La Bagnaia - Tuscan Golf With Space and Elegance
- Gunnar Kobin
- Dec 12, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 7
La Bagnaia: Tuscan Golf That Doesn't Need to Shout
La Bagnaia Golf Club lies just outside Siena, surrounded by vineyards, olive groves, and open farmland stretching toward the horizon.
From the moment you arrive, the course feels deeply connected to its surroundings. Warm colors dominate the scenery, rolling hills create a gentle rhythm defining the entire round.
When I played La Bagnaia it was autumn, and the course was calm, cool, beautifully understated. But locals kept telling me—and standing there, it was easy to imagine—that the very best time to play here is summer. That's when the surrounding hay fields turn long and golden, the light becomes richer, and the Tuscan countryside looks like something lifted straight from a Renaissance painting.
I'll have to come back to see that. Mental note made.
Walking Through the Tuscan Landscape
Walking the course enhances this feeling. Fairways flow naturally through the land, distances between holes are comfortable, giving you time to breathe, talk, enjoy the views without ever feeling rushed.
I spent half the round just... looking around. Which probably explains my score, but whatever.
The pace here is different. Nobody's stacked up behind you. Nobody's checking their watch. It's golf the way it should feel when you're in Tuscany—unhurried, almost meditative.
RTJ Jr.'s First Tuscan Design
La Bagnaia is the work of Robert Trent Jones Jr., one of the most respected modern golf architects in the world, and it represents his first design in Tuscany.
True to his philosophy, the course blends championship challenge with strategic elegance. It's a modern layout, but one that never fights the land. Instead, it uses natural contours, gentle slopes, and open countryside to shape decision-making rather than impose difficulty through forced hazards.
From the tee, the course is generally generous. There's room to swing freely, but the design quietly rewards thoughtful positioning. The correct angle into the green is often far more important than how far you hit the ball.
I learned this the hard way on several holes. Hit it far but wrong? You're still scrambling.
Approach shots reveal the real character of the course. Many greens sit slightly elevated and are sculpted with subtle movement, demanding precise distance control and disciplined targeting.
Water hazards are introduced sparingly and with intent. They never dominate the view, but they're always placed where indecision can be costly.
Think Your Way Around
La Bagnaia isn't about overpowering the layout. It rewards players who enjoy thinking their way around the course.
Club selection matters here. The design constantly asks whether you're choosing the correct shot rather than the boldest one.
It's a course that favors restraint, planning, confidence in your own strategy. Which isn't always my strong suit, but I appreciated being asked the questions.
No Pressure, Just Golf
Perhaps the greatest strength of La Bagnaia is its atmosphere.
The round unfolds naturally. No sense of being rushed, no feeling of constant survival. Instead, the experience is fluid and calm, allowing you to enjoy both the challenge and the landscape.
Even poor shots feel easier to accept when played against such a serene Tuscan backdrop. I three-putted the 14th and honestly didn't even care that much. The view was too good.
Why It Works
La Bagnaia may not rely on extreme hazards or dramatic terrain, but it offers something far more enduring—balance.
It blends Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s modern design philosophy with the timeless beauty of the Tuscan countryside to create a round that feels complete and deeply satisfying.
For golfers visiting Tuscany, La Bagnaia is a reminder that great golf doesn't need to shout. Sometimes it simply needs the right land, the right light—and the right season—to speak for itself.
I played it in autumn and loved it. But I'm already planning to come back in summer when those hay fields turn golden and the light does that thing everyone talks about. Some courses you play once and move on. La Bagnaia is one you play and immediately start thinking about when you can return.
Preferably with better putting.
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