What’s Special About Ryder Cup’s Venue Marco Simone Golf & Country Club?

Ryder Cup is one of the most revered tournaments in the golf world. The biennial event that came into existence in 1927 is held in one of the most exquisite golf courses across Europe and America. This year, the esteemed event is being played at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club which is also known as Golf Marco Simone.

The course is located in Guidonia, Rome, Italy which is at a distance of 10 miles from Rome’s city center and features two golf courses. One is an 18-hole Championship Course and another is a 9-hole Resort Course. The club was chosen to be the venue for the 2023 Ryder Cup way back in 2015. This week Team US and Team Europe have descended upon the greens of Marco Simone to fight for the ultimate prize. Let’s learn about the history of this year’s cup venue.

The course provides stunning views of the historic monuments of Rome

The layout of the course is rerouted to provide numerous rewarding opportunities for the players. Its structure also maximizes the natural rolling countryside terrain. The audience will be provided with the ultimate vantage points on the course. Along with the enthralling match, their seats also offer distant views of the famous Eternal City, accompanied by the stunning views of St Peter’s Basilica and the Castle of Marco Simone. Its club was named after the castle of Marco Simone which was a Roman fortified manor farm. In the 1970s, Laura Biagiotti, who was an Italian high fashion designer, and her husband Gianni Cigna lived in the restored Simone castle.

With famous architects like Jim Fazio and David Mezzacane as its designers, the golf course was finished by 1989. Then in August 2018, the course was commissioned to be redesigned by the European Golf Design in association with Tom Fazio II. The back nine was finished and reopened by October 2020 after which the full 18 holes opened in March the next year. 

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For the 2023 Ryder Cup, Europe only received four bids in 2015 from Rome, Germany, Austria, and Spain, On 14th December 2015, Rome was announced as the Ryder Cup host actually for 2022, and not 2023. But in 2020, the PGA Tour postponed the event by one year due to the pandemic which further pushed the 2022 Ryder Cup to 2023.

Lavinia Biagiotti, who is the President of the course, is very excited to host the event. Speaking about the event, she said: “Hosting the 2023 Ryder Cup for us is not only a dream come true, but the beginning of a new journey. Marco Simone’s motto is ‘Playing the future’ and we are ready to host champions and amateurs from all around the world we believe that the Ryder Cup is important for Marco Simone and Italian golf at a global level.”

Previous events and the academy of Marco Simone course

Before the Ryder Cup, Marco Simone has hosted the Italian Open golf championships three times in 2021, 2022, and most recently in 2023. This year, Adrian Meronk won the prestigious competition with an overall score of 13-under 271. He kept calm during the competition and left behind Romain Langasque and Julien Guerrier and won by one shot. Adrian was hoping to be one of the captain’s picks for this year but instead got skipper Luke Donald’s snub. 

The course has also its own academy and the students who learn there are referred to as the MS Talents team. 38 budding golfers, between the ages 12 and 23, are part of it. Two of their students have made it to national leagues as well. Alessandra Fanali, one of the best players in Italy, is a pro and plays on the Ladies European Tour. Another is Flavio Michetti who was ranked the best Amateur at the DS AUTOMOBILES 79th Italian Open in 2022. The venue seems like a delightful place for the prestigious event.

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