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Tero Parkkinen in Italy part 2: let’s go to Tuscany!

Tero Parkkinen FAM trip continues with the Florentine stage: on Wednesday 15 Tero and Alberto compete on the course of Le Pavoniere Golf & Country Club in Prato. The day is not the best, but this perhaps makes the game even more exciting. Despite the grey day and a very wet field, in fact, Arnold Palmer’s unmistakable architectural design makes this field very challenging, even if at first glance it appears simple! Water obstacles and bunkers are always lurking and you need a lot of attention if you don’t want to end up in situations from which it is difficult to recover …

In the afternoon with Andrea Redditi, DMC Italy4golf for Tuscany, we were welcomed by the manager of one of the most famous and ancient olive oil mills in Tuscany, Frantoio di Santa Tea – Gonnelli 1585. The aim of the visit was to let Tero taste the different varieties of extra virgin olive oil produced by this ancient oil mill with a very long history. Furthermore, the olive oil tasting is a real ritual: small glasses in which a minimum amount of oil is served, are heated with one palm and the other closed on top so as to release the aromas; then a sip of oil is brought into the mouth and with a particular technique you have to pass the oil between the tongue and the palate sucking in air … in short, a sound is emitted that almost seems like a “suck”; imagine the different sounds made by each and the laughter that followed! The guide’s interesting and perfect explanation allowed us to understand how extra virgin olive oil is still a world to be discovered.

To make Tero Parkkinen fully experience the warmth and joy of Florentine hospitality and allow him to further deepen the potential of Italy4golf in Tuscany, we went to dinner at the Olio Restaurant in Florence together with Andrea Redditi accompanied by his wife and the Italian sommelier and ambassador I4G Fabio Ceccarelli, who personally chose the wines for the evening. A place in which well-kept and elegant spaces enhance the Tuscan culinary tradition, its dishes but also its gastronomy and wine, re-proposing its spirit through innovative and exclusive combinations.

The day ends for Tero, Mario, Alberto and his wife Ilaria with a stay at Villa Olmi Florence. A luxurious and charming four-star superior that is a corner of paradise, with its magical balance between history told by the frescoed walls in the eighteenth century and the modernity of the services offered, and which enjoys a truly exceptional location: 4km from the historic centre of Florence and, at the same time, cloaked in the countryside atmosphere of the park and the lush gardens in which the Villa is set.

Last day of Tero Parkkinen’s golf tour and the Ugolino Golf Club in Florence was a must … Historic Italian club founded in 1934 that still enchants with its fantastic course that winds through the hills at the gates of Chianti. Home to numerous international golf events in which great champions such as Severiano Ballesteros participated in the past (let us tell you the anecdote of hole 9), Ugolino was played by some of the most glorious Italian golfers who grew up here.

Waiting for us, in addition to the director of the Cristiano Bevilacqua club, is Federica Dassù, Italian golf champion, “born into the art” who has also been able to distinguish herself as a coach of the young golfers of Italy’s national team and Italy4golf key person for the clinics proposed in this club. Federica is at home at Ugolino and the customary interview that Tero did in all circles continued here, ending in a chat about the various Finnish and Northern European champions known to both of them and that Federica also saw starting at a very young age. It was a surprise for us too to see what feeling was created between Tero and Federica, apparently two very private people but who in a few minutes and with the exchange of some information came in perfect harmony.

But let’s get to the game. After a rainy night, the sky finally gives way to the sun and the route presents itself in all its glory. The different shades of green stand out (olive trees, cypresses, maritime pines). The course is very wet and forces us to go through the various holes with the car only on the special roads, therefore, given the quality of our golf, we are unfortunately almost always forced to go on foot to play the ball that is inevitably far from the road with obvious effects on the game as you advance over the holes. The course is more challenging than usual, but the spectacle of the landscape that surrounds us makes up for it. Testified by Tero Parkkinen himself: “It doesn’t matter if you can’t play as you would like in this field because the beauty you are in is already a prize itself”.

For the second part of the day, we reserved for Tero a moment that could be the worthy conclusion of this tour. If in Lombardy the wine tourism experience could only be in Franciacorta, in Tuscany it was clearly in Chianti! We had a great time at Poggio Amorelli: the superb wine, the exquisite local delicacies, the enchanting views of the Chianti hills and, even more than all this, the warm welcome of the Mazzarini family who treated us as true guests of honour. The oenologist in charge of the cellar, as knowledgeable about the company’s wines as an amiable and amusing diner, led us on a tasting that soon turned into a table of friends who between one joke and another and the wines that followed one another in a crescendo of flavours and aromas, he brought us to the end of an intense week full of memorable moments.

Tero Parkkinen at the end of the day, when the alcohol of the grappa at the end of the tasting had made us more talkative, he wanted to say that everything we proposed was beyond his expectations and he couldn’t wait to be able to tell his experience to his friends. friends and contacts from the world of golf! Tero then continued his stay in Italy for a few more days following personal commitments before returning to Finland.

A week later, his feedback to us and to the other Italy4golf ambassadors was even more positive: “I had an exceptional week in Italy visiting Lombardy and Tuscany with Italy4golf. Although I have travelled a lot in Italy, it was very important to try the golf courses and the places that Italy4golf has chosen for its Experiences. It will now be much easier to promote them. Everything I’ve experienced was first class.

florence-by-night-tero-parkkinen

In addition to Tero Parkkinen,  we would like to thank all the people and facilities who made this experience possible and so enjoyable !

Starting from the golf clubs that kindly hosted us, in the persons of: Diego Cancarini and Carla Paoli (Director and Communication Manager) of the Franciacorta Golf Club , Loris Vento Director of the Gard Golf Countru Club , Pietro Apicella and Maria Laila (President and Executive Manager) of Chervò Golf Hotel and Resort San Vigilio , Niccolò Cateni Director of the Pavoniere Golf Club , Cristiano Bevilacqua and Federica Dassù (Director and Head Coach) at Ugolino Golf Club ;

followed by the hotel and restaurant facilities that supported us with their hospitality: IseoLago Hotel , Ristorante al Porto di Clusane , Cantina Bersi Serlini , Chervò Hotel and Resort , Hotel Villa Olmi Florence , Ristorante Olio Firenze , Cantina Poggio Amorelli .

Thanks also to our collaborators Rachele Morandi and Andrea Redditi with their DMC structures and our ambassador and somellier Fabio Ceccarelli.

Finally, a special thanks goes to the  Lake Garda Lombardia Consortium ,  Italy4golf partner  who helped support the initiative.

In the next articles on this blog we will deepen the fields and structures we have visited: do not miss them!

Alberto Genovesi, Andrea Redditi, Arnold Palmer, Chianti, Consorzio Lago di Garda Lombardia, Cristiano Bevilacqua, Cristina De Rossi, Fabio Ceccarelli, Federica Dassù, Florence, Frantoio di Santa Tea, Golf in Tuscany, Le Pavoniere Golf & Country Club, Mario Taