Golf in Greece

Corfu Golf Clubs is a beautiful course and has been praised by many as one of golfs best kept secrets in Europe. It was designed by the famous Swiss based architect, Donald Harradine and he has blended the natural resources of the lovely Ropa Valley including the river of Nafsika (Odyseus was rescued by Princess Nafsika at its exit on Ermones beach), with man made hazards to make the course a good but fair test.

It is as enjoyable for the scratch player as it is for the long handicap one. Over the last 3 years the golf course and clubhouse has undergone a complete renovation. The bunkers have been reshaped, deepened, drained and filled with white sand, shipped in from the Greek island of Milos. Specialist contractors were brought in to install a new TORO irrigation system, which paid immediate dividends keeping the golf course in excellent condition through the hot summer months.

The Crete Golf Club is the only 18-hole golf course on the island of Crete and one of the most impressive courses of the Mediterranean, which holds a unique challenge and a pleasant experience for both golf players and visitors all year round.

It is easily accessible from Heraklion Airport within 25 minutes (24 km). The course has been built to international PGA standards by architect Bob Hunt, a member of the English PGA. Each hole has been constructed separately and in harmony with the surrounding landscape, providing panoramic views of both the mountains of Crete and the Aegean Sea.

The Crete Golf Club has a desert-style layout, it is meticulously maintained and at the same time it provides an ideal venue for international tournaments. It has hosted the EGA Mens’ Challenge Trophy with great success in July 2008, while for 3 consecutive years it also hosted the Aegean Airlines Pro-Am.

The standard of service at Crete Golf Club is exemplary and adds a great deal to what is already a special experience. The climate in the area is very mild all year round: The altitude ensures a light, cool breeze in high summer, making the game very pleasant, while in winter there is very little rainfall and the average temperature is between 15 – 20°C that rarely goes below 10°C on the coldest day.

Just a few minutes from Navarino Dunes, at the Navarino Bay development, the Bay Course offers an alternative set of challenges and choices in a quite different setting. Designed by leading American architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., it plays a little shorter than the Dunes Course at 5,760metres from the back tees. The par 71 course places a slightly greater emphasis on strategic play and positional golf.

The Seaside, Canyon, and Grove holes provide striking contrasts that create a dramatic and memorable golf round. The course plays to a par of 71 from a variety of lengths designed to test the golfing skills of amateurs and pros alike. The imaginative layout offers panoramic seaside and mountain views, including several holes that play directly along the sea and two directly overlooking the historic bay of Navarino.

The Dunes Course, designed by former US Masters Champion and Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer is set in a diverse landscape with amazing sea and river views.

Greece’s first signature golf course, an 18-hole, par 72 course measuring almost 6.200 meters from the back tees features a full-size driving range and a short-game practice area.