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Golf guide • Italy • Veneto

Golf in Venice: one course on the Lido, two more on the mainland

Venice has one course in the lagoon, the Circolo Golf Venezia, an 18-hole par 72 at the southern tip of the Lido, founded in 1928 and host to three Italian Opens, and two more on the mainland half an hour's drive from Piazzale Roma: Arnold Palmer's Ca' della Nave and Villa Condulmer, set in the park of a Venetian villa. Golfers come to play in the morning and return to the city by boat, from April to June and in September and October.

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Golf in Venice begins with a hotel story. In 1928 Henry Ford, staying at the Excelsior on the Lido, was surprised to find nowhere to play. Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata gathered a few Venetian families and had nine holes laid out at Alberoni, the southern tip of the island, around an old fort facing the lagoon. Nine more holes were added in 1951, and the Circolo Golf Venezia has since hosted three Italian Opens.

It is the only course in the lagoon, and it takes some reaching: from the historic centre, a vaporetto to the Lido, then ten kilometres or so along the road that follows the lagoon. The destination's two other courses lie on the mainland, north of Mestre: Ca' della Nave at Martellago, designed by Arnold Palmer, and Villa Condulmer at Zerman, in the park of a patrician villa. Both are half an hour's drive from Piazzale Roma.

Three to five nights are enough to play all three courses without giving up the city. The simplest approach is to choose your base by the day's plan: the Lido for the Circolo, the mainland for the other two, the city for the evenings. Splitting the stay between two addresses, a few nights on the Lido and then a few in Venice itself, saves spending your days in transit.

The courses

Green and red flag in front of a reed-fringed pond, a weeping willow and poplars in autumn mist

Circolo Golf Venezia

  • Architect: Cruickshank; C. K. Cotton (1951)
  • Opened 1930
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Founded in 1928 and opened in 1930 with nine holes built under the direction of the Scotsman Cruickshank, the course was extended to 18 holes in 1951 to a design by C. K. Cotton. A par 72 of 6,199 metres from the championship tees, it occupies a tongue of sand between the Adriatic and the lagoon and has a links-like character: maritime pines, willows, poplars and mulberries, and a wind that changes the game from one day to the next. It hosted the Italian Open in 1955, 1960 and 1974. A course steeped in history, for consistent players.

Signature hole. The 9th, a celebrated par 3, is played blind over the fort: you only see the green once you have cleared the rampart.

Official website

Golf Club Ca' della Nave

  • Architect: Arnold Palmer
  • Opened 1988
  • 27 holes
  • Par 72

At Martellago, half an hour's drive from Piazzale Roma, Ca' della Nave is the mainland's championship course. Arnold Palmer designed it across 75 hectares, and it opened in 1988 with the Italian Ladies' Open. A par 72 of 6,350 metres: man-made lakes come into play on 12 of the 18 holes, and broad American-style bunkers guard large, fast greens. A nine-hole executive course completes the facility. The longest course of the trip, for those who like modern, straightforward golf.

Signature hole. The 18th finishes on a green that opens out like a natural amphitheatre in the heart of the park.

Official website

Golf Club Villa Condulmer

  • Architect: John Harris; Marco Croze
  • Opened 1960
  • 27 holes
  • Par 71

At Zerman, near Mogliano Veneto, the club was founded in 1960 in the park of Villa Condulmer, the patrician residence where Giuseppe Verdi stayed in 1853. John Harris designed the first nine among the park's centuries-old trees; Marco Croze laid out the second nine, longer and more heavily guarded by hazards. A par 71 of just under 5,900 metres on flat, well-drained ground with Bermuda grass. A course of accuracy rather than length, around twenty minutes from the airport: ideal for a first or last day.

Signature hole. At the 17th, a canal runs along the right of the fairway and a lake almost entirely surrounds the green, flat and unforgiving.

Official website

Where to stay

Hotel Excelsior Venice Lido Resort

Opened in 1908 on the Lido beach and designed by Giovanni Sardi in a blend of Venetian elegance and Moorish influences, this is the hotel where Henry Ford asked for a golf course, and where the Venice Film Festival began in 1932. A private beach on the Adriatic, rows of bathing cabins and, in season, a free boat shuttle to San Marco for guests. The best base for the Circolo, about twenty minutes' drive from Alberoni.

