If enjoy the written review of Olgiata, why not listen to the complementary podcast here.... https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-golf-pilgrim-top-100/id1743914901?i=1000697842775
Olgiata could be the most challenging course Mrs W and I have played on our top 100 travels.
It is long, its fairways are often narrow, and its holes have combinations of devilishly placed trees, bunkers, and water features and sometimes all three.
I could blame having to use a substitute driver because the shaft on mine was snapped by baggage handlers en route to Rome.
Or I could claim my woeful score was down to a bit of soreness from a pesky foot injury.
Neither would be true. Olgiata would have beaten us regardless.
Although after heavy February rain, there is no doubt that it played much longer than it would in the summer.
At least that is what the reservations manager told us post-game, trying to soothe our dented egos.
A game at one of Italy's highest-ranked courses complemented a five-day bucket list trip to the Eternal City.
So, while soaking in the history of the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, and Vatican City Museums, we took the half-hour taxi ride to a gated estate that was the home of Olgiata.
The clubhouse gave an excellent first impression – especially the alcove with a beautiful open fireplace.
Friendliness abounded there, in the pro shop and the caddy master's office, where my loan driver was waiting.
There are excellent practice facilities, but we side-stepped them because the first tee was clear. That was our first mistake. It was February, and we were rusty.
Consequently, my first drive on a bending, rising par-four drifted into trees on the right-hand side of the fairway.
Heavy rain over the previous two days meant the ball was not carrying, so I rasped a three-wood for the par-three second hole protected by menacing bunkers.
Disappointingly, the ball skipped the green and rested in the trap to its rear.
I felt as if I could be on to a decent round when I laced an approach to 15 feet on the relatively short par-four fourth and just missed birdie.
But thereafter, the difficulty of the course ratcheted up, and the quality of my play spiralled downwards.
I would need to play the fifth several times to understand it. A substantial tree is in the middle of the fairway with a raft of bunkers to its left and not much of a bailout to its right.
Further woe followed on the par-five sixth with its lake on the left of the approach to the green. A duffed seven-iron found water.
I liked the uphill par-three seventh, which demanded a full-blooded hit to a green perched above a giant sand trap.
A brook lurks menacingly to the left of the eighth before cutting in front of the target. This is the lowest part of the course and was muddy when we played it, but I suspect this is a picture hole in summer.
Ditto the par-four tenth, which is also protected by a stream in front of a large green that falls from back to front. It demands an impressive shot to clear the water and find the short grass.
The final third is the quirkiest and, therefore, the most memorable section of the course.
The drive from the par-four 13th is tight and has a road on the right, so the player should try to bounce the ball onto the fairway off a steep bank on the left.
Its green is squeezed into the corner of the property. I was overly adventurous and saw my approach dive over it.
One of my better shots of the day was over a lake onto the green of the par-three 14th. However, I misjudged the pace from below the hole on the right and recorded a meek bogey.
The par-five 15th and 17th must be among the most hectic holes in European golf.
The former begins with a drive between bunkers on the left and trees and a hidden stream on the right.
But the most intense element comes at the turn towards the green, with five sand traps on the left, and overhanging branches and a brook on the right.
The clip into the green needs to be pinpoint to avoid the water in front and sand at the side.
The 17th is similarly wacky, with a tree in the middle of a fairway that falls steeply from left to right before a green that undulates like a rollercoaster.
By comparison, the home hole is a straightforward par-four that runs parallel to the locker rooms and restaurant.
As we trooped off, we felt chastened but had enjoyed our day despite our dismal scores.
In my opinion, Olgiata should be played in summer for full enjoyment because, as with many parkland courses, it can be very wet in the winter.
However, it suited us just fine as a diversion from a trip to Rome.
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