Puglia has only a handful of 18-hole courses, spread from the olive groves of the Fasano coast to the Ionian pine woods and the farmland outside Lecce. That scarcity is part of the appeal: the main courses are listed as open all year, and mild winters make the heel of Italy one of the few places on the mainland where a January golf week feels sensible. This guide covers four courses, how they compare, when to go and where to stay, with ideas for a non-golfing partner.
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Quick answer: golf in Puglia
- Best course overall: San Domenico Golf, Savelletri di Fasano: 18 holes, par 72, by Andy Haggar, former host of the Challenge Tour Grand Final.
- Best for a resort stay: San Domenico, with Borgo Egnazia or Masseria San Domenico a short drive away.
- Best for high handicappers or a short round: Barialto near Bari, a par 70 described as fair rather than punishing, with 9-hole rounds offered; Acaya also sells 9 holes.
- Best base: Savelletri di Fasano, with a second base in or near Lecce for Acaya.
- Best months: March to early June and late September to November; winter suits golf only trips.
Puglia also appears in our round-up of the best golf resorts and golf hotels in Italy, which compares it with Sicily, Tuscany and the lakes. For the region beyond the fairways, start with our Puglia guide.
Check prices and availability
Lecce is the natural base for Acaya, the Salento beaches and Baroque evenings. In winter, many coastal resorts close, so city hotels are often the more reliable choice.
The golf courses of Puglia
We could not find 2026 green fees published by any of the clubs themselves, so we have not quoted prices: check with the club. The same applies to members’ days and weekend restrictions.
San Domenico Golf, Savelletri di Fasano
San Domenico is the course most golfers travel to Puglia for. It was designed by Andy Haggar with European Golf Design to USGA specifications. The club was founded in 2000; its own brochure says the course opened in summer 2003. It plays as 18 holes, par 72, at 6,361 metres from the white tees, with 5,158 metres from the red and 4,444 metres from the orange forward tees.
The character is open and links-like: Bermuda grass fairways, fescue rough and large, fast greens with little slope, set among centuries-old olive trees and wild herbs, with the sea in view on most holes and wind almost constantly in play. The club singles out the 3rd, a par 3 of more than 200 metres often played into the wind, the 7th, a par 4 framed by an ancient olive grove, and the 16th, a par 5 of around 560 metres that runs closest to the sea. It hosted the Challenge Tour Grand Final for eight years.
- Handicap: a valid handicap certificate is required; the published limit is 36 for men and women.
- Buggies: electric carts, electric trolleys and pull trolleys for hire.
- Guest access: advance booking is required. Soft spikes and a collared shirt with trousers or tailored shorts are expected; jeans and T-shirts are not allowed.
- Closing day: listed as open every day of the year, from 8.30am until sunset.
- Distance: next door to Borgo Egnazia; roughly 45 to 50 minutes from Brindisi airport and about an hour from Bari airport.
Acaya Golf Club, near Lecce
Acaya lies about 13 kilometres east of Lecce, between the city and the Adriatic, close to the Le Cesine nature reserve. Our research turned up contradictory information on its history: one directory gives an original design by David Mezzacane in 1998, remodelled by Hurdzan and Fry in 2007; another credits Hurdzan and Fry with an opening in 2000. It was not clear to us which applies, so check with the club. All sources agree on 18 holes, par 71.
Lengths differ slightly between sources: about 6,192 metres from the back, 5,695 to 5,702 metres from the yellow and 4,852 to 4,926 metres from the red. Check the scorecard with the club. The course is open parkland on flat ground, easy to walk, with wide fairways, bunker-defended greens and water that comes into play more often on the back nine. No signature holes are published.
- Handicap: a valid certificate from your home club is required. No handicap limit is published, so check with the club.
- Buggies: electric carts and trolleys for hire; walking is allowed.
- Guest access: visitors are listed as welcome every day, all year, with 9-hole rounds offered. Weekend competitions are not published; check with the club.
- Closing day: none published; check with the club.
- Distance: about 20 minutes from Lecce, roughly 45 minutes from Brindisi airport and about 1 hour 15 minutes from Savelletri.
The on-site hotel, Acaya Golf Resort & Spa, is a four-star; for a more refined stay, base yourself in Lecce.
