For lovers of golf and ‘The Godfather’, this bucket list island has it all

I didn’t go to Sicily to play golf in September. Nobody does that.

I went to celebrate my wife’s birthday. A big one. That meant eating (miss the arancini!) and romance and shopping and gazing at the beautiful hills and mountains. Sicily is a legacy. No strip malls. Very little fast food. Think The godfather, which was filmed there in 1971 (and which we’ll get to later), and Michael Corleone, who hid on the cobblestone streets with his bodyguards until it was safe for him to return to America.

And yet, despite the island’s abundance of riches, I still found myself unable to completely resist the siren call of one of Sicily’s lesser-known sights: its golf courses.

There are only three regular courses in Sicily, but they are diverse and scenic enough to capture the attention of any golfer. The golf portion of my trip started at the beautiful Verdura Resort, on the south coast, about a three-hour drive from Palermo. The property has two top-tier Kyle Phillips courses: the West and the East, as well as a nine-hole par-3; Phillips is known for his work at Kingsbarns Golf Links in St. Andrews and Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, the site of an annual DP World Tour event.

I started on the West Course and quickly discovered that I hadn’t brought my A game – or even my B or C game. Perhaps I was thinking too much about how terribly my compatriots had performed in the opening matches of the Ryder Cup the day before. I really wanted to show my playing partners, both lovable Italians, what Uncle Sam is capable of. Instead I showed it to them Nothing. Nothing.

I could have easily blamed the circumstances. It appears it hasn’t rained in this part of Sicily since Vito Corleone arrived at Ellis Island, so the fairways were thirsty.

Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the West Course, especially the final three holes along the Mediterranean Sea, where the biggest challenge was concentrating on my game rather than staring out at the sea and the world beyond.

The East Course, which I played the next day, is also a long view. It’s impossible to go wrong. . . no matter how much your game lets you down.

The starter told me I would be blown away by the par-3 13th.

The starter was right.

The hole is short, just over 100 meters (about 109 yards), but every step from tee to green is breathtaking.

With the sea on the left, I immediately thought of the par-3 7th at Pebble Beach, a hole so close to my heart that I’ve considered having my ashes spread there. A great place to rest in peace, don’t you think?

Behind the tee at No. 13 was a rock with a plaque:

This is a magical place. Sit down and look as far away as possible. You will see things in your life and you will be able to understand them.

I didn’t have time to park and think. I had to make a par. (Which – spoiler alert! – I didn’t.)

Two days later I returned to the same spot without my clubs. I sat on a bench next to the rock for half an hour, maybe longer. I was hoping for a deeper understanding of life, its trials and triumphs, and I was quickly struck by how little time any of us ever really have to pause and reflect; the world moves too fast.

The next par to make.

The next project to be completed.

The next photo to post.

From Verdura I took a three-hour trip through the Sicilian countryside to the beautiful Ill Piccolo Etna Golf Resort. Nestled in the hills near Etna – I’d never played near an active volcano (with the exception of a few friends of mine) – the course required extreme accuracy. Not mine strong.

Still, like Verdura, there are several memorable spots that encourage you to pause and take it all in. Like No. 17, a narrow par-4 with Etna in the distance and little room for error. Think Harbor Town without the lighthouse.

Speaking of exacting precision, that sums up the drive I made the next day to the small town of Savoca, site of several Godfather scenes. The road was narrow and windy and had more switchbacks than Lombard Street. The Italian drivers seemed unfazed and zoomed down the hill at a speed of 60 to 80 kilometers per hour.

I panicked and went at half that speed. My wife too… happy birthday, darling!

Once we got to the city, I wondered if this was the concept I was looking for, something to do with the fragility of life and the adventures along the way, good and bad, that you don’t see coming.

My wife sat in Bar Vitelli, the café where Michael Corleone met Apollonia’s proud father, whom he would later marry. There were photos from the movie everywhere. Tourists were therefore well aware of the setting’s place in film history. We walked up the hill to the Church of San Nicolo, where Corleone’s wedding took place. The church felt more like a shrine to the film that put this city on the map.

After a few days on the island we headed to the mainland, to Venice and later Rome for more romance and museums.

At my wife’s insistence, I left my clubs in Sicily (at least figuratively) and had, yes, the cannoli.