Ed, and all, yes, unfortunately we experienced the dryest summer for more than 100 years. We have had virtually no rain at all from May to a couple of weeks ago, with temperatures way hotter than the average. The courses suffered heavily.
It's a shame, as Italian courses are usually quite nice, interesting layouts and often beautiful views... only problem is that most of golf is played in tourneaments, so playing in the weekends is quite hard. You can find all of them (about 220) listed @ the Italian Golf Federation website (www.federgolf.it). About the "side" activities, well, I cannot disagree :) Ciao, and sorry for your unsatisfactory experience, Marcello Ed Reeder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Just got back from a trip to Northern Italy that included >some golf. �Want to warn people of the course conditions >due to this year's extreme heat and drought. > >The courses fairways have grass coverage that ranges from >5 to 40 percent (i.e., 95 percent dirt/dead grass at worst >case). �The tee boxes were a little better and the greens >much better. �I never got a straight story on what happened >but it was evident that due to water rationing they couldn't >irrigate the fairways. > >I spoke to some people who had played in Morocco, France, and >Southern Italy and they had the same story. �(Scotland and >Ireland appear to be in fine shape, based upon some TV coverage >I saw). �The absolute best course they played was little better >than a second-rate muni in course condition. > >It is a shame, as these are architecturally very good courses. >However, they are set up to be lush "American style" courses >and don't fair well without irrigation. > >My guess is it will be several years before these courses are >back in good shape, even with sufficient water. > >FWIW - you shouldn't be playing golf in Italy anyway, there are >much better things to do, but that is a different story. > >/Ed > > > __________________________________________________________________ McAfee VirusScan Online from the Netscape Network. Comprehensive protection for your entire computer. Get your free trial today! http://channels.netscape.com/ns/computing/mcafee/index.jsp?promo=393397 Get AOL Instant Messenger 5.1 free of charge. Download Now! http://aim.aol.com/aimnew/Aim/register.adp?promo=380455
