5 nights with breakfast included at SINA Villa Matilde and 2 Green Fees per person

We’re on the hills of the Serra of Biella: all around us is nature, lush forests and gentle undulation. It is almost 60 years since the British architect John Morrison placed the 18 holes of the course here and meanwhile, in the peace of the woods, the clubhouse and lodgings were built. Since then very little seems to have changed inside the Biella club, which enjoys some sort of splendid isolation. Testing yourself on this masterpiece-course, award-winning among the best of Italy, is not an easy task, but rewarding, in any case. And towards the end, here’s a hole like no other: the 16th, a par 5 493 m long. A blind second shot to a diagonally downhill fairway you can only guess at. What you can never expect are the two rocks in the middle of the fairway: to be positively avoided, any rebound could be fatal to the score. Woe onto those who aim at the right of the green: the ball would slip in the rough, between the tangle of birches from which the club take its name. Inside the clubhouse is simple but tasteful decoration with wooden floorboards that are still hammered by the spikes of the old golf shoes; the same atmosphere awaits you in the bright and airy rooms of the restaurant, maybe sipping a drink, sitting on the comfortable sofas by the fireplace. Technical Details Course: 18 holes, Par 73, 6497 meters Architect: John Morrison Topography: narrow fairways and rich vegetation. Pro’s comments To define Biella Golf Club you need a superlative: gorgeous. A beautiful course in an area exclusively dedicated to golf (there’s no swimming pool, no tennis court etc.) Except the par 3s and the 13th, all the holes are dog-legs: a well-placed tee-shot becomes essential; on the greens, be extremely careful! Plenty of slopes, raised holes and steps could cause trouble. To high handicap players I suggest patience, to the low handicap players I only say: “Have fun”!

Founded in 1924, the Circolo Golf Torino changed location more than once before finding the right place in 1956 inside the Mandria Regional Park, on lands that fifteen years later would be bordering on the first Royal Park I Roveri course. There have been many illustrious figures amongst its chairmen – such as automobile designer Sergio Pininfarina from 1996 to 2005 – who have helped maintain the high level and prestige of a club which has always been a salon for the Who’s Who of Turin. In addition, it boasts a top level competitive history: not only for having hosted three Italian Opens in 1999, 2013 and 2014, but also for collecting an impressive series of amateur titles with its own athletes and having trained world-class golfers such as brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, titleholders of multiple events on the European Tour, world champions in 2009 and members of the Ryder Cup. Without mentioning Francesco Molinari’s triumph at the Open Championship in 2018, at Carnoustie… Chronologically speaking, the Torino Club was the second Italian club to have 36 holes after Monticello. The Blue course – the one used in the Opens – dates back to 1956 and was built to John Morrison’s design, then it underwent a series of renovations from 1998 by Canadian architect Graham Cooke. The front nine of the Yellow course, designed by Marco Croze, were the last to be opened in 1986 and complete the complex homogeneously. Featuring sharp doglegs through woodlands and water hazards, it is shorter than the Blue course but with very undulating greens that are difficult to understand at first sight. Characteristics that both courses share are the centuries-old trees that frame each hole and the frequency of natural water hazards, streams and ponds that help to challenge players. A 9-hole pitch&putt course has been recently added to the complex, making the Torino club a unique destination in terms of services offered. Technical Details Course: 2×18 holes, Par 72/72, 6054/6038 meters Architects: John Morrison, Marco Croze and Graham Cooke Topography: mostly flat, hilly fairways with age-old woods, mountains in the background. Distinctive features: The grounds are characterized by large fairways and by well- protected greens. Pro’s comments The Circolo Golf Torino features 36 holes that are each one more beautiful than the last. The Blue course, host venue for three editions of the Italian Open, is technically faultless. The length and width of the fairways are perfectly balanced with the greens, lately remodeled, and which complicate matters with greatly accentuated mounds and slopes. Hole 3 with its dogleg turning left and a green surrounded by a small stream is wonderful. Don’t try to reach the green if you don’t have a well angled approach shot. The small river surrounding the green is full of golf balls!!!! The Yellow course is different and more accessible for medium-high handicaps but also great fun and stimulating. Allow me to mention Hole 14, a par 3 of 136 meters on the banks of a large lake. Stop for a minute to take a picture. The panorama is truly first-rate.