I Roveri Golf Course Review

With two excellent and remarkably contrasting courses, I Roveri on the outskirts of Turin is a terrific golfing destination - Rob Smith enjoys a visit…

A river guards the entrance to the 3rd on the Trent Jones course
(Image credit: Rob Smith)
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With two excellent and remarkably contrasting courses, I Roveri on the outskirts of Turin is a terrific golfing destination

I Roveri Golf Course Review

With Italy set to host the 2022 Ryder Cup, an increasing number of golfing tourists are turning their attention to this beautiful country. Each region is very different, and the beautiful city of Turin in the north-west is surrounded by mountains and makes for an excellent holiday base. Just on its outskirts, I Roveri, or Royal Park, has two very fine courses, the Trent Jones and the Pramerica.

Trent Jones Course

Robert Trent Jones designed the first course here back in 1971, since when it has hosted the Italian Open on a number of occasions. With streams running through it and the signature Trent Jones bunkering, it is an excellent test but more importantly great fun and very attractive.

The lovely par-72 course is situated in a grand old deer park, and there are plenty of lovely holes and great variety. Here are a few highlights…

The approach to the first involves the first of several river crossings

A gentle waterfall from the adjacent lake runs beside the fifth green

The river is in play again at the attractive eleventh

Looking back from beyond the tough par-3 twelfth

The short fifteenth is played through a lovely copse

Yet more water at the demanding par-4 seventeenth

The final green at the end of an extremely attractive round

Pramerica

Considering that it is immediately adjacent, the unusual-sounding Pramerica Course, so-named for sponsorship reasons, is remarkably different. Opened in 2006, it is modern-looking with more of an American feel about it. This is understandable as it was designed by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, the team who designed Erin Hills which hosted the 2017 US Open. As you might expect, the par is 72 with two threes and two fives on each nine.

Looking back from the green at the par-4 second with the beautiful mountains beyond

The left-to-right dogleg seventh

The back nine opens with this excellent par 4 at ten

Don’t be short at the par-3 eleventh

Water runs down the right side of the final par 5 at fifteen

The mountains behind the seventeenth green

Royal Park, I Roveri, is a friendly, welcoming club with two first-class courses and rates that compare favourably with the big guns in Spain and Portugal. I thoroughly recommend a visit !

Rob Smith
Rob Smith
Contributing Editor

Rob has been playing golf for over 45 years and been a contributing editor for Golf Monthly since 2012. He specialises in course reviews and travel, and has played approaching 1,250 courses in almost 50 countries. In 2021, he played all 21 courses in East Lothian in 13 days. Last year, his tally was 78, exactly half of them for the first time. One of Rob's primary roles is helping to prepare the Top 100 Courses of the UK&I, of which he has played all, as well as the Next 100 where he is missing two in Scotland and two in Ireland. He has been a member of Tandridge for over 30 years where his handicap hovers around 15. You can contact him at r.smith896@btinternet.com.

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