It is a little over three years ago now that Rome was the focal point of golfing attention. The Ryder Cup was held at the Marco Simone Golf Club, a little under 10 miles from the venerable walls of the Eternal City, where Europe regained the trophy they had relinquished in the United States in 2021. Some critics scoffed that such a momentous golf occasion should be held in Italy, feeling the local tifosi would not be sufficiently enthused by the event. They were wrong. Everything, including the result, went exceedingly well as far as the natives were concerned. And as for the Romans not taking to golf…
…in fact, they have latterly taken to golf in a big way. Though to be strictly accurate here, I should actually specify golf carts. In what is a comparatively recent phenomenon, golf-cart tours of Rome are increasingly the rage – which has enraged some people, as we shall see in a moment. It has been reported that 90% of the approximately 500 carts employed in a sight-seeing capacity were operating without the appropriate authorisation, and in the latter part of September the police apparently issued fines totalling over £30,000 for unlicensed driving and illegal parking.
For some locals, it’s all too much. “I find myself having to dodge them all the time,” one resident told The Guardian. “Rome is chaotic. It’s like a jungle.” It sounds a little like the Lime bike situation in London! Roman taxi drivers are particularly outraged (a huge shock there!) and one local newspaper wrote of the city having been “taken hostage” by the carts, which does sound a tad excessive.
However, I can see the attraction of taking one. Rome is a truly glorious city but it can be stiflingly hot during several months of the year. As we all know, driving or being driven in a golf cart not only takes the strain off the feet, it is guaranteed to generate a refreshing breeze. For example, it’s three mid-size par-fives to get from St Peter’s Basilica to the Piazza Navona, so one can understand there would be circumstances in which one might want to bag the use of a buggy. If you have been shopping in the Via Condotti and want to get to the church at the top of the Spanish Steps, that’s only a little longer than the 18th at Augusta National but it is also rather more uphill.
How much does it cost to take this sort of ride? It depends on the length of time, of course, but say around £350 for a half-day. Put another way, less than two green fees at Marco Simone. Or, to put it a different way, Cypress Point is sometimes referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of Golf’. You would use a golf cart to play there. Now when in Rome, you can play…sorry, visit the real Sistine Chapel via the same means. Ciao!
You can follow Robert Green on Twitter @robrtgreen and enjoy his other blog f-factors.com as well as his golf archive on robertgreen-golf.com
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Robert Green
Robert Green is a former editor of Golf World and Golf International magazines and the author of four books on golf, including Seve: Golf’s Flawed Genius. He has played golf on more than 450 courses around the world, occasionally acceptably.