Ottavio Coppola took up the role of golf club manager at Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort on the Monte Argentario promontory in Maremma, south west Tuscany, back in 2011. Since then, it has been awarded PGA National Italy status, joined Marriott International to become the Argentario Golf & Wellness Resort, Autograph Collection and last September it hosted the Italian Challenge Open. In 2025 the Italian Open on the DP World Tour will be staged at the resort. We spoke to him about the venue.
How much of an honour was it for Argentario Golf Club to become the first and so far only PGA National Italy venue by The PGA in 2019?
Becoming the PGA National® Italy was a huge privilege and the club is extremely proud of this award. It’s an acknowledgment and endorsement of all the work we have carried out and a big commitment for the future of the golf club: our main goal is not just to maintain but to improve the quality and standard of both our golf course and our guests’ welcome and experience at Argentario.
Being part of an elite group that includes great golfing destinations like Gleneagles and The Belfry is a huge compliment for us and means that we must constantly work to ensure the expectations of our visiting golfers are met.
The golf course at Argentario is managed on a totally organic basis. Which techniques do you use to combat some of the issues this method of maintenance inevitably raises?
This is a choice we made on purpose as we are set within an area of great natural beauty and Mediterranean flora that we want to look after and maintain. We do not use any kind of chemical products or pesticides; thanks to this decision, we have obtained the BioAgricert® Certification, which reflects our commitment to organic practices.
We’re aware that our course is ‘naturally imperfect’ but it’s enough for us to explain our philosophy to golfers who come to play our course and nobody complains about any tiny imperfections.
They understand that this is part of being an eco-friendly, organic course.
At the same time, we are very aware of the origin and provenance of the vast majority of the products served in our on-site eateries: the clubhouse restaurant and the Dama Dama Restaurant in the hotel. The over 4,000 olive trees on the course allow us to produce our very own organic olive oil. We also have our own bees, so the honey used in our restaurants is internally produced and for the most part, the vegetables and fruit used in our kitchens come from our organic botanical garden on the property.
One fun fact that is part of our story is that instead of using harsh chemicals, we spread chillies on the greens to ward off birds pecking at the greens!
In addition to its championship layout, what does Argentario have to offer golfers?
There are no doubts about the charm of the Maremma region, set in south west Tuscany, where we are located. It gives guests the opportunity to experience an immersive and 360° holiday which to us is priceless. At the resort we have plenty of space in which to rest and relax, including a massive 2,700 square metre spa and gym offering water therapy pools, saunas, steam rooms, massages and treatments. There are also two swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor) as well as tennis and padel courts, a mini football pitch, outdoor gym station and jogging paths in and out of the golf course.
Around the resort there is a plethora of tiny medieval hilltop towns are nearby to discover, pretty fishing villages are in close proximity (Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano), charming wineries (such Antinori and Ferragamo) are a short drive away, famous art and cultural towns like Siena, Florence and Rome can be easily reached in up to two hours in a car; last but not least the seaside: both the Silver Coast and Giglio Island (easily accessible via one hour by ferry boat from Porto Santo Stefano) offer stunning landscapes, sandy beaches and a sapphire-blue sea.
You can be as active or restful as you wish!
Why was the decision made to join the Marriott International Autograph Collection?
Tuscany has always been one of the most well-known destinations in Italy, mainly for its history and art cities but also for its food and wine. We’re confident that joining the Marriott will give us an additional major channel to promote our marvelous region as a top golf destination, especially amongst the international clientele.
Last year Italy hosted the Ryder Cup just down the road from you at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome. How has this impacted the state of the Italian golf industry a year on?
The staging of the Ryder Cup in Italy was a wonderful showcase for our country and has been a tremendous boost for us personally. At last, Italy has been acknowledged as a proper golf destination with an awful lot to offer in addition to golf. The interest of foreign tour operators has been boosted, the number of golfers from abroad has increased as well as giving us a great upturn in green fee turnover. A big thank is due to the Italian Golf Federation, and mainly to the late president, Franco Chimenti, who led this initiative with exceptional skill and dedication until his recent passing.
Argentario was chosen as the venue for the recent Italian Challenge Open. How did you and your team get ready to stage such a big professional tournament?
We lived and breathed the experience for many months in the build up to the event, both on the course and off the course. In addition to ensuring that we had the golf course in the best possible condition, we undertook some specific minor works as requested by the officials at the DP World Tour such as adapting the bunkers to their event specifications. We also had to make sure that we were ready for over a 100 professional golfers in order to cater for the needs, enquiries, practice and so on.
And next year you’ll be hosting many top professionals in the Italian Open on the DP World Tour?
Hosting the Italian Challenge Open this year was a great rehearsal for the 2025 Italian Open next June and gave us some valuable experience in hosting a top professional tournament. We are incredibly excited and very curious at the same time: watching real champions taking on the challenge of our course will be a unique experience for all of us, and hopefully, a good way to learn some good tips to improve our amateur-level game!
In the past, we’ve also hosted the Ladies Italian Open and the Senior Italian Open on the Legends Tour, so hosting the Italian Open next year is very much the squaring of the circle for us. We are extremely proud of this achievement: it’s not that common for a golf club to have hosted all the main professional tournaments on the DP World Tour.
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