Jump to content
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast! ×
Check out the Spin Axis Podcast!
IGNORED

The Italian Job & Hidden Golf Course Le Fronde - Turin

Nave

By Nave
in Destinations and Travel

 Share
Note: This thread is 2521 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Recommended Posts

Nave Great Member

Nave

Posted
Posted

A brief story about my golf adventure during a business trip to visit an Italian carmaker in Turin.
Even though it is unlikely that you plan a golf trip to this course I wanted to share and keep a record of my story and a few photos.

----
It has been about 40 minutes and the second taxi driver was about to give up on my plan and wanted to drop me off at the hotel again.
“I don’t know no course here mister” he said. My phone’s battery died and one minute later we saw a narrow path leading up to a gate.
“Could you try that route please? Our last try, ok?” I said - it was 11:00 am sharp and we read Le Fronde Golf Club on it.

1.thumb.jpg.b63fd0fb8a849b2146525e37e4b82fba.jpg

We had an extra day at the end of our business trip and the other colleagues traveling with me chose to visit Milan.
I had found a golf course on the map near Turin but no staff on the phone at the club spoke English – I tried my luck without booking.
For work I travel internationally over 60% of the year and I usually bring my golf shoes, gloves and golf clothes to most business trips where I rent the clubs.

The grandmother at the reception immediately greeted me with a big warm smile and spoke to the taxi driver who was super relieved.
She served him a homemade lemonade and they agreed that he will pick me up by 3pm.
I had arrived at what appears to be a local golf course in a village where tourists usually don’t frequent.
It was surrounded by beautiful mountains, hills and similarly looking family houses and a few Etruscan landmarks.

It was September, 95°F and near 12:00 noon when I hit my first tee shot and first orange golf ball ever.
2.thumb.jpg.cfb205360a5d6d2d361f458c9b825a7d.jpg

I believe that I was the only player and at past noon the temperatures felt like over 100°F, but I was happy and relaxed.
The TaylorMade set they gave me was very nice and the grips seem to have been recently replaced.

3.thumb.jpg.181b130055d052bd65a35f4aa77d90a5.jpg

Here are a few more pictures of the course.
I’m not a selfie, Instagram or food picture guy so I only took a few pictures when I was resting or enjoying the view.

4.thumb.jpg.26afb4ef76b93041625e9e56e414dfcf.jpg

5.thumb.jpg.1e06e739da10e74c50aa396fb1e3c7d5.jpg

This at the driving range where a family had just arrived after lunch:
6.thumb.jpg.82d3d17d9d65918ff928ab53d9a6f19c.jpg

The hospitality:
After I showered and went to the clubhouse the grandmother had prepared a warm sandwich made with Italian ciabatta.
She also gave me a fresh lemonade drink and fruits.

I realized that the clubhouse has a swimming pool and I was desperate to swim in it, but I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.
Perhaps I would have interrupted the peace of the local members who were reading books by the pool side.

As I paid about $50 for 18 holes, par 5, she said that the meal and the club rental were on the house.
To return the friendly offer I bought a golf shirt and gloves from her shop.
Even then the shop employee, who appeared to be her family member, gave me a pack of Le Fonte branded golf balls as a free gift.
We only communicated in gestures and with smiles, and this was one of my best golf experiences even though I played alone.

7.thumb.jpg.de79b10f8fe8902d89022f53085d006b.jpg

The same taxi driver was already there and he picked me up before 3pm.

My score was 94.

This is their website. It is only in Italian.

logo1.png Home

Campo da golf, Golf club, associazione sportiva dilettantistica

- End - 



 

 

 

 

  • Like 2
  • Thumbs Up 1

Nave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1

iSank Dedicated Member

iSank

Posted
Posted

Very cool, glad you got a round in. I always cringe the moment the taxi driver responds in confusion and has no idea there’s even a golf course nearby. 

Happy Travels!

  • Like 1

Hi, I live on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1

  • 2 months later...
Nave Great Member

Nave

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 5/9/2019 at 9:57 PM, Alberto Fossati said:

You are right. This course is not very known around.... I'm Italian, I live there around but never played there.

Hey Alberto - what a coincidence that you live around there. Nice to meet you in this forum and thank you for your comment.

Nave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1

  • 2 weeks later...
FLOG4 Dedicated Member

FLOG4

Posted
Posted

Great story. Sometimes you just bump into good stuff. 


