Buena Vista Social Golf

Anzano del Parco sits in the Brianza hills between Lake Como and Milan — a stretch of Lombardy that manages to feel genuinely rural despite its proximity to 2 of northern Italy's most visited destinations. The terrain here is rolling and green, shaded by chestnut and oak, and the light on a clear morning carries that particular quality the pre-Alps seem to have a monopoly on. It's good country for a walk with clubs in hand.

Buena Vista Social Golf is a 9-hole, par-30 layout — the kind of course built around the pleasure of the game rather than its ambitions. Short courses like this one reward precision and creativity over raw power, and they tend to attract a crowd that's actually enjoying itself: beginners finding their footing, regulars fitting in a quick round after work, families for whom a full 18 would be a commitment too far.

The name carries a relaxed, almost playful spirit that suits the format well. This is golf without the formality — a place where the point is the afternoon, and the scorecard is almost beside the point.