Golf in Emilia-Romagna: Courses, Wine & Spa

Golf in the Bologna hills

Emilia-Romagna’s golf sits in the hills that ring Bologna and Modena, and the closed list here is short by design. Golf Club Bologna, at Monte San Pietro, is the anchor: 18 holes on a ridge above the Samoggia valley, with Modena Golf e Country Club, a Bernhard Langer design from 1987, 21.0 km west, and Golf Club Molino del Pero 27.2 km into the Apennine foothills at Monzuno. The rest of the region spreads wide rather than clustering: Golf Club Carpi at 37.8 km, Argenta Golf Club at 52.9 km on the Ferrara plain, Terre di Canossa at Reggio Emilia, and two that belong to different trips entirely, Adriatic Golf Club Cervia with 27 holes on the coast and Golf Club Castell’Arquato over towards Piacenza. Nine courses in the region, and no single base that reaches them all.

Lambrusco, and one label worth knowing

Lini 910, in Correggio, is the region’s curated icon rather than the closest option: it makes the Lambrusco Metodo Classico, its bottle-fermented take on the grape. Closer to the clubhouse, at 4.9 km, Cantina Barone, in the same town as the clubhouse, makes Il Barone, a Sangiovese IGP, alongside its Antheo and Rodolfo labels, with Tenuta Montecatone at the same distance for a second stop. It’s a short list next to Tuscany or Piedmont, but Emilia was never meant to be a wine-first trip: the balance here tilts towards the golf and the water.

Thermal water, and where it actually sits

Emilia’s thermal water is real but it does not sit on the fairway. The closest addresses to the Bologna clubhouse are Terme Felsinee and Terme San Luca, both about 10.5 km away in the city itself. The historic cluster is further east, around Castel San Pietro Terme at 36 km, where Terme di Castel San Pietro and Anusca Palace Wellness sit within a few hundred metres of each other. Plan the spa as an afternoon of its own rather than as something you walk to after the round.

When to come, and the one itinerary

October is Emilia’s best month, averaging 20.2°C with 10.0 rain days, ahead of June (28.5°C, 7.9 rain days) and April (18.4°C, 8.8 rain days). January is the weakest month here, held back more by the cold, an average high of just 8.5°C, than by rain. Emilia-Romagna’s golf, wine and thermal water are covered by a single itinerary for now: Golf, Wine & Spa in Emilia links the Bologna hills, Lambrusco country and the thermal cluster into one three-day route. It also connects onward: Chianti and Florence are 79 km away, and the Euganean Hills, near Padua, 103 km, both workable as the next stop on a longer Italian trip.