Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort: The All-Natural Resort Hosting the 2025 Italian Open
The host of the 2025 Italian Open does things differently, but the venue does it very, very well…
Tucked away on a peninsula in the west of Italy, the Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort is far from your normal golfing venue.
However, the resort has been chosen as the host venue for the 2025 Italian Open on the DP World Tour. From a visit there, you can understand exactly why it has been awarded the tournament.
The DP World Tour will be the last of the trio of major European men’s tours to visit Argentario. The resort played host to the European Legends Tour in 2022, with the European Challenge Tour hosting an event there in 2024.
At a first glance, you might think that Argentario is a perfectly normal golf resort. There is a glorious 18-hole golf course, sublime accommodation, and a beautiful spa. The backstory of the Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort only dates back two decades, with the golf course opening in 2006 – as the first part of the resort.
The hotel building was opened two years later, with the spa and wellness facility then being added in 2010. The venue was awarded PGA National status in 2019, and it is the only Italian facility with that moniker.
However, there is much more to the Italian venue than meets the eye. The mantra of the resort is that everything must be natural and biologically friendly.
The Golf Course
Argentario’s golf course is stunning. Located just a few minutes from the Duna Feniglia Nature Reserve, the course also overlooks the Orbetello Lagoon and Tyrrhenian Sea, while being in the shadow of the Monte Argentario hills.
The golf course, which opened in 2006 and was the first piece of the Argentario puzzle, was designed by architect David Mezzacane and professional golfer Baldovino Dassu. Holes have also been shaped by Brian Jorgensen to set out the 18-hole layout that there is today.
The two nines are pretty different. The front side of the course has plenty of elevation changes, working its way around the rugged hillside of the region.
The back nine is much flatter, and an easier walk, but there are water hazards to avoid, especially on the stunning closing hole.
As a course, there are no holes that disappoint. The opening par 3, the 2nd, is a glorious short hole, played over a ravine of shrubs and bushes (where you have no chance of finding your ball) to a green protected by plenty of sand traps. There’s also the beautiful backdrop which tries to steal your attention.
The same view comes into play on the 3rd tee, and what a view it is. From the elevated tee box, you see the fairway (which looks narrow) below you. The water and hills in the background remind you that you are an incredible part of the world. And then, you have to hit your drive…
When it comes to high points of the trip, I have to put down the birdie on the par 3 8th hole on the second day we played the course. It is not the longest of holes, but I managed to hit the right club (a 9-iron in my case) to three feet, receiving a thumbs up from a member of the greens team that was working on the path to the right of the hole. You can’t do much better than that! And yes, I did knock the putt in for a 2!
All of the par 3s at Argentario are great, and offer up different challenges. From the tee shot over the ravine on the 2nd, to the drop down from the tee box to the green on the short 5th. The 17th is arguably the signature par 3, playing around 200 yards from the yellow and almost 240 yards from the whites. Played over water on the left and with bunkers awaiting any bail outs to the right. Find the green, take par, and run to the 18th hole.
The closing hole at Argentario is one that is tricky to get right if you haven’t played the course before. It is a relatively short par 4, less than 400 yards from the yellows, but there is plenty of danger. A row of trees has to be cleared (with a carry of around 200 yards) to find the fairway. But you can’t go too long as both water and sand lie in wait on the left side of the fairway.
If you manage to find the short stuff on the 18th, then you have a great chance at making par or even birdie to close out the round. With the beautifully designed hotel building as the backdrop, one that will ensure great scenes on the 72nd hole of the Italian Open in 2025, you play to a two-tiered green, surrounded by bunkers and trees. A truly magnificent end to a wonderful round of golf.
The Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort is also proud to be the PGA National Course of Italy. The course and the accompanying Golf Academy are part of the PGA National brand, which features courses and venues around Europe. The likes of The Belfry, Gleneagles, Aphrodite Hills and Slieve Russell are also PGA Nationals in their respective countries.
Argentario has the PGA National certificate for at least the next decade, and plays host to the PGA Captain’s event every year. The driving range and short game are sublime, with the latter providing plenty of space for golfers to practice their chipping from (though it didn’t make that much difference for myself, but that is down to my lack of ability).
When it comes to biologically and eco-friendly, the green staff at Argentario have to use different methods of keeping the course in pristine condition. No fertilisers are used due to the course being part of the nature reserve. Only rainwater is used to water the holes and greens, water that has been stored under the ground for the sprinkler system to use.
