History

“The sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones Golf” is the phrase that’s attributed to the visionary architect who planned more than 500 golf courses in his career. The Pevero Golf Club is one such example, opened in 1972, and this golf course on the Costa Smeralda, one of the hardest of them all, confirms this expression.

When the Costa Smeralda made the decision to have a golf course, it chose the very best. Robert Trent Jones (1906-2000), English by birth, had lived in the United States since childhood. He started to play golf and at the same time became enthusiastic about designing golf courses. This hobby would eventually become his career to the point that at the height of the development of the Costa Smeralda in the late Sixties, he was asked to design the 60-hectare Pevero golf course.

Everything at Pevero has always been planned down to the last detail. In addition to the six-kilometre course designed by Robert Trent Jones, the entire surroundings were managed. The development plan was trusted to Robert O’Donnell and the clubhouse to Riccardo Bonicatti, also co-architect of the Hotel Cala di Volpe expansion.

Every year, this magical place hosts countless tournaments and fun times for the international clientele of the Costa Smeralda. In its 50-year history, movie stars, musicians, sport celebrities and businesspeople have trodden the grass at Pevero.

The Pevero golf course is a masterpiece. For instance, the prestigious Golf Magazine has listed it as one of the world’s top 50 courses. Golfers love it for the unpredictable influence of the north-westerly wind. The course’s unique features guaranteed that Pevero hosted the Italian Open in 1978, which was won by the South African Dale Hayes against Englishman Tommy Horton, finishing with 293, five over par for the course. To this day, it remains the worst score to win a tournament on the European Pro Tour, which says it all about the difficulty of the course.

The Pevero lies between two coastlines from north to south, from the Gulf of Pevero to the Gulf of Cala di Volpe. Legend has it that those two seas would merge into one on days of heavy rainfall, although there’s no historical information to support the theory. However, the fact that the Pevero is a spectacular golf course is indisputable, surrounded by the greenery of Mediterranean scrub and boasting breathtaking views. Golfers can glimpse Corsica from Hole 4 with its snowy peaks in the distance. Caprera Island, where Garibaldi spent his final years, can also be seen from Hole 4.

Hole 16 has become iconic. It’s dedicated to 007 and celebrates the world’s most famous spy, who made his debut in cinemas in 1962, the same year as the Costa Smeralda opened as a resort. The Spy Who Loved Me was filmed on the Costa Smeralda, at Hotel Cala di Volpe and Hotel Pitrizza, along the panoramic Costa Smeralda road and Capriccioli beach.

A success story that continues with renewed enthusiasm at Pevero fifty years later.