Such was the situation at Hankley Common when the Italian Region of Veneto came to bring the Fine Wine & Cuisine Golf Tour to the club in June last year. On a fine sunny day, visitors were treated to a reception with fine Italian food and wine from the Veneto region of Italy, then eighteen holes on the superb golf course followed by dinner al fresco Italian style. The combination, which was greater than it's constituent parts made for a day to remember.

The region to the north east of the country boasts several world renowned cities, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Padua and last but certainly not least the fabulous city of Venice. The region has forty one golf clubs in eight golf districts, and has the beauty of the Dolomites to set the standard. Home of the teenage golfer Matteo Manasero, it also has a wonderful outdoor opera in Verona and was the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Add to that wonderful wines (Valpoliccella, Prosecco, Soave Lugag and Breganze to name a few) and speciality foods, risotto, polenta and many local fish dishes. A fantastic attraction with golf as the catalyst for a visit.

The purpose of the Tour (and future tours) is to bring awareness about the region as a golf destination to the golfing public at large, and as a result to date there have been over one hundred tournaments organised in seventeen countries throughout Europe. A strategy that cannot fail to bring new visitors to the region, which stretches from Lake Garda to the sea.

The event was hosted by Hankley Common Golf Club, a club which has played host to many Amateur and Professional Competitions. The Regional Qualifier for the Open Championship has been held at the club for many years. In a recent survey, the club was voted the 28th best course in the United Kingdom.

The club was opened as a nine hole course in 1897. In 1922 James Braid was commissioned to design the addition of a further nine holes, and then the whole course was re-modelled by the doyen of golf course architects, Harry Shapland Colt.

The course reflects many of the design concepts that Colt held so essential for good design, quality par threes, elevated greens, echelon bunkering and a challenge for every standard of golfer. The whole area of 856 acres owned by the club is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and is home to may indigenous trees and rare birds and animals such as the Dartford Warbler, the Nightjar and the Sand Lizard. So much so that the club has a continuous policy of heathland conservation.

The clubhouse was originally built in 1982, but was extensively refurbished and extended in 1999, and now has superb facilities which include a large restaurant offering fine cuisine, and luxurious longs and changing facilities.

The real joy is the golf course, the designers made full use of the natural contours of the land, which is carefully nurtured to keep the indigenous flora and fauna in prime condition. One of the famous early members of the club was Hungarian artist Philip Alexious de Laszlo, who in 1900 married Lucy Guiness, a member of the Irish banking family and settle in England. He painted portraits of Pope Leo X111, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, King Edward V11, President Roosevelt and was commissioned by Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra to paint Princess Victoria. In the clubhouse there is a fine pencil drawing by him of Charles Edmond Clare, the professional from 1904 to 1916.

The club has a fine reputation, which is fully justified and which is growing all the time as more golfers experience the delights of playing this great golf course.

For details on the Veneto Tour - come back next week