Golf near Milan: three airports, three doorsteps

Malpensa’s own back yard: Alto Piemonte, 15 km

Land at Malpensa and the shortest drive of the three airports is also the strongest golf, by reputation: Alto Piemonte & Lake Maggiore sits 15 km from the terminal. Golf Club Bogogno anchors the itinerary, 36 holes by Robert von Hagge with Lake Maggiore in the background, and Golf Club Castelconturbia is a further 3.4 km on, a course frequently ranked among the top ten in continental Europe. Further still, at 46.7 km, Golf Club Le Betulle in Biella is ranked No. 2 in Italy on the current top100golfcourses list, a John Morrison design laid out on the Serra Moraine. From Linate the same itinerary is 63 km, from Bergamo 91 km: Malpensa is genuinely the gateway for this one.

Linate’s local loop: Milan & Monza, 19 km

Linate sits closest to Milan & Monza, 19 km away, a quick run into the city’s own golf ground. Golf Club Milano anchors the itinerary from inside the royal park at Monza, host to multiple Italian Opens, with Golf Monza 5.4 km further on. Golf Club Bergamo “L’Albenza” sits 25.5 km out, the course where the Molinari brothers grew up playing. From Malpensa the same itinerary is 44 km, from Bergamo 32 km: workable from any of the three, but Linate is the closest first move.

Bergamo’s own doorstep: Franciacorta, 12 km

Bergamo airport is the closest any Milan-area terminal sits to its own itinerary anywhere on this route: Franciacorta & Bergamo is 12 km away. Golf Club La Rossera is the anchor, with Golf Club Franciacorta 12.2 km further into the hills and, again, Golf Club Bergamo “L’Albenza” within range at 24 km. The real draw here is the cellar side of the trip: Ca’ del Bosco sits about 5 km from Golf Club Franciacorta, and Guido Berlucchi and Barone Pizzini, two of the names that built Franciacorta’s sparkling reputation, sit 13.4 and 13.6 km out. Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi, both in Erbusco and Adro, round out an itinerary with more iconic cellars in range than golf clubs.

The common ground: Lake Como

Lake Como is the one itinerary all three airports reach in a similar window: 36 km from Malpensa, 38 km from Linate, 46 km from Bergamo. Golf Villa D’Este, ranked No. 4 in Italy, anchors the itinerary: a 1926 classic that has hosted the Italian Open above the lake. Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club, founded in 1907 and one of the oldest clubs in the country, sits further up the lake. Wine is the weak leg of this trip, so treat Lake Como as the golf-and-scenery stop between the other three rather than the cellar day.

Worth the longer drive: Lake Garda and the Langhe

Two itineraries sit past the hour but still make sense as a longer day or an extra night. Lake Garda & Valpolicella is 83 km from Bergamo, the closest of the three airports to it, with Gardagolf Country Club and Chervò Golf San Vigilio on the golf side and Masi, Allegrini and Zenato covering Valpolicella and Lugana. And for wine before golf, Torino & La Mandria is 103 km from Malpensa (138 km from Linate), and Langhe & Monferrato is 108 km from both: Royal Park I Roveri, Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s first Italian design, is ranked No. 1 in the country, and Gaja, Ceretto, Fontanafredda, Marchesi di Barolo, Vietti and Pio Cesare put six of Italy’s most recognised wine names within the same itinerary. Neither is a between-flights stop, but both are within a single extra hour of driving.

Before the clubs come out of the boot

If the trip includes a non-golfing day, Segrate Outlet Village sits 14 km from Golf Club Milano in the Milan & Monza itinerary, the closest pairing of golf and outlet shopping anywhere in this itinerary. For the months this whole route plays best, golf in Italy in September has Lake Como, Franciacorta and Alto Piemonte all posting their best readings of the year, cooler air moving in before the autumn rain does.