The long-awaited 44th edition of the biennial Ryder Cup returns to Europe (Sept. 29 to Sunday, Oct. 1) at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy.
Founded in 1927 as a match-play tournament between the US and Great Britain, the competition pits the best golfers from the United States against their European counterparts in a pressure-cooker format. It’s a master class in course and team management, strategy, tactics, gamesmanship—and mind games—where fervent fans cheer bad shots and missed putts.
All that makes for one of the world’s most watched sporting events, with an estimated 40,000 spectators expected over three days, a huge media presence, and a TV audience of 6.7 million.
Although the United States leads the series 27-14, the era of American domination is long past. In fact, the US team hasn’t won on European soil in 25 years.
Pressure? Yes, indeed.
That’s the opposite of this matchup of six international homes (three in the United States and three in Europe) that offer world-class golf just steps from the fairways—with all the creature comforts of home.
1. Villa at Pevero Golf in Cala Di Volpe, Sardinia, Italy
This luxury villa on Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda overlooks the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean and the emerald fairways of Pevero Golf Club, one of Europe’s most beautiful courses.
The main residence has a multi-level floor plan with four en suite bedrooms. The double living room is one of several rooms opening to a wide wraparound veranda overlooking the pool.
The kitchen (with adjoining laundry room) leads to a formal dining space and out to a patio with a view of the fairways.
All bedrooms have a private patio to ensure maximum privacy, including the two suites in the guest residence, a self-contained dwelling with a living room and kitchen.
The gardens are organized on different sides of the villas to ensure guests’ complete privacy. Residents can lounge by the resort-style swimming pool or on one of several outdoor living spaces overlooking the golf course, verdant hillsides, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Porto Cervo’s famous Hotel Cala di Volpe is just a short walk away.
2. Moorlands in Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Greystones Golf Club, founded in 1895, is one of Ireland’s most prestigious members-only clubs. The scenic parkland course, set against the backdrop of Dublin Bay and the Wicklow Mountains, was a favorite of Irish novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett.
Built circa 1903 and listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Moorlands is an elegant, six-bedroom Edwardian family home adjacent to Greystones Golf Club.
Moorlands commands sea views from its gentle elevation and its subtropical gardens offer rambling perimeter paths, and specimen plants and flowering shrubs for year-round color.
The home’s Art Nouveau influences include decorative fireplaces, lighting, leaded windows and door furniture, and a cozy inglenook fireplace in the dining room. Its 21st-century enhancements include modern bathrooms and a skylit contemporary kitchen serving the glass-walled conservatory and TV snug room, which open to a south-facing veranda.
The rear hallway provides a second stairway, a home-office, guest cloakroom and partial bath with original fittings, a utility room, and a wine cellar downstairs.
The upstairs quarters include an en suite principal bedroom, a second bedroom/guest room with an en suite wet room, and a third bedroom. The main family bathroom serves the fourth and fifth bedrooms.
The rear stairs rise to the top floor’s sixth bedroom, a studio, photographer’s darkroom, and a games room which can double as a home cinema and media room.
3. Andalusian Mansion in La Zagaleta, Marbella, Spain
La Zagaleta Golf and Country Club on Spain’s Costa del Sol is the setting for this lavish Andalusian-style mansion.
The stately residence is set within landscaped gardens overlooking the forested fairways of La Zagaleta’s Old Course, with the Alborán Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Moroccan coastline as the backdrop.
The 18,525-square-foot interior offers seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, lavish reception areas, and a vast kitchen.
The landscaped interior courtyard, with reflecting pool and shaded seating areas, invites alfresco quiet contemplation.
At the rear is a swimming pool. Further resort-grade amenities include a gym, spa, and wine cellar.
In addition to world-class golf, residents enjoy access to La Zagaleta’s riding club, tennis center, and an array of four-season activities.
4. Custom-Built Estate Home in Bonita Springs, Florida, United States
Luxurious finishes, fixtures, and details are the hallmarks of this spacious, custom-built home in Naples’ Bonita Bay Club—just a chip-shot away from the Creekside Course.
The double-height portico entrance hints at the grand, light-filled spaces within, 5,755 square feet executed in a cool paint scheme of palest gray.
The residence has a spacious open plan design, with five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and two partial baths.
The big family room is served by a vast, island kitchen, with room for enough cooks to spoil the broth. No worries: a separate summer kitchen outside serves the pool deck’s alfresco dining space. The screened-in, lagoon-style pool has a southerly aspect facing the course.
The huge owner’s suite has his-and-her bathrooms and ample storage. Upstairs, an office with a balcony has a view of the golf course and lake in the distance. There are three guest bedrooms and two more bathrooms. The fifth bedroom (complete with a private balcony) can double as a sitting room.
5. Mountain Retreat in Snowmass Village, Colorado, United States
One of the luxury residences at Colorado’s Snowmass Club, this four-season retreat just outside Aspen will appeal to golfers and skiers alike.
The Residences at Snowmass Club in Aspen, Colorado, combine the amenities of a private club with five-star hotel services in a breathtaking mountain setting overlooking Snowmass Golf Course.
The 2,472-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home has an open-plan layout: a large living room and dining space with a fireplace and double-height beamed ceiling, served by a contemporary kitchen and breakfast nook.
The second-level primary suite has a large walk-in closet and private balcony for contemplating the mountains. Below, the main room opens to a deck for 19th-hole or après-ski refreshments. All told, that’s 2,472 feet of living space—including an oversized two-car garage.
The residence is in the Aspen School District, downtown is minutes away, and the shuttle for skiing and access to the Snowmass trail systems are steps from the front door.
6. Crooked Creek Estate in Milton, Georgia, United States
This grand, gated estate home sits amid the shady pines of Georgia’s Iron Horse Club at Crooked Creek, a private resort community in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta.
The six-bedroom, five-bathroom home is styled for entertaining with an interconnected gourmet kitchen, dining room, and great room, which open to a resort-worthy pool terrace.
A full floor is dedicated to leisure with a bar, game room, hearth-warmed media lounge, fully equipped gym, and a walkout terrace.
The Crooked Creek community provides an array of exceptional amenities for its residents to enjoy. The clubhouse has a playroom, playground, basketball court, tennis pavilion and 11 regulation hardcourts, a seven-lane lap pool, and a children’s leisure pool.
