What Is Francesco Molinari's Home Club?

The Italian began playing in Turin and now calls London his home

What Is Francesco Molinari's Home Club?

Francesco Molinari hails from Turin and it is at Turin Golf Club where he began playing the game.

He and his older brother Edoardo were members of the course that was opened in 1956, after the club was initially founded in 1920 before moving destinations a couple of times.

The club's home is in Parco Regionale la Mandria, the old hunting estate of the former House of Savoy.

It is some 15 miles north of the centre of Turin, with the park lining the River Po.

It has two courses, the Blue and Yellow, with the Blue Course the original, being designed by Englishman John Morrison.

The two courses are tree-lined parkland style as you'd expect from their home in the Mandria park, with views of the Italian Alps.

Both Francesco and Edoardo played there from a young age, at the club known as Circolo Golf Torino - La Mandria, with the brothers' parents members of the club.

The 2014 Italian Open was hosted there, which was won by Henni Otto.

Nowadays, Francesco lives in London and plays his golf in Surrey.

The 2018 Open champion is a member at The Wisley in Ripley, Woking, Surrey.

The club is exclusive and owned by its 700 members, featuring three loops of nine and high quality practice facilities.

Its three nines are called the Church, the Garden and the Mill, with all three combining to make three different 18 holes with pars of 72.

The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr, with the club opening in 1991.

"Yes, we are a select bunch, but you certainly won’t find any elitist customs or stuffiness here," the club's Chief Executive John Glendenning says on the Wisley's website.

Denis Pugh is head pro and Vice President of the club, and it is Pugh who has been Francesco's swing coach for a number of years.

Its Church and Mill loops of 18 ranked 88th in Golf Monthly's 2014 UK and Ireland Top 100, although it has since been taken out of the list for its exclusivity.

Related: 10 most exclusive golf clubs in the UK

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