Riva dei Tessali Golf Club, Castellaneta (Ionian coast)
Riva dei Tessali is the oldest course in this guide. It opened in 1968, designed by the British architect John D. Harris with Marco Croze’s studio, and plays as 18 holes, par 71, through pine woods close to the Ionian Sea. Two sources give 5,960 metres and the tournament record lists 5,946 metres, so expect a little under 6,000 metres from the back. From 1983 it hosted the Open di Puglia e Basilicata, which was later a Challenge Tour event (from around 1989 to 2007) and ended in 2010. No forward tee length is published.
The appeal is shade and history: fairways under umbrella pines, a contrast to the open, windy coast at San Domenico. It lies about 46 kilometres from Taranto and roughly 100 kilometres by road from Bari.
- Status for 2026: we could not confirm that the course is still in play. The most recent visitor reviews and club news we found date from 2017, when one reviewer described the course as looking abandoned, and we found no current club website. Treat it as possibly closed and phone ahead before planning a round here.
- Handicap, buggies, closing day, guest access: carts were listed in older material; nothing current is published, so check with the club.
- Distance: about 1 hour 15 minutes from Bari airport, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Savelletri.
Barialto Golf Club, Casamassima (near Bari)
Barialto sits on the Bari to Taranto road at Casamassima, about 18 kilometres from the centre of Bari. The club was founded in 1996, and the course was designed by the American architect William Amick with the Italian Giorgio Ferraris. Directories list 18 holes, par 70, at 5,726 metres from the yellow tees and 4,906 metres from the red; one regional operator gives around 6,000 metres overall, which would correspond to the back tees.
The setting is palms and centuries-old olive trees, with five lakes, strategically placed water and sand, and Bermuda grass. It is described as varied and fair rather than punishing, which makes it the easiest of the four for a high handicapper or a partner who plays occasionally. It is also handy for a first or last day near Bari airport.
- Handicap: a valid home club certificate is required; the published limit is 36.
- Buggies: electric carts, electric trolleys and pull trolleys for hire.
- Guest access: 9 and 18-hole rounds are offered. Directories list higher weekend prices, so weekdays are likely quieter; check with the club.
- Closing day: listed as open all year; no closing day published, so check with the club.
- Distance: about 30 minutes from Bari airport, about 50 minutes from Savelletri.
Comparison table: Puglia’s courses at a glance
| Course | Area | Holes / par | Best for | Drive from base |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Domenico Golf | Savelletri di Fasano, Adriatic | 18, par 72 | Tour-level test, resort stays, sea views | A few minutes from Savelletri |
| Acaya Golf Club | Near Lecce, Salento | 18, par 71 | Walkable parkland, Lecce and Salento trips | About 20 minutes from Lecce; about 1 hour from Savelletri |
| Riva dei Tessali | Castellaneta, Ionian coast | 18, par 71 | Shady pine woods, golf history (2026 status unconfirmed) | About 1 hour 30 minutes from Savelletri |
| Barialto Golf Club | Casamassima, near Bari | 18, par 70 | High handicappers, 9 holes, airport days | About 50 minutes from Savelletri |
Drive times are approximate and depend on traffic and season.
How to plan a golf trip to Puglia
Best months, weather and the winter angle
March to early June and late September to November are the sweet spots. July and August are hot and coastal rates peak. Winter is the quiet advantage: San Domenico, Acaya and Barialto are listed as open year round (Riva dei Tessali may no longer be in play, so check first) and the coast is mild compared with northern Italy. The trade-offs are wind, short days and hotel closures: Borgo Egnazia and Masseria San Domenico both take a winter break. For December to February, choose an all-year hotel such as Il Melograno, or Lecce or Bari.
Transfers with clubs
Brindisi airport is the closest to San Domenico and Acaya; Bari airport suits Barialto and Riva dei Tessali. Hire a car with room for golf bags or ask your hotel for a minivan transfer. Our Italy travel planner covers car hire and transfers in the south.
Booking tee times
San Domenico asks for advance booking, so ask your hotel to reserve tee times as soon as your dates are fixed. Call Acaya and Barialto a few days ahead to ask about weekend competitions, and phone Riva dei Tessali to confirm it is open.
