First Resort – Golf and wellness in Tuscany

Argentario offers first class golf and so much more.

Even before you cross the threshold at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, the very natural ambience of the location has taken hold. Green lizards flit across the stone path as you approach; barn swallows swoop into their nests in the eaves. In the hotel foyer, the golden light of the Tuscan morning sun bleaches the soft, earthy tones of the welcoming furniture, and through the vast windows are the endless, rolling hills beyond.
The course at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort
Decades ago, the owner Augusto Orsini took family holidays on the Promontorio Dell’Argentario, a largely unknown and unspoilt kink in the Italian coastline. So when the chance came to combine his deep love for this area with a handful of other passions – golf & wellness, luxurious property, and nature itself – that opportunity was seized. Early on, the gifted designer Andrea Fogli was offered a chance to shine, and his grasp of both classical and modern style across the public areas and the private homes proved an instant hit and a perfect match for this magnificent canvas on which they worked.

From above, the main hotel looks like a dragonfly, with the main body a central hub from which spread the wings that house a variety of different room styles. Each looks out across the golf course to the olive groves beyond, and in the distance glints the lagoon, a reminder of Argentario’s perch just off the mainland, with a narrow road the connective tissue to the gorgeous town of Orbetello and beyond. This design configuration is a nod to the vibrant wildlife that enchants and enriches the landscape, but it also brings with it a certain degree of privacy, though the wide open spaces of the public areas never appear congested. Instead, the Resort moves at its own, gentle pace, calming the nerves of its many Roman and international visitors alike.

Argentario Resort and Hole 18

The golf course – an 18 hole, par 71 layout that weaves through the surrounding countryside – is a sufficient test to have been designated in 2019 as PGA National Italy, the only golf course with this designation in the country. But with carefully curated variety in the tee markers it is a joy to play at all levels of the handicap spectrum. Designed in 2006 by architect David Mezzacane and the tour player Baldovino Dassù, the front and back nines – recently switched in order to accentuate the strong finishing holes – offer contrasting and complementary golfing adventures through the property.

Holes 1 to 9 take the player around the land in front of the hotel, passing wild flower meadows and ponds on which little egrets cool their pristine feathers. The second half of the course begins with a fine dogleg around the practice ground, climbing up and around the hill on which a limited number of residential villas are being built, a handful of which are still available for purchase. Then from the 12th tee stretches a par 5 and a panoramic vista that are timeless. By the time you reach the last – an intoxicating approach over a lake to a green tucked in beneath the terrace of The Club House, you will be in love with this golfing puzzle, and with the Tuscan way of life.

The resort (interior)

Orsini’s dedication to doing things the right way led to the award of BioAgriCert accreditation, recognising the careful, ecologically-sound manner in which the course is kept, but while this environmental focus has borne fruit in terms of the flora and fauna that share the space, the climate ensures that the standards of turf conditioning match the quality of the design. So much so that the DP World Tour will stop here in late June 2025, for the 82nd Italian Open – a serious recommendation for the superb golfing facilities, as some of the world’s finest players grace this glorious stage.

But to focus only on golf would be to miss much of what else the promontory offers. Between morning and afternoon rounds, the locals relax under parasols sampling local cheeses and cold meats, with the delicious homemade olive oil an ideal match for regular deliveries of freshly baked Ciabatta and Pane Toscano. Back at the hotel, the food & beverage steps up another level, as the delightful breakfast room hosts an extraordinary spread, and the chic Dragonfly Bar is the epitome of Italian elegance.

Interior pool

But it is the recently refurbished Dama Dama restaurant that is most revelatory about Argentario, capitalising on the proximity of various local fishing villages in the menu options. For the inventive blend of creative ideas with classical flavours results in dishes that one is loath to finish, lest the taste sensation disappear forever. But along comes another tantalising course, and the whole delightful experience starts over again. It is simply brilliant cuisine, the artistry of the chefs matched only by the charming and friendly delivery of the Resort’s staff team.

Add in the Resort’s other amenities – which include a superb gym full of the latest Technogym kit, swimming pools indoors and out, both tennis & padel, a spa with all manner of pampering sessions available and the various walking, jogging and e-bike trails that start and end here – and you have a unique facility that offers so much, but also has the tranquil ambience for a real retreat. It appears that everyone is just so happy to be at Argentario, and on the last evening, as I stroll off some of the exquisite Maremma cheesecake, the stars twinkle in the dark sky and the scops owls serenade across the shadowy land before me. It occurs to me that I could quite happily never leave, and perhaps know – in some faint way – the love for this beautiful terrain that Augusto Orsini developed as a child and that his Argentario does so much to uphold.

The restaurant at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort

Among the final details I notice, as I return my golf clubs to the state-of-the-art TrackMan studio at the end of the driving range, is a Gary Snyder quote that seems to encapsulate the motif that runs through the veins of this Tuscan paradise. “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home”, it reads, positioned on the side of the water refilling station. Argentario is a modern, luxurious, stylish spot to visit but somehow – in maintaining the primary focus on nature – it manages to never feel like a holiday destination. Instead, for the plethora of inhabitants, human and otherwise, it is more like home.

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Updated: June 4, 2025