The most unique method of keeping the course looking at its best is the use of chilli powder. Due to the course being within the nature reserve area, there is plenty of wildlife including a range of birds. To keep the greens at their best, the greens staff put chilli powder down on the greens every third week to stop birds from burrowing their heads.
It is the little things like this that make Argentario such a unique place to visit, but one you have to try and play if you have the chance!
The Resort
As a whole, the resort has plenty to offer, for couples, golf trips and even families. There are plenty of other sports to try your hand at away from golf, including a pair of Padel courts and a pair of tennis courts. There is also a small football court and an outdoor gym – the latter sitting alongside the 13th hole of the golf course.
For those that like being in the outdoors, there are two trails, for you to take at your own pace. The first, at 3km long, runs around the front nine of the course, while the second trail, and around 1.7km, runs round the back nine.
The Espace Wellness Centre is an extensive part of the facility, and takes up the entirety of the bottom floor of the main hotel building. The setting is sublime, with guests treated to views out over Monte Argentario, especially from the outdoor pool.
Indoors, there is plenty to choose from as you look to relax and enjoy your tranquil surroundings. The indoor pool is at an ambient temperature, while there is also a Kniepp, warm and cold walking pools and a warm shallow pool. Both men’s and women’s changing rooms have their own steam room and sauna for the ultimate relaxation, while guests can also treat themselves to a massage or beauty treatment.
In terms of accommodation, elegance is the word I would use to describe what is on offer at Argentario.
From above, you can see that the hotel is shaped like a dragonfly. The venue has been built in a nature reserve, and the design of the hotel building is in keeping with its habitat. The rooms in the hotel, which are housed in the wings of the dragonfly design, are sublime.
It has now been a year since the Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort joined the Marriott Group. The resort is now part of the loyalty programme, Marriott Bonvoy, which offers travellers the ability to collect points, before turning them into free stays and other benefits. The venue also comes under the Autograph Collection brand, as a luxury hotel selected by Marriott International – becoming just the ninth venue in Italy as part of the brand.
The property is the home to more than 70 suites and rooms, each designed luxuriously. Each room comes with its own balcony which overlooks the golf course and the surrounding areas – a gorgeous vista to wake up to each morning. Imagine waking up and opening the curtains to that view.. It really is unbelievable!
Away from the hotel building, Argentario is also the home to a sublime range of villas that can be rented out for the duration of a stay. Each villa has been made to order, and is only built and constructed after being bought, to try and reduce the pollution and traffic of ground vehicles on site. The villas sit on the side of the hill running down the 9th hole, and give guests a good view of the hole, and of course, incredible views of the region’s landscape.
Just a short walk from the main hotel building, the clubhouse is the perfect spot to enjoy a light bite at lunchtime, or even a three-course meal in the evenings. With a terrace that provides glorious views of the golf course, a lovely atmosphere and beautiful food and drink, it would be rude not to go back for another meal!
As with every other aspect of the resort, all of the food is locally sourced, right down to the local olive oils (which we were lucky enough to enjoy a tasting of). All of the meat and cheeses, along with vegetables and even the fish on offer, all come from the local area. Argentario has a 0km policy on their food, to reduce travel and pollution, along with keeping costs down, and it works!
My experience… Visit Argentario at all costs!
Not only was this my first trip to Argentario, but it was also my first time visiting Italy, and I have to say that I will certainly be doing my damnedest to make a return in the near future.
Having played the course a couple of times, I feel that I now know what needs to be done to score well around the Argentario layout, and that would certainly entice me to visit again.
Although the course is tricky and tight, and even more demanding when the wind gets up (which it did on the first day), there are ways to make a score around the Mezzacane-Dassu design, and that is the key to a good golf course – one that forces you into thinking and playing good shots, but rewards you when you do so!
Every aspect of the place is incredible, and the fact that it is all done with the less is more approach, with biological and eco-friendly treatments for the golf course, and with the 0km policy on food and drink, just makes it an incredible resort. From the food and drink, to the comfort of the room, and the incredible bathroom facilities, it was amazing from start to finish.
Argentario is a must visit, and I am excited to see how the pros get on at the 2025 Italian Open. It is certainly the perfect host for a DP World Tour event in my eyes!
Have you visited Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort before? What did you make of the Italian resort? Will it be a good host for the Italian Open? Let us know your thoughts with a post on X, formerly Twitter!
Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
