Since 1907 and its creation on the shores of Lake Como, the Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club has evolved and adapted to modern golf despite its short length. The course, revised in 1964, is pleasant and varied, with a view of the lake and the Alpine peaks. The arrival of the MCGC within the Network reinforces the establishment of Golfy around the great Italian lakes.
By Claude Granveaud-Vallat,
At the end of the 19th century, when they were not staying on the Riviera, the British jet set liked to linger around the great Italian lakes. Between the calm waters and the year-round snow-covered peaks, the idyllic setting of the area was not lacking in arguments to seduce crowned heads and captains of industry alike.
In 1907, four gentlemen with a habit on the shores of Lake Como entrusted John Henry Taylor – an English champion who had already won The Open three times – with the task of designing a golf course, initially with 9 holes. The Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club was extended to 18 holes in 1923, as the post-war period and the Roaring Twenties were a time for celebration and carefree fun.
In 1964, after Antonio Roncoroni – heir to a very old family and founder of the Italian PGA – bought the club, he called on the Englishman John Harris – a legend nicknamed the James Bond of golf architecture – to redesign the course, adapting it to modern golf. He created four new holes, bringing the par to 70, while preserving the main asset of this exceptional site, its trees. A real arboretum of the Alps mixing pines, oaks and beeches as close as possible to the fairways. On a hilly, even steep terrain, the game requires a lot of attention and strategy, favouring precision over power.
The undergrowth, the slopes and the bunkers arrive quickly for those who do not master their trajectories and their lengths. And what can be said about the slopes of the green, if they are prepared in summer, three putts are plentiful… Many holes played uphill thwart the prospects, like the 4th, the 9th, the 11th – the signature of the course – or the 14th where you have to take into account the relief to go and find the flag. The pond on 17 is anecdotal, the only piece of water on the course, it only hinders the rolling approaches on a very short par 4. Despite all these little traps, the charm of the game, it is pleasant to look up and enjoy the surrounding peaks, the snowy ridges, the banks of the lake near Menaggio, a charming town with its luxury hotels and its 1900s villas preserved in their period spirit.
Once you’ve putted your last ball in, the museum is waiting for you! Under the panelling of the spacious clubhouse, with its bright dining room, there are hidden treasures in the library. Without doubt the most beautiful collection of old golf books in Italy, more than 1200 books, a donation from a member, Mr. Tait, dating from 1923, which has not aged a bit as it has crossed the 20th century… And what can we say about the showcases filled with trophies, old clubs, souvenirs of the time when hickory – a wood that is both hard and supple at the same time – reigned over the shafts, and paintings from another era. You can’t get enough of it, while waiting to be seduced by the menu of chef Cristina Filangeri. She works with fish from the lake as well as mountain cold meats, beef, lamb, not forgetting pasta and risotto and a few sweets at the end of the meal…
With the arrival of Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club in the Network, Golfy’s presence in Northern Italy has been strengthened in a region where the sweetness of life is well known.
Menaggio & Cadenabbia Golf Club
Via A. Wyatt 54 – 22017 – Menaggio (CO)
Tél. : +39 34 43 21 03.
www.golfclubmenaggio.com
18T : par 70, 5482 m., John Henry Taylor (1907), John Harris (1964).
