A wonderful trip to Greece
End of August I went to Greece for a photoshoot for ECCO Golf. This was my first time in Greece and people, I fell in love. Greece is amazing. All aspect of the country ( i’ll be more specific later) scenery, food, ocean, history, culture, golf, everything was just a lot better than I could ever imagine.
The plan for the trip was to shoot the whole campaigns the first 2,5 days and then I was staying in Costa Navarino for 1,5 days and then spend one day by myself in Athens before flying back to Sweden.
Costa Navarino
Costa Navarino is a prime destination in Greece, right on the Mediterranean, offering a world-class golf experience on four golf courses. The four 18-hole golf courses are set in idyllic settings next to their luxury resorts, private residences, wellness centers and tennis courts, along with a wide choice of gastronomy venues and a variety of year-round sports, outdoor and cultural activities, and great weather all year.
The Bay course
The Bay course is a seaside course that meanders through three natural landscapes – Seaside, Canyon and Grove – providing striking contrasts and views of the sea and mountains which provides a truly enjoyable golfing experience.
We never went out to play the course, I literally only played one hole when we were shooting, but just driving around the course it was absolutely stunning. Some people from the team played and they assured us it was. One of the days we had lunch in the restaurant. The best views (as you can see) but the food took forever and the taste was unfortunately pretty lame.
The Dunes course
The Olympic is located overlooking the bay of Navarino and the Ionian Sea.. The course has been designed to challenge the best golfers in a magical environment with dramatic views and memorable sunsets.
What a course! I absolutely loved this course. You are playing ontop of a hill with the most beautiful views Ive ever seen on a golf course of the Navarino Bay. OMG, I felt like I was playing in sunset heaven. On top of that the course is in top condition and layout is challenging on a…. Level. Stay in the clubhouse, you can have food and drinks in the sunset overlooking the bay. It is an amazing experience.
The Hills – Didn’t play
The second golf course at Navarino Hills, shares clubhouse with The international Olympic course, overlooks the rural landscape of Messinia with rugged mountains and small villages.
The course completes the challenging experience designed to challenge the most experienced golfers in a different landscape setting.
Unfortunately I did have the chance to play this course (this time). But as the course is located next to the “International Olympic” , they share the same clubhouse, I have no doubt its as stunning as the Olympic.
Conclusion
Final word about the Costan Navarino golf courses is that they were all over my expectations. Before going I heard they were supposed to be really good, and they were right. Few times have I played a course with greater conditions, course layout and spectacular than I did in Greece. I’d say, book that flight now and go down enjoy feta cheese, olive oil and probably some of the best golf experiences you might ever have had. If not, I would love to know why.
Blixt Tips:
- Staying at any of the hotels included in the Costa Navarino umbrella is very nice but also very expensive. There’s several smaller hotels, apartment and airbnb options to rent in the very cute(and very greek) small town “Pilos” next to the resort.
- Going “low season” can be very nice as there are not as many people and you can pretty much play anytime you want. But, yes, it is hot.
- I would focus on playing “The Bay Course” and “ The Olympic International” first.
- Play in the sunset, it’s like playing golf in heaven.
- Plan time to spend at the clubhouses,all of them are extremely nice.
All in all, going to Costa Navarino is an amazing experience and one of the best golf experiences Ive had.