Dress code
Collared shirts, trousers or tailored shorts and soft spikes. San Domenico bans jeans and T-shirts; the others publish no detailed code, so follow the same rules.
Combining golf with wine and sea days
From Savelletri, Locorotondo’s white wine cellars are about 30 minutes inland and Monopoli harbour about 15 minutes away for a skippered boat to the Polignano sea caves. Our guide to yacht, wine and golf in Puglia sets out a four-day plan, and Puglia by boat covers the best stretches of coast. Around Acaya, pair the round with Salice Salentino’s Negroamaro estates or a day in Otranto, both in our Salento guide. Boat days run mainly from April or May to October.
Charlotte’s tip: play the coast early and the parkland late
Wind on the Fasano coast often builds through the day, so take the first tee times at San Domenico, when the greens are at their best and the sea is calm. Keep Acaya and Barialto, the parkland courses, for afternoons. In winter, build a spare day into the schedule for stormy mornings.
Check prices and availability
Splitting the trip between the Fasano coast and Lecce puts all the main courses within an hour. Compare hotels in Lecce for the Salento leg.
Where to stay for golf in Puglia
Borgo Egnazia (Savelletri di Fasano)
A village of pale tufa stone built in the style of a Pugliese borgo, right next to San Domenico Golf, which makes it the obvious choice for a golf week with a non-golfing partner. There are several pools, the Vair Spa, beach clubs, tennis and padel, and Due Camini, which holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide. The resort closes for a winter break; the 2026 season opened on 14 March, so ask the hotel about late autumn dates. Our Borgo Egnazia review covers rooms and villas.
Best for: golf, spa and beach in one place, with the first tee a short buggy ride away.
Masseria San Domenico (Savelletri di Fasano)
A historic fortified masseria about 500 metres from the sea and a short drive from the course that shares its name. Expect a seawater pool set among rocks, an indoor pool, a thalassotherapy spa and two beaches. For the 2025 to 2026 winter it was closed from 2 November to 1 April, so check 2026 to 2027 dates with the hotel.
Best for: couples who want a morning round and an afternoon of thalasso.
Check rates at Masseria San Domenico
Il Melograno (Monopoli)
A family-run masseria in the olive groves outside Monopoli, about 20 minutes from San Domenico and roughly 50 minutes from Barialto. It has a large pool, the Petramare Spa and Mummulo restaurant. A regional booking platform lists it as open from 1 January to 31 December 2026, which makes it the best candidate here for a winter golf week; confirm with the hotel before you book. Our guide to tennis hotels in Puglia covers its sports facilities.
Best for: winter and shoulder season golf trips.
Ethra Reserve Kalidria (Castellaneta Marina)
The five-star hotel of the Ethra Reserve, a resort complex in the pine woods of the Stornara nature reserve on the Ionian coast. Riva dei Tessali lies a short drive along the same stretch of coast; check the exact distance and whether the hotel arranges tee times. Expect the Ethra Thalasso Spa, a private beach along the dunes, tennis, padel and kids clubs. For 2026 it is listed as open from 14 April to 29 September, so it suits spring and early autumn golf, not winter.
Best for: families combining Ionian beach days with a round at Riva dei Tessali, if the course is still open: we found no sign of play there since 2017, so check before you book.
Check rates at Ethra Reserve Kalidria
For wine lovers: see our Puglia wine guide for estates that take visitors, booking rules and where to stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the best golf course in Puglia?
San Domenico Golf at Savelletri di Fasano is the strongest test and hosted the Challenge Tour Grand Final for eight years. Acaya near Lecce is the best second course.
Can you play golf in Puglia in winter?
Yes. San Domenico, Acaya and Barialto are listed as open year round, and the coast is mild. We could not confirm that Riva dei Tessali is still open, so phone ahead. Many coastal luxury hotels close in winter, so choose an all-year hotel or a city base.
Do I need a handicap certificate to play in Puglia?
Yes, bring a valid certificate everywhere. San Domenico and Barialto publish a limit of 36; Acaya and Riva dei Tessali do not, so check with the club.
Which airport is best for golf in Puglia?
Brindisi for San Domenico and Acaya, Bari for Barialto and Riva dei Tessali.
