Circolo del Golf dell'Ugolino
| Circolo del Golf dell'Ugolino | |
|---|---|
 Look at the first three holes |
|
| Place data | |
| Coordinates: | 43 ° 41 '52 " N , 11 ° 17' 38" E |
| Playable since: | 1933 |
| Architect: | Cecil Blandford, Peter Gannon |
| Extensions: | Piero Mancinelli |
| Par: | 72 |
| Length: | 5676 meters |
| CR / Slope : |
70.6 / 131 |
| Character: | Parkland |
The Circolo del Golf dell'Ugolino is the oldest golf course in Tuscany and the seat of the oldest golf club in Italy. It is located near the town of L'Ugolino, about 10 km south of Florence in the municipality of Impruneta and Bagno a Ripoli .
history
Although the Duke of Albany introduced the game of golf in Italy as early as the 17th century, the first golf club was not founded until 1889. It was an initiative of the British colony in Florence , which was also expressed in the name Florence Golf Club at the time . Preserved documents from this period (statutes, tournament announcements), which are also written in English, speak for an enclave of British culture without significant Italian participation. The Italian golf association FIG did not begin the official history of Italian golf until 1903 with the founding of the Circolo del Golf di Roma Acquasanta , which, however, also started as a British project.
The first golf course in Florence was in the Parco delle Cascine , which served as a public park in the 19th century and housed a horse racing track and other sports facilities. The first national golf tournament was held there in 1905. After the First World War, the company moved to an area north-west of Florence near today's airport in Sesto Fiorentino .
Finally, in 1933, today's golf course was built in Ugolino, a district of Impruneta south of Florence. The square is right on Via Chiantigiana , the main road connecting Florence and Siena , which leads through the Chianti vineyards . The British golf champions Cecil Blandford and Peter Gannon , who were among the best amateurs in Europe at the time and who had already designed the Monza and Villa d'Este courses, were awarded the contract. They designed a par 69 course, which was expanded to par 72 by Piero Mancinelli in the 1960s.
The preliminary climax in Ugolino's tournament history came in 1983 when the Open d'Italia took place there. This most important professional tournament in Italy has been held since 1925 and has been part of the PGA European Tour since 1972 . It won Bernhard Langer in a playoff against Severiano Ballesteros and Ken Brown.
Golf aspects
character
The course is embedded in the hills of Chianti and therefore quite short and narrow for topological reasons alone. This applies in particular to the first 12 holes and hole 18, which are east of the Via Chiantigiana. Already on the first hole, a short par 4, the defense strategy of the architects becomes clear: the fairway slopes so sharply to the left that only a tee-off at the far right edge remains on the fairway . There, however, the tall cypress trees that line the entrance road to the club threaten. In this respect, at many holes the player has the choice between a risky shot on the direct line of play or a safe route, which however leads to the goal in a detour.
The green complexes of Ugolinos are all very small, undulating and fast. Only extremely precise and high shots can be brought to a stop, for this the permanent slopes and relatively hard fairways must be taken into account, which can easily give the ball an undesirable direction. Away from the fairways, the well-ingrown Mediterranean vegetation often leads to the ball being lost, or at least to considerable difficulties in continuing the game. Occasionally a cypress , pine , oak or olive tree also blocks the direct line of play, for example in front of Green 7, where a rebounding ball will with some certainty be directed into the surrounding bunker.
After hole 12 you cross under the Via Chiantigiana and play up to hole 17 west of the road, where the terrain is a little flatter and more open. Nevertheless, these lanes also do justice to the basic character of the course, some lengths and well-defended greens come into play. Overall, the course with slope 131 is certainly not too difficult, the course record is 63 strokes for professionals and 64 for amateurs.
Special landmarks
The Circolo del Golf dell'Ugolino is considered to be one of the most beautiful golf courses in Italy, as it is almost archetypal for the classic idea of the landscape of Tuscany. On the one hand, wide views of the foothills of the Chianti open up, on the other hand, rather small-scale views convey the impression of a typical Florentine park, such as the Medici might have created in the Renaissance .
Also worth mentioning is the clubhouse, which is a listed building and was built by Gerardo Bosio in the style of Razionalismo .
photos
Typical for Ugolino are the many inclines, here the view from tee 5. The fairway must be played on the left edge.
An oak makes it difficult for Green 7 to play directly.
View into the Chianti at hole 9.
The well-defended green 14, the yellow pole is at 100 meters.
Hole 18 hangs to the left, but bends 90 ° to the right just before the frontal cypress trees and leads through a narrow forest aisle uphill to the clubhouse.
literature
- Niccolò Donzelli: Il gioco del golf a Firenze. Storia del Florence golf club (1889-1932). 1999.
