7 nights with breakfast at Active Hotel Paradiso & Golf and three green fees per person (Paradiso del Garda Golf Club, Chervo and Verona)

It only takes a moment to reach the golf club once you exit the A4 motorway at Sommacampagna: drive through the town and after a few minutes, turn right onto the road that rises to the club. It is a timeless oasis, a picture postcard that invites you to relax with its clubhouse built of stone and red bricks covered with ivy, an ancient well spouting geraniums and trees shading the patio in front of the putting green. Inside, the floors in worn terracotta tiles, ceilings with dark wooden beams alternating with bricks, and cozy parlors with a country elegance. This is a traditional club founded in 1963, where those who come here never want to leave. The loyal staff running it thinks so too, as it has remained virtually unchanged over the decades. Two talents of the likes of Silvia Cavalleri and Matteo Manassero took their first golfing steps here, and refined their games on the undulating fairways designed first by John Harris, then revisited by Giulio Cavalsani, and more recently, Alvise Rossi Fioravanti with Baldovino Dassù. It is a hilly course running through vineyards which, to the west of Verona – the city of Romeo and Juliet – serve to frame the hills of Custoza. The front nine are rather narrow and shorter, while the back are very long but also very broad. The raised greens oblige players to hit well calculated approach shots. Technical details Course: 18 holes, Par 72, 6054 meters. Architect: John Harris Topography: very physical with big differences in height. Distinctive features: the equipment for the play will have to be complete: good drivers, precise clubs and the best putters. Pro’s comments This is a course where you must pander to the terrain’s frequent undulations. Some holes are really a lot of fun. Allow me to mention Hole 4, where stronger players who are willing to gamble can try to reach the green directly with their first shots. Otherwise, you can play a tee shot to the left part of the fairway, to have a better angle to center the green with your second shot. Even an inexperienced play can score a birdie here, with a little luck. A fun course for all. Definitely worth playing.

We are south of Lake Garda, on lands where the Second War of Independence was fought in 1859 between the Franco-Sardinian and Austrian armies. The only battles being fought here today are fortunately the personal ones with one’s golf game, and without too many frustrations nonetheless: this is a course where even players with high handicaps can enjoy themselves (the holes have five tee boxes to adapt the course to all levels) and where you don’t have to spend a lot of time looking for your ball because it’s always in plain sight (unless it ends up in one of the many water hazards!). Before going to play, climb the travertine and wrought iron stairs leading to the top floor of the bright clubhouse. Go out on the terrace where the panorama sweeps 360-degrees over the courses and the 110 hectares of property. From here, you have the best overview of the four 9-hole courses designed by German architect Kurt Rossknecht in 2008. The 18 classical competition holes are those of the Benaco – with a memorable Hole 5, a par 3 of 180 meters almost completely taken up by the lake – combined with those of the Solferino; the 9 holes of both courses are spectacular, sharing the same lake and the same immense putting green onto which the clubhouse windows look. The San Martino course is also beautiful, a rather long par 35 with many water hazards. Test your short game and try the Pozzolengo course, with its 9 executive holes that are varied and entertaining. Technical Details Course Benaco/Solferino: 9 holes, Par 36, 3427 meters. Course San Martino: 9 holes, Par 35, 2910 meters Course Pozzolengo: 9 holes, Par 27, 1025 meters Architect: Kurt Rossknecht Topography: somewhere flat, somewhere hilly; a lot of water hazards. Distinctive features: Every golf player will find here his ideal situation. Pro’s Comments The Golf Chervò – San Vigilio can be best defined as “universal”: challenging for pros and amateurs with low handicaps, fun for medium-high handicaps; congratulations to the designer who intuited his client’s needs, that is, for building a splendid “tourist” course. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s easy; it is rather long, with large greens and cross bunkers that are difficult to get over. Fun guaranteed for all. Try it.