • Italy • Piedmont

Golf in Turin: 72 holes in the old royal hunting estate of La Mandria

Turin has two of Italy's most celebrated clubs, neighbours in the royal park of La Mandria, about half an hour north-west of the centre: Circolo Golf Torino, whose Percorso Blu has hosted three Italian Opens, and Royal Park I Roveri, whose Robert Trent Jones Sr course has hosted four. Four 18-hole forest courses with the Alps as a backdrop, and a city of arcades, museums and Piedmontese cooking for the evenings; the best time to play is from April to June, then in September and October.

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Turin is explored on foot, beneath its arcades, and played in the forest. North-west of the city, beyond the Reggia di Venaria Reale, lies La Mandria, the former hunting reserve of the House of Savoy, enclosed in the 19th century by a wall of some thirty kilometres built at the wish of Victor Emmanuel II. Two clubs share 72 holes here: Circolo Golf Torino, founded in 1920 and based here since 1956, and Royal Park I Roveri, created in 1971 by the Agnelli family. Both clubs are a few kilometres from Caselle airport.

This is true parkland golf: fairways lined with tall oaks, streams, lakes and shaped greens, with not a house in sight. Both clubs have hosted the European Tour's Italian Open, seven editions between them from 1999 to 2014, and it was at Circolo Golf Torino that Edoardo and Francesco Molinari grew up, winners of the 2009 World Cup and the 2010 Ryder Cup. On a clear day, the peaks of the Alps close the horizon behind the greens.

The rest of the stay happens in town: historic cafés, the Egyptian Museum, the Mole Antonelliana, and a Piedmontese cuisine that holds its own against any other, from agnolotti to bollito misto. Three to five nights are enough to play all four courses at an easy pace. Wine lovers add a day in the Langhe, to the south, between Barolo and Barbaresco.

The courses

Green in a clearing of broadleaf forest, a stone-edged stream in the foreground, autumn light

Circolo Golf Torino – La Mandria, Percorso Blu

  • Architect: John Morrison; Graham Cooke (1999)
  • Opened 1956
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The club's historic course, laid out in 1956 by the English architect John Morrison in part of the La Mandria forest, then reworked by the Canadian Graham Cooke ahead of the 1999 Italian Open. A par 72 with not a road or a house in sight, it alternates doglegs, tree-lined corridors and long greens with tricky pin positions. It hosted the Italian Open in 1999, 2013 and 2014. It is the club's highest-ranked course and the one to play first: it rewards accuracy more than length.

Signature hole. The 16th is a long par 3 to a green ringed by bunkers; a stream runs some twenty metres in front and punishes the mishit.

Official website

Circolo Golf Torino – La Mandria, Percorso Giallo

  • Architect: John Harris; Marco Croze
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The club's second 18, also a par 72, came about in stages: a third nine designed by the Englishman John Harris, then work by Marco Croze to form two complete courses. Less famous than the Blu, it is no easier: ditches, lakes, tiered greens and a few doglegs that call for placement. The par-3 14th, guarded by a lake, is the hole you remember. A good course for a second day, or for groups of mixed ability.

Signature hole. The 10th is a short but tricky par 5: a downhill drive with a lake on the left, a second shot into a very narrow corridor of trees, then a green with pronounced slopes.

Official website

Royal Park I Roveri – Allianz Course

  • Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr
  • Opened 1971
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The founding course of Royal Park I Roveri, designed entirely by Robert Trent Jones Sr and opened in 1971. A par 72 of 6,566 metres from the championship tees, it uses its bunkers and water to demand real strategy on every shot. It hosted four Italian Opens, from 2009 to 2012, and top100golfcourses.com has several times ranked it the best course in the country. The benchmark course of the trip, for players who like to be tested.

Signature hole. The 17th, a 428-metre par 4 and the hardest hole on the course, was voted the most beautiful hole in Italy by La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2011.

Official website

Royal Park I Roveri – Allianz Bank Course

  • Architect: Michael Hurdzan; Dana Fry
  • Opened 2006
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

The club's second course, opened in 2006, was the first European design by the Americans Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. A par 72 of 6,572 metres from the back tees, it takes the opposite approach to its neighbour: fairly flat terrain, wide open spaces, with ponds and bunkers as the main hazards. It has four par 5s and four par 3s, including the 17th, more than 230 metres long from the back tees. More open and easier to read than the Trent Jones, it suits a first day or an afternoon round in a buggy.

