72 VERDURA RESORT Severe storms raged across Italy over seven days in October and November 2018. Strong winds and heavy rain led to f looding and landslides, resulting in the loss of many lives and billions of euros of damage. Among the many businesses impacted by the storms was Rocco Forte’s Verdura Resort, which is located within 230 hectares of Mediterranean landscape on Sicily’s southern coastline. It opened in 2009 with two Kyle Phillips-designed golf courses, the East and West, which are ranked among the best in the country. The European Tour took its Sicilian Open to the venue three times in the 2010s, playing over a composite of the two courses. The storms led to a breach of the levee that runs between the site and the Verdura River. Phillips explains: “On coastal sites we normally think of erosion as coming inward from the sea. In this case, the erosion started inland and moved toward the sea. The breach occurred near the new tenth tees, one kilometre from the sea, and quickly moved across 14 holes (seven holes of both the East and West courses) and into sections of the resort buildings. “The f lood was obviously devastating, but we needed to approach it as an opportunity to make the golf experience even better.” Phillips altered the routing to incorporate all 14 damaged holes, plus four remodelled holes into the new East course configuration. This new configuration more clearly defines the two courses, whilst preserving an equal number of coastal holes on each course. “The f lood created new landforms and dramatic, eroded inlets near the
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