In the late 1960s, the Aga Khan identified the peninsula between the bays of Cala di Volpe and Pevero, on Sardinia’s northeast coast, as the ideal setting for the island’s first golf course — one piece of a wider vision that would become the Costa Smeralda, one of the most exclusive stretches of coastline in the Mediterranean. He hired Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Ron Kirby, and the terrain fought back: rugged, hilly, and obdurate enough that Jones was forced to abandon his usual design conventions and follow the natural rise and fall of the rock rather than impose a routing onto it.
Robert Trent Jones built over 500 courses in his career. He himself pointed to Pevero as one of his most daring — carved into rock the land almost refused to give up.
The course: what you are actually playing
Opened in 1972, a strategic 6,717-yard (roughly 6,142m) par-72 layout set directly on the jagged coastline, with views across turquoise water to distant Corsica on a clear day. Golf Magazine ranked it among the 50 Top Golf Courses in the World. The course hosted the 1978 Italian Open, won by South African Dale Hayes with a score five over par — a result that speaks directly to how the northwest wind, a near-daily presence, can turn Pevero from beautiful into genuinely brutal within the same round.
The hole worth knowing
The par-4 13th delivers top-of-the-world views across Cala di Volpe to Sardinia’s rugged interior mountains that, by most accounts, outmatch the hole’s actual golfing challenge — a rare case of a course’s most photographed moment also being one of its fairer holes.
The resort: what families actually need
Pevero has no hotel of its own — it’s owned by Qatar Holding as part of the wider Costa Smeralda portfolio, which includes the legendary Hotel Cala di Volpe two kilometres away. Pevero now partners with Francesco Molinari’s golf academy, the first Italian teaching centre of its kind, open to club members and guests.
Where to stay: no on-site hotel, and that’s fine here
Hotel Cala di Volpe, a Luxury Collection Hotel, is the essential pairing — not a compromise but the actual point. Two kilometres from the course, on the bay the club is named alongside, it is one of the most iconic hotels in the Mediterranean and part of the same Costa Smeralda ownership as Pevero itself, making package logistics genuinely straightforward.
Best time to go
May–June and September, avoiding the intense July–August Costa Smeralda season when both pricing and crowds peak sharply across the entire coast. The near-daily wind is a year-round factor regardless of season.
Getting there: the logistics reality
Olbia Airport (OLB) is roughly 30 kilometres and the clear best choice, with good seasonal European connectivity. Alghero (170km) and Cagliari (300km) are both far less practical.
What to wear: the Inesea style edit
The Costa Smeralda’s own established palette — sun-bleached white, Mediterranean blue, warm gold — plus genuine wind-resistant fabric, since the near-daily wind here is not a minor styling consideration.
Three pieces worth packing
A Galvin Green wind jacket — essential rather than optional, given how consistently the northwest wind affects play.
A MARK & LONA polo in sun-bleached white — the quiet-luxury register that suits Cala di Volpe’s own aesthetic.
G/Fore accessories in Mediterranean blue — pulls directly from the turquoise water visible on nearly every hole.
The honest family verdict
Who should book it
Golfers and design enthusiasts who want to play a genuine Robert Trent Jones masterwork. Anyone building a Costa Smeralda trip who wants golf woven into an already-luxury itinerary.
Who might look elsewhere
Families on a tighter budget, or anyone prioritising value, should look to Is Molas in southern Sardinia instead.
Official site
About the author
Diana Suke
Diana Suke is the founder of Inesea and Europe's leading editorial voice on women's golf fashion and culture. A business transformation director by profession, she coordinates junior golf programmes across Malta and travels the Mediterranean circuit with two competitive junior golfers. She came to golf in her mid-thirties and hasn't looked back.
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