Nave Great Member

Nave

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 5/25/2019 at 4:06 AM, FLOG4 said:

Great story. Sometimes you just bump into good stuff. 

Thank you! 

Nave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1

  • 3 weeks later...
dogburger Established Member

dogburger

Posted
Posted

I played there in 1980 ! 

I was camped up the road with a few lads who as well as keen hackers were football fans and we had driven to Italy to see England in the European Championships . Getting tear gassed by the Italian police at the first game v Belgium  wasn't great and my Father who was also with us decided to ditch the football and  turn it into a golf trip .

As with Naves account my great memory of Le Fronde was the friendliness of the people . We played three rounds there and were even invited to play in a competition at the weekend  for free where we fielded an England team in a texas scramble . 

The memory (It was some years ago) that I have of the course was the dramatic change in elevation on some of the holes . Great fun and fond memories of the people of Le Fronde .

Shame I couldn't say the same about the tear gas happy Italian police. 


Nave Great Member

Nave

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That is an amazing story @dogburger and such a coincidence that you played there, too. From tear gas to three rounds of golf and finally to a weekend competition - happy ending.

Nice to meet you in this forum.

 

  • Like 1

Nave

Awards, Achievements, and Accolades
1

Note: This thread is 2521 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Want to join this community?

    We'd love to have you!

    Sign Up

  • TST Partners

    Carl's Place
    PlayBetter
    Golfer's Journal
    ShotScope
    The Stack System
    FitForGolf
    FlightScope Mevo

    Coupon Codes (save 10-20%): "IACAS" for Mevo/Stack/FitForGolf, "IACASPLUS" for Mevo+/Pro Package, and "THESANDTRAP" for ShotScope. 15% off TourStriker (no code).

  • Posts

    • saevel25
      LIFT Your Freakin' Arms

      By saevel25 · Posted

      Probably since the golfer has to swing the club back and up. The hands have to move back and up. You can feel them go back and up just by turning the shoulders and bending the right arm, because it brings your hands towards your right shoulder.  The difference is if you maintain width or not. Less width means a shorter feeling swing path so the more you need to lift the arms. Being as someone who gets the right arm bend at 110+ degrees, it's 100% a timing issue. I am use to like a 1.5+ second backswing. It probably should be like 1 second at most. Half a second or more will feel like an eternity. I have had swings where I keep my right arm straighter and I am still trying to time the downswing based on the old tempo.  Ideally, for me, it is probably going to be a much quicker and shorter (in duration) backswing, while keeping the right elbow straighter. Which also means more hinging to get swing length without over swinging. 
    • coachjimsc
      Wordle Daily Puzzle

      By coachjimsc · Posted

      Wordle 1,789 5/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟨🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    • Ty_Webb
      LIFT Your Freakin' Arms

      By Ty_Webb · Posted

      I'm currently recuperating from surgery, so no golf, but have been thinking about this quite a bit. This and the don't overbend the right arm thing. It's hard for me to even pose the position, so I'm not 100% sure, but I feel like it's impossible to have the right humerus along the shirt seam and not overbend your right arm, unless your hands are down near your hips. If the left arm is up at or above the shoulder plane and your right arm is bent less than 90 degrees, then your right humerus has to raise or your hands will get pulled apart. Your left hand can't reach your right hand unless either the right upper arm is up or the right arm is overbent. Is that right? If it is, then focusing on not overbending the right arm would force you to raise the humerus. And actually thinking further on it, if you do overbend your right arm, then you're basically forcing your upper arm down or forcing your left arm to bend. Since (for me at least) bending the left arm too much is not something I think I need to worry about, it means that the bend in the trail arm is really the driving force behind what happens to the right humerus. 
    • Ty_Webb
      2026 TST Birdie Challenge

      By Ty_Webb · Posted

      I managed to knock off a 3, a 13, and a 15 a couple of weeks ago. The 3 was a 185 yard par 3 with a 6 iron to 12 feet. 13 was a 350 yard par 4, which was a 2 iron and a 9 iron to about a foot. 15 was a 560 yard par 5 with a driver in a bunker, 4 iron into the semi, gap wedge to 8 feet and a putt.
    • WillieT
      Wordle Daily Puzzle

      By WillieT · Posted

      Wordle 1,789 4/6* ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to TST! Signing up is free, and you'll see fewer ads and can talk with fellow golf enthusiasts! By using TST, you agree to our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and our Guidelines.

  I accept