Official website

Where to stay

Hotel Victoria Torino

Opened in 1961 on a quiet pedestrian street in the historic centre, three blocks from Piazza San Carlo, the Victoria has belonged to three generations of the Rolla and Vallinotto families, who furnished it in a Victorian taste with touches of the East. Each of its 106 rooms is decorated differently. The Iside Spa and its pool are included in the stay, ideal after a round at La Mandria, and the hotel lends bikes.

Grand Hotel Sitea

Opened in 1925 at 35 Via Carlo Alberto, right in the centre, the Grand Hotel Sitea has belonged to the same family for four generations. A five-star since 2018, it brings together the Carignano restaurant, the Carlo e Camillo bistro and an American Bar that Louis Armstrong visited in 1935. Turin's classic grand hotel, recognised as a Locale storico d'Italia.

Where to dine

Del Cambio

Opened as a café on 5 October 1757, facing Palazzo Carignano, the first parliament of unified Italy, Del Cambio saw Cavour take his seat in its Risorgimento room. Restored in 2014, it holds a Michelin star and serves the great Piedmontese classics, from vitello tonnato to agnolotti del plin, with a remarkable cellar. The dinner for your last night.

Consorzio

Neither a classic trattoria nor a fine-dining restaurant: a relaxed address on Via Monte di Pietà that the Michelin Guide cites among the best expressions of Piedmontese cooking. Agnolotti gobbi, braised Fassone beef, ravioli alla finanziera and, to finish, hazelnut torta with zabaione.

Tre Galline

On Via Bellezia, in the heart of the old town, a dining room panelled in wood from floor to exposed beams, for the most faithful Turinese cooking: vitello tonnato, agnolotti in roast juices, bollito misto served from the trolley, then a second trolley of cheeses. A table for a long lunch.

Plate of stuffed pasta with butter and sage, a glass of red wine and a lamp on a white tablecloth

Beyond golf

The Reggia di Venaria and La Mandria park

Begun in 1659 for Duke Charles Emmanuel II, the Reggia di Venaria Reale is one of the Savoy residences listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Restored from 1999 to 2007, it is worth visiting for Filippo Juvarra's Galleria Grande and its recreated gardens. The neighbouring park of La Mandria, home to deer and wild boar, can be explored by bike or on foot between rounds.

The Egyptian Museum and the Automobile Museum

Founded in 1824, the Museo Egizio is the oldest museum devoted to ancient Egypt and one of the richest collections in the world after Cairo's: book ahead and go at opening time. MAUTO, the national Automobile Museum, brings together almost 200 cars from eighty marques, a fine complement in the city of Fiat.

The Langhe, between Barolo and Barbaresco

South of Turin, the hills of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014 for their vineyard landscapes. A day is enough for a tasting in Barolo, lunch in a hilltop village and a stop in Barbaresco; hire a driver, as the roads are winding and the glasses many.

Long arcaded gallery lit at dusk, café tables and ochre façades, a mountain in the distance

When to go

Spring, from April to June, and early autumn, from September to October, are the best seasons: mild temperatures, courses in good shape and the La Mandria forest at its finest, green then gold. July and August are hot on the plain, around 29°C in the afternoon, with frequent thunderstorms; play early in the morning. Rain falls mostly in spring and autumn. Winter is cold, with morning frosts, and suits only midday tee times.

Getting there

Turin Caselle airport (TRN) is 16 kilometres north-north-west of the city, or twenty-five minutes by car to the centre; the two La Mandria clubs are only a few kilometres away. From the centre, allow about half an hour to reach the courses. Milan Malpensa, further away, offers more flights; Turin is also linked to Milan by high-speed train. A car is essential for golf.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Turin?

The Robert Trent Jones Sr course at Royal Park I Roveri, opened in 1971 and host of four Italian Opens, and the Percorso Blu at Circolo Golf Torino, host of three, vie for first place. Both are in La Mandria park.

How many golf courses are there near Turin?

Four 18-hole courses lie side by side in La Mandria park, about half an hour from the centre: the Blu and the Giallo at Circolo Golf Torino, and the two courses at Royal Park I Roveri.

When is the best time to play golf in Turin?

From April to June, then in September and October. Summer is hot and stormy on the plain, winter cold with morning frosts.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to Turin?

Three to five nights: enough to play the four La Mandria courses, visit the Reggia di Venaria and the Egyptian Museum, and spend a day in the Langhe.

Which airport is best for a golf trip to Turin?

Turin Caselle (TRN), twenty-five minutes from the centre and a few kilometres from the La Mandria clubs. Milan Malpensa, further away, is an alternative.

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