Hailed by previous visitors including 2018 European Ryder Cup-winning captain Thomas Bjorn as one of the world’s most beautiful golf settings, Sicily’s Verdura Resort is, quite simply, a golfing paradise.

Home of the European Tour’s Rocco Forte Sicilian Open and set next to the sparkling azure waters of the Mediterranean, the exclusive luxury lifestyle destination has quickly established itself over the last decade as a firm favourite with golfers eager to combine outstanding golf with the finer things in life.

Verdura nestles in 230 hectares of stunning landscape overlooking the Mediterranean with 1.8km of private coastline, and offers golfing guests and families an unparalleled modern five-star experience on the largest island in the Mediterranean.

Players from across the globe have travelled in their thousands to enjoy its facilities since the resort was first unveiled to an expectant world in 2009, and it’s easy to see why.

Located on the southern coast of Sicily between Agrigento and the fishing city of Sciacca, and an 80-minute drive from Trapani and Palermo airports, the resort – part of Rocco Forte hotels – features 203 rooms and suites, all with a sea view, including six villas, each with its own private swimming pool.

At the heart of the resort are its outstanding golf courses – an 18-hole links-style championship layout and a nine-hole par-three executive course – which were both created by world-acclaimed designer Kyle Phillips.

Providing challenges and an incredible backdrop, with the Mediterranean visible from almost every hole, the layouts are built to the highest specifications and offer something for every golfer, whatever your age or ability.

Take my word for it, there are few places more spectacular in the world to spend an afternoon on the fairways honing your swing, and the exciting news is that Verdura is set to get even better next year with the eagerly-anticipated reopening of its second 18-hole championship course.

When a freak flood caused damage to a number of holes along the coastline and close to a river levee in the winter of 2018, Phillips – famed for layouts such as Kingsbarns Golf Links in Scotland – took the opportunity to return to Sicily and use his much-renowned design skills to craft a new, improved layout.

With all the major earth removal and construction work having been completed over the autumn and winter, reseeding of the fairways, greens, tees and rough began this spring. Verdura will allow the course plenty of time to grow in over the coming months but, if everything goes according to plan, the aim is to reopen the new-look layout in 2021.

“It was hard to believe to the extent that which the course was damaged, particularly the 14 holes nearest the River Levee,” Phillips explained: “The coastline was dramatically changed, with long veins of land pushed out and lost to sea.

“In early 2019, plans were assembled to conform the new landscape and shoreline configuration. Once the contractor was selected, reconstruction began last fall with a large-scale clean-up of the site. Then the focus turned to earthworks and restoration work, and then to reseeding the first areas in the spring.

“The intertwined nature of the layout of the 36 holes required that the layout of the course remained intact, but there were significant adjustments the specific design of each hole. The most pronounced areas being the adjustments made along the sea. These were made to utilise and blend sympathetically to the new landforms along the coastline.

“Players returning to Verdura will be most likely to notice the changes that have occurred along the coastline and how we have incorporated the new coastline. All of which will add to the drama, and pleasure, of the course.

“They will also appreciate playing what is, effectively, a new course, with new surfaces on the greens, freshened bunkers and new turfgrass in the fairways and roughs.”

Exciting stuff, and a fitting upgrade for a resort that has been named as a recipient of one of Golf Digest magazine’s coveted ‘Editors’ Choice Awards for the Best Resorts in Continental Europe’ for the last five years in a row.

As you would expect from a venue of such high standing, the quality of Verdura’s golf courses is matched by its excellent practice facilities including a double-ended driving range and a first-class academy ideal for pro-led tuition groups – and Italy’s only European Tour-approved Performance Institute.

Only the third venue in the world to open such a facility, players of all abilities have the unique opportunity to practice, learn and improve under Sicilian skies using tools and techniques developed by the European Tour’s medical and performance specialists.

Whether as an aspiring amateur or seasoned professional organising a clinic, guests and members can take advantage of cutting-edge technology at the resort usually only on offer to Tour players, with Trackman, 4D Motion and SAM PuttLab all available.

Verdura’s team of professional coaches are all expertly trained to use this technology and will guide each individual through a series of detailed screenings and analyses to precisely pinpoint areas that require improvement.

Together with players, they will then craft bespoke solutions ranging from shoe-fitting advice to fitness and physiotherapy sessions and technique adjustment to ensure short and long-term improvement.

Sometimes, though, it’s good to take a break from the fairways, to put the clubs to one side and experience some of the other pleasures that life has to offer, and Verdura has an abundance of activities suited to doing just that if you’re looking for a place to relax in five-star comfort later this year.

Other sports facilities available include six tennis courts; a 60m two-tiered infinity pool; numerous watersports, one football pitch; a 170m² fully-equipped gym and a collection of running trails through olive and lemon groves.

The resort’s award-winning 4,000m² spa complex includes 11 treatment rooms, gym, yoga studio, a 25-metre indoor lap pool, four outdoor Thalassotherapy pools, a double-height steam room, male and female saunas and a spa bar for healthy alternatives.

Guests can sample an authentic taste of traditional Sicily with an array of dishes at one of the resort’s four restaurants and five bars – with fresh, organic produce sourced straight from Verdura’s own garden. In addition, visitors can enjoy an array of cultural and culinary experiences where they can discover the secrets of Sicilian cooking, with menus inspired by celebrity chef Fulvio Pierangelini, and taste the many famous wines of the region.

With such a vast and varied extent of experiences to enjoy, Verdura’s second decade looks set to be just as successful as its first, and there will be a long line of golfers eager to sample its redesigned course when the new-look layout reopens in 2021.