Punta Ala Golf Club
Punta Ala is one of the great classics of the Tuscan coast
Punta Ala is one of the great classics of the Tuscan coast, a course that manages to feel sporting, refined and deeply connected to the maritime landscape around it. Between umbrella pines, measured elevation changes and sudden openings toward the Tyrrhenian Sea, it creates the feeling of aristocratic holiday golf in the best sense of the phrase. The game asks for accuracy, trajectory control and attention on the greens in a setting rewarding both for technically minded players and for guests simply seeking a high-level day by the sea. Punta Ala's reputation has been earned over time, and it still preserves a rare atmospheric credibility: it is not merely beautiful, it feels legitimate. Integrated into a Maremma stay or a wider coastal itinerary, it becomes close to essential for anyone drawn to high-ranking Italian golf capable of uniting scenery, sporting substance and an elegance that never needs to prove itself.
Merita un tee time presto o nel tardo pomeriggio: la luce sulla costa cambia completamente il carattere del round e ne amplifica il fascino.
Grande classico costiero con identità forte
Bellissimo equilibrio tra paesaggio e qualità del gioco
In alta stagione il contesto vacanziero può incidere sui ritmi
Non sempre semplice per chi arriva aspettandosi un giro indulgente
Exclusive Experiences
Secrets found in no guidebook, curated by our concierge.
Cala Violina: l'Ultima Spiaggia
Cala Violina is a white quartz beach in the Scarlino Nature Reserve: the quartz produces a violin-like sound when walked upon — hence the name. Access is limited to 500 people per day with mandatory booking. At dawn, before opening, park ranger Fabrizio Rossi accepts private groups of 4 people.
“Fabrizio Rossi arrives at 5:30 AM and leads through the ecological corridor no tourist walks: through the Mediterranean scrub you see wild boar, fallow deer, and Hermann's tortoises nesting on the quartz beach before the bathers.”
Terme di Saturnia: le Cascate all'Alba
The Gorello waterfalls — Saturnia's natural baths — are formed by 37°C sulphurous water cascading over natural tufa pools. At dawn, before 8:00 AM, they are completely empty: the water steams in the raking light, wild boar drink on the banks, and sulphurous mist rises among the Maremma olive trees.
“The pool at the bottom of the route, the deepest one (1.2 m), is not visible from the road: it is reached only by walking barefoot on the tufa rock. It is the hottest and most silent — nobody uses it before 9:00 AM.”
Erik Banti: il Morellino che Dura
Erik Banti was the first producer to take Morellino di Scansano seriously as an ageing wine: his Carato Riserva ages 24 months in barrique and the same in bottle before release. The private vertical from 1990 proves that Maremma Sangiovese can reach 25 years retaining freshness — a revolution for a denomination considered 'beach wine'.
“Erik Banti keeps 12 bottles of the 1987 Carato — the first vintage — held for himself without ever selling. He says they are his 'oenological testament' and opens them one at a time for those who bring something comparable from the Tuscan Maremma.”