By Greg Wise
golfheader travel
3 Generation Challenge
The stage was set with a trip across the pond in early April. Destination Italy… Sicily to be exact. We were no more off the plane and our 10-year-old grandson started in… “When are we going to play golf, Grandpa?” “Where are we going to play?” That was like music to my ears. Our son, Travis Wise, daughter-in-law Charlotte and our 10-year-old Grandson Chase live near Catania, just below Mt. Etna on the coast of Sicily. There are very few active Volcanos in the world… and one of them happened to be Mt. Etna. I knew we had to have a day to experience Mt. Etna. Granted one of those questions that Chase has stated… was going to wait for a little bit, until we had a chance to rest after the long flight. Where to play… was up to Travis as he knew the island and the distance that it would take to make it there and back on a day trip. The choice was made… Siracusa Golf Monesteri, just outside the town of Siracusa. This track was set in the foothills regions, Southeast of our base location. Taking the first tee with your son and grandson is quiet an awesome experience. But playing a strong round of golf
Greg Wise, Chase Wise and Travis Wise… all sharing the Turf Life with borrowed clubs and in your tennis shoes, even made it better. I am so lucky that my Golf Pad application was picking up the golf course and was giving actual yardage, as opposed to meter measurement. That was somewhat of a surprise to me, that I was going to have to figure out how many meters that a shot was. The app really came through to save the day. Siracusa Golf Monesteri was a beautiful setting. As we approached the course it was surprising that we drove around the course to finally get to the entrance road. With a natural volcanic rock wall surrounding the golf course and mature trees, this was set to be a great day of golf. Playing this track for the first time Chase teeing off on the first hole
was like any other location. Not knowing exactly what was best for placement was a challenge at best, but playing the smart side of placement golf… my brain was saying… don’t hit it anywhere you couldn’t see it land. Well, that theory played out to be some good advice. Although, not being a long course to play, the challenge was to play around the natural rock formations that may end up in or very close to the edges of the fairway. Siracusa Golf Monesteri is actually a destination resort in the region. The rooms and facilities were quite pleasing to the eye and a very comfortable warm reception from the staff made us truly feel welcome to the area. Would I play it again? Absolutely. Although, there are many golf facilities and resorts in Sicily, I would return for another round of golf at Siracusa Golf Monesteri. Travis… I think I found your golf ball on the cactus line 7th fairway
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Golf Central • Volume 19, Issue 2