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Italy, Rimini - Golf next door to the vineyard
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RIMINI
Golf: Rimini Golf Club, www.riminigolf.com.
Green fees: www.riminiverucchiogolf.it/index.php?q=listino
Tips on accommodations: Villa Esedra, Bellaria. Full Board Rates (including breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation double occupancy accommodation) from EUR 47 per person.
HOTEL VILLA Esedra
Address: Lungomare C. Colombo, 56 to 47,814 Bellaria Igea Marina (Rimini)
Phone: +39 0541 347455
Fax: +39 0541 349596
Email: info@villaesedra.it
Homepage: www.villaesedra.it
Rimini Golf Club is wall-to-wall with a stunning vineyard and a breathtaking view of cities such as Verúccio, Santarcangelo and the Lilliputian country of San Marino.
Italian Rimini has a special ring if you are old enough, that is, is old enough to have experienced the Adriatic coast in the 1960s and '70s. It was one of the major charter destinations at that time.
Italian Rimini has a special ring if you are old enough, that is, is old enough to have experienced the Adriatic coast in the 1960s and '70s. It was one of the major charter destinations at that time.
The area was then forgotten, mostly because the authorities neglected to keep the water clean while other destinations were advancing.
Today everything is in order again, and this part of the Adriatic coast is a popular holiday destination primarily Italians.
I myself have found the little town of Bellaria, 20 kilometres north of Rimini. There are nearly 400 hotels here, most of them three stars, many family-owned. The fact of the matter is that the Italians want to celebrate their holidays like this: there should be full board at good prices, a rented deck chair on the beach and a moderately hectic nightlife where you spend time wandering back and forth along a car-free town centre. Illuminated umbrella pines line the shopping streets.
Rimini Golf Club is located over twenty kilometres from the coast. The course was designed by American Brian M. Silva, and is an excellent park course where you sometimes lose concentration as the view is fantastic. In the background mountains billow, and you see both castles and the classic cities Verúccio, Santarcangelo and Torian. Lilliputian San Marino is also seen clearly.
Wall-to-wall with the golf club is the Tenuta Amalia vineyard that produces superb wines. Don’t miss the opportunity to buy yourself a few bottles to take home with you.
At the Rimini Golf Club you can play a round that titillates both nerves and game tactics. There are plenty of water hazards and bunkers, without the course feeling cramped. My own favourite holes are twelve and thirteen, where the first is a par four, dogleg right with water all along the left side and a well bunkered, undulating green. The thirteenth is a short hole surrounded by water and behind it you have both a vineyard and a breathtaking view of the mountains.
After you have completed your round, you return to the coast and perhaps the small family hotel Villa Esedra in Bellaria. They usually open at Easter and close at the end of September, as most of the family hotels do here. The hotel is located right on the beach. The mother of the family prepares lovely, simple Italian home cooking and the stock of wine contains lots of local tidbits.
Given that Italians only play golf on Saturday or Sunday, the golf courses are empty on weekdays. For those looking for alternatives to Spain, Portugal or France to play in the autumn or spring, Italy and Rimini are perfect. What more can you really ask for of a golf vacation?
By Anders Örnevall