If you weren’t looking for it, you might not notice the unobtrusive arched gateway in an old fortress wall at the southern end of the Lido, a long thin island that separates the Venetian lagoon from the open water of the Adriatic. Walk across a rickety wooden bridge, over the moat where local residents garage their outboards, and you enter the enchanted secret garden of one of the most charming and, until recently, most private of Italian golf clubs. It was founded 80 years ago, in Lido’s fashionable heyday as a beach resort, in a seaside setting of rolling dunes. Since then nine holes have been extended to a seamless 18 and the dunes have given way to a mature park that could be miles from the sea. The holes have kept their pleasant undulations and springy turf, and there are all sorts of bumpy complications around the green adding to the fun and challenge. The round starts quietly – no woods required for the first three holes - but soon rolls out a serious challenge. After three big par fives of around 500 metres, you will not walk away unstretched. One of them - the 11th, with water on both sides - comes with a reputation as the best long hole in Italy, but the character holes are those where the ramparts and watercourses of the old Austro-Hungarian fort come in to play, with high tee boxes among the gun emplacements, and one blind green, the club’s signature short 9 th, cradled in the inner courtyard – a splendid centrepiece. An atmosphere of old-fashioned gentility prevails at this elegant old club, but there is nothing stuffy about it. Members and officials extend a helpful welcome, and it would be a pity not to allow time for a leisurely lunch on the terrace. Insider tip: before teeing off at the first, take a moment to study the 9th green as you walk by. The putting surface is 30 metres deep, and the pin position ought to influence your club selection in two hours’ time. 

Alberoni has a few small hotels in walking distance of the golf club, but a better base may be at the northern end of the island, where there are hotels for every budget close to the lively focus of shops, bars, restaurants, water buses to Venice and the airport, and the beach. Buses ply frequently up and down the island’s road, stopping at the golf club on request.

Par 72 6039m, 18 holes
From €55