Pierfrancesco De Simone has designed a new golf course for Poiano Resort, near Lake Garda in northern Italy.
Pier Alberto Albertini, CEO of Poiano Resort, has wanted to build a golf course since the 1990s. In spring 2020, shortly after the first lockdown in Italy, Umberto De Amicis of Verona-based marketing company MediaEvent Consulting introduced Albertini to De Simone to discuss the prospect of creating a routing on land near the resort, overlooking Lake Garda.
“The total area of the property is quite small, around 38 hectares, but it has many strengths such as a rolling landscape with stunning views of Lake Garda and the surrounding hills,” said De Simone. “I have been able to design an 18-hole golf course, just short of 5,000 metres that will play as a par 68. It may not be much for modern times, but it is good enough for a resort course with an option of also attracting people from outside to play.”
The proposed site is in both the Garda and Costermano sul Garda municipalities, which means the authorisation process is taking longer than usual as the project will need to be approved by both councils. According to De Simone, construction of some holes may start before the summer. Construction won’t take place during the summer as Poiano Resort Management does not want machinery working during the hotel’s peak season.
Maintenance company Bariselli Fratelli has been selected as the contractor following work on other golf courses in northern Italy such as Chervò San Vigilio, Gardagolf Country Club and Castello Tolcinasco Golf Resort & Spa. James Massarenti, who has been involved in the Marco Simone project near Rome, will work as the irrigation consultant.
“Even though the property is quite tight, I have been able to design a layout with both nines returning near to the starting point, with the first nine in the lower part of the property and the second nine in the upper part, with great views and challenge,” said De Simone. “The lower part of the property, holes one to three, is a wetland that will mostly be kept in its actual size and shape with golf holes bordering the environmentally sensitive site, therefore, allowing the wetland to keep its character and natural value.
“One hole I am excited about is the fourth, which is one of two par fives that border the southern edge of the property. Another great hole will be the sixteenth, which has one of the best views of the property: looking downhill from the most elevated point of the site.”
De Simone expects construction of the first nine to be completed in autumn/winter 2021, and the second nine in 2022.