How Greece (yes, Greece!) is becoming a golf paradise

The saddest part of any great golf trip is the final day — time to go home — which is how I found myself at the counter in Athens International airport checking my golf bag. Or trying to. The woman behind the counter was apprehensive and borderline suspicious of the large, oddly shaped luggage, and inquired, “Is that sporting equipment?” Before I could answer, her neighbor on the other side of the scale interjected proudly, “Golf clubs!”

The learning curve is understandable, because until recently, pretty much no one in their right mind went to Greece to play golf. Pinehurst Resort has more holes than the entire country, with only seven places where you can play — and only one of these has more than a single course on property. But that one, Costa Navarino, is a doozy.

In recent years Greece has been one of the hottest tourism destinations for Americans. It is rich in history, has gorgeous islands and beaches, stunning architecture and amazing food that is the archetype of the fabled Mediterranean diet. It’s also one of the most affordable Eurozone countries; 2023 was an all-time record year for tourism, and through the first quarter of 2024, that number is up another 25 percent.

Greece is a country of temples, and the highlight of the nation’s most visited attraction, the Parthenon in Athens, is the Temple of Athena. Outside the capital, popular tourist sites are the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, and the Temples of Zeus and Hera at Olympia. There are temples to the gods, temples to oracles, temples to just about everything, and now, for the first time, Greece has a legitimate temple to golf.  

The very definition of a “destination resort,” huge Costa Navarino has singlehandedly put Greece on the golf travel map. It’s reminiscent of big Hawaiian recreational communities like Kapalua, Wailea and Kaanapali, with courses and extensive facilities shared by multiple hotels. But unlike most developments, Costa Navarino has a single owner who designed the four hotels (and everything else), so despite different brands and management, there is a harmonious continuity of design that feels more like being in a town or region than a resort.

The community spans about 2,500 acres on the Peloponnese Peninsula, Greece’s “mainland,” two and a half hours from Athens. It also has a small nearby international airport, Kalamata, with connections from several European cities. Not continuous, the property is “interrupted” by a couple of lovely Greek coastal towns full of charming tavernas and shops, offering more dining options (you can walk to one village) and dividing it into three sections.

Between these are four very good 18-hole courses, four luxury hotels, more than 40 bars and restaurants (with plenty of Greek seafood, lamb and mezes), multiple pool complexes, beaches, gyms and spas, plus a huge array of world-class sports — including a state-of-the-art golf academy.

Navarino Dunes is home to the Westin and Romanos (Marriot’s high-end Luxury Collection) hotels, which sit next to Dunes golf club, the oldest. Designed by Bernhard Langer and European Golf Design, it’s hilly and just inland from the sea, with constant views of the water and dunes, playing through groves of olive trees and citrus fruits as it climbs inland.

The Dunes has long been the favorite of homeowners, though it’s hard to find any two people here who rank the four in the same order. All prominently feature olives, views, major elevation changes and excellent conditioning. All can fairly be described as “challenging resort golf,” with fairly wide landing areas and big greens, but at the Dunes these are heavily bunkered, with many uphill approaches making shots in play long with little room for error.

The two hotels are linked by an agora (a Greek word for marketplace) which has taken on more of a piazza connotation. The agoras are one of the greatest elements of Costa Navarino, creating a village feel, and rather than eat or drink in your hotel you can wander next door to an outdoor café or wine bar amidst fountains and people watching. At night there’s live music and outdoor movies, and with a residential population, family-friendly Costa Navarino has a lot of spirit.

Navarino Bay has the two fancier hotels, the ultra-hip W and the ultra-luxury Mandarin-Oriental, where rates typically start north of $2,000 a night. These are also linked by an agora, but this one wraps around the harbor. Both agoras include casual spots where you can grab souvlaki, ice cream or a cold draft Mythos beer. The W is an adult-only property with a terraced pool complex sprawling down to beach, complete with DJ booth. It’s the place to stay if you want to party, and just next door is the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Bay Course. This was my personal favorite, and hard to beat if you like oceanfront holes and drop-dead scenery.

The opener is short par-4 that plays downhill straight to the ocean. I’d rank it as one of the most beautiful golf holes anywhere in the world. For big hitters, the back tee sits on the roof of the clubhouse, something you do not see every day. The second hole is another stunner, a mid-length par-3 hugging the coast. Then the course turns inland with back-to-back par-5s — complimented by back-to-back par-3s on the back. Besides being tops for eye candy, the Bay is the least penal, with less dramatic ups and downs, and is not as wind-affected as its higher altitude siblings.

Navarino Hills is the newest section and does not yet have a hotel, though one is planned — along with a fifth 18. A shuttle system links the three sections and clubhouses, and none are more than 15 minutes apart. Navarino Hills has two new eighteens (2022) by Jose Maria Olazabal, both with significant elevation changes, playing on the highest points of land and very exposed to wind. Both offer stupendous 360-degree views, but the Hills course is more consistent and probably the best of the four from a shot-making perspective. Climbing to its high point by the fourth hole, it quickly delivers a top-of-the-world feel, and again, is more challenging than usual resort golf with a good amount of room off the tee but some tight spots, uphill approaches and lots of bunkers. Towards the finish, there’s a handful of shorter downhill holes negotiating hazards and offering fun strategic and risk/reward decisions. Oddly, all four courses have par-5s as both the number one and two handicap holes, but at the Hills the third most difficult is also a par-5, thanks in large part to elevation gain.

The International Olympic Academy Golf Course is an unwieldy name and the most difficult of the four, similar to the Hills but without the shorter non-driver hole options. Off the tips at 6,945 yards, the par-72 rates 73.7 and was designed to host tournaments with a par-71 setup. It adds huge, heavily undulating greens which make three and four-putts a very real possibility. It has the slowest start with a visually mundane front but explodes out of the gate on the back with crazy panoramic views of the ocean, hotels, and towns below. The back is the most dramatic nine here.

With four different and distinct but all high-quality courses, and an array of hospitality and recreational facilities only a handful of places on earth can rival, Costa Navarino would be a serious golf destination anywhere, but the fact that it is in Greece helps seal the deal, offering two vacations in one.

Larry Olmsted is an award-winning travel journalist whose work has appeared in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. He also authored “Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Understanding.”