Hotel L'Orologio Venice

A four-star hotel in San Polo on the Riva de l'Ogio, on the Grand Canal, a short walk from the Rialto Bridge. The decor pays tribute to watchmaking, with pieces from private collections, and the bar looks onto the canal. An address for nights in the city: the Rialto market in the morning, the bacari in the evening, and the vaporetto stop for the Lido close by.

Hotel Villa Condulmer

A five-star hotel in the patrician villa built by the Condulmer family in the late 17th century, on the edge of the golf course: you walk to the first tee. Themed suites, including a Giuseppe Verdi suite, a pool in the garden and the Ai Due Cedri bistro. The most practical base for playing Villa Condulmer and Ca' della Nave back to back, with Venice half an hour's drive away.

Pale-fronted Venetian villa with a pediment behind a wrought-iron gate, a gravel drive and tall trees

Where to dine

Trattoria al Gatto Nero

On Burano's Fondamenta della Giudecca, the Bovo family has been welcoming guests since 1965: Ruggero in the kitchen, his son Massimiliano front of house. Lagoon cooking, fish and vegetables only, depending on the day's catch. Closed on Mondays and open for dinner only on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays: book ahead, and take vaporetto 12 from the Fondamente Nove.

Antica Adelaide

A Cannaregio address for well-made Venetian classics: baccalà mantecato on squid-ink polenta, small lagoon fish in saor, octopus and Adriatic fish. A neighbourhood atmosphere, far from the terraces of San Marco, for an unfussy dinner after a day's golf.

Beyond golf

San Marco in the quiet hours

St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace are best visited at opening time, before the groups arrive. Book your tickets online, then lose yourself in Castello or Dorsoduro, where you meet more Venetians than visitors. Late in the day, a spritz on the Zattere, facing the Giudecca, makes a fine nineteenth hole.

Murano, Burano, Torcello

The islands of the northern lagoon fill a rest day: Murano for its glass-blowing workshops, Burano for its painted houses and lace-making tradition, Torcello for the silence of the almost deserted northern lagoon. Vaporetto 12 leaves from the Fondamente Nove; plan on lunch in Burano.

The Lido from end to end

The Lido is one of the few islands in the lagoon where cars and buses run. Some ten kilometres separate Santa Maria Elisabetta from Alberoni, by way of Malamocco and its 15th-century church. At the southern tip, a WWF oasis protects the Lido's last natural dunes, a stone's throw from the golf course.

Wooden boat moored between the posts of a jetty, an island with a domed church and bell tower at dusk

When to go

April to June and September to October are the best months: highs of around 17 to 26 °C, courses in good condition and lovely light on the lagoon. July and August are hot and humid, with highs of around 28 °C, and the city is very busy. In late August and early September the Film Festival fills the Lido's hotels. From autumn to early spring, acqua alta can flood the quaysides; winter is cool and damp.

Getting there

Marco Polo airport (VCE) is about twenty minutes by car from Piazzale Roma; the Alilaguna boat also serves the Lido. Villa Condulmer is about twenty minutes from the airport. For the Circolo, the car ferry leaves Tronchetto roughly every 50 minutes; without a car, take the vaporetto to the Lido, then a taxi or the A bus. Santa Lucia station links Venice with Italy's major cities.

Frequently asked questions

Can you play golf in Venice?

Yes. The Circolo Golf Venezia, an 18-hole par 72, is on the Lido at Alberoni; Ca' della Nave and Villa Condulmer are on the mainland, half an hour's drive from Piazzale Roma.

How do you get to Circolo Golf Venezia from Venice?

By vaporetto to Santa Maria Elisabetta on the Lido, then by taxi or the A bus to Alberoni, about ten kilometres further south. By car, the ferry leaves from Tronchetto; from Fusina, a motoscafo reaches Alberoni in about half an hour.

What is the best golf course near Venice?

The Circolo Golf Venezia for its history and its setting between lagoon and Adriatic; Arnold Palmer's Ca' della Nave for a modern championship course where water comes into play on 12 holes.

When is the best time to play golf in Venice?

From April to June and in September and October. Summer is hot and humid, winter cool and damp. The Circolo Golf Venezia and Villa Condulmer are closed on Mondays.

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

Three to five nights: one course a day, ideally staying a few nights on the Lido and then a few in the city or near the mainland courses.

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