Rapallo Golf & Tennis Club has been operating since 1929, when the original nine holes were laid out along the Boate river — making it, alongside Sanremo, one of the founding institutions of golf on the Italian Riviera. A challenging extension in 1970, including reclaiming marshy land and diverting the river itself, brought the course to its current 18 holes, and a 1990s renovation by Cabell Robinson, with input from Italian PGA Tour player Costantino Rocca on the 5th and 6th holes, kept the layout current without erasing its history.
Ninety-plus years of history, a clock tower over the green, and Portofino a short drive away. Rapallo is the course locals actually play, not the one built for a resort brochure.
The course: what you are actually playing
A par-70 across 45 hectares, not long by modern standards at roughly 5,266 metres, but genuinely demanding: dogleg-heavy, threaded with mature palms, lindens, eucalyptus, plane trees, cypress, and sequoias that constrict lines throughout. Accuracy over distance is the operating principle here, and reviewers consistently note the course rewards precision over raw power in a way longer, more modern layouts don’t require.
The hole worth knowing
The clubhouse’s old clock tower, visible over the green among centuries-old trees, is as much a symbol of the club as any specific hole — the kind of detail regulars mention when asked what makes them come back.
The village: what families actually need
No on-site hotel — Rapallo is a modern sports complex near the city centre, close to the train station and motorway exit, with a clubhouse restaurant, bar, and six tennis courts alongside the golf. What it offers instead is genuine proximity: Portofino is seven kilometres away along the scenic SP227 coast road, and Santa Margherita Ligure is closer still.
Where to stay: no on-site hotel, and that’s fine here
Excelsior Palace Hotel is the standout pairing — a 5-star property in Rapallo itself with a private beach, indoor pool with heated water and Turkish bath, and direct access to the golf club. The seven-kilometre drive to Portofino along the coast road is genuinely one of the more scenic short transfers in European golf.
Best time to go
April–June and September–October, avoiding the intense Italian Riviera summer crowds that affect Portofino and Santa Margherita in July and August specifically.
Getting there: the logistics reality
Genoa Airport (GOA) is the practical hub, roughly 40 minutes by car via the A12. The club itself sits a few hundred metres from the Rapallo motorway exit and is a five-minute taxi ride from Rapallo’s own train station, useful for anyone routing along the Ligurian coast by rail.
What to wear: the Inesea style edit
Ligurian forest green, warm stone, deep navy — colours that suit both the tree-lined course itself and the short drive into Portofino’s own established maritime palette.
Three pieces worth packing
A Chervo polo in Ligurian forest green — Italian tailoring appropriate for one of the region’s founding clubs.
An Archivio layering piece in warm stone — Korean precision for a course that rewards genuine accuracy.
Lanvin Blanc accessories in deep navy — considered enough for an evening in Portofino without a full change.
The honest family verdict
Who should book it
History-minded golfers who want one of the founding clubs of Italian Riviera golf. Anyone building a Portofino-based trip who wants a genuine round rather than a resort-course afterthought.
Who might look elsewhere
Golfers seeking dramatic coastal or volcanic scenery over historic parkland character should look to Verdura or Picciolo Etna 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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