Course Review - Royal Park I Roveri Golf Club

With the US PGA Tour taking a breather before the season climax at the Tour Championship and no event scheduled for the Sunshine Tour, all eyes are firmly focused on Europe this week and the BMW Italian Open at the Royal Park I Roveri Golf Club in Fiano, 15kms NW of the motor city of Turin, Italy.

I Roveri is located within the La Mandria conservation area that was formerly a hunting estate dating back to the 16th century. The golf club opened for play in 1971 and was the first venture in Italy for prolific and iconic architect Robert Trent Jones, who at the same time also laid out a nine-hole course which was recently converted to eighteen.

Trent Jones' parkland gem weaves its way through mature woodland and carries the moulded fairways, well-constructed green complexes, immaculate bunkering and threatening water hazards that are the hallmarks of the great man's designs. The setting offers unforgettable views of the Turin hills with lakes, streams, woods and cultivated fields, and also distant glimpses of the Alps.

The round begins with a 368m dogleg right par 4 that has a complex of sand-traps inside the elbow to catch mishits trying to cut off the angle, and a stream protecting the front of the green that will enable a tight pin placement on the final day. Hole 2 is a similar shape 440m par 4 with bunkering and water giving more than visual intimidation to the landing area off the tee. The monster 557m 5th is a genuine par 5 that will see very few risking going for the green in two, especially as the small triangular shaped green is skirted by water on two sides.

The front nine finishes with a short par 4 that brings trouble into play for players trying to find extra distance off the tee. The closing three hole stretch is pure theatre, with two par 4's and a classic risk and reward par 5 to finish. Sixteen is a narrow 444m dogleg carved through the trees, and seventeen – the only hole on the course without a fairway bunker – is statistically the toughest par 4 in Italy. The eighteenth is reachable in two, but with water and sand surrounding the small green, a conservative approach might pay dividends. Though a very typical American style, the 6500m par 72 layout fits well in the Piedmont countryside and is proud to host the BMW Italian Open for the fourth consecutive year.

A Golf Weather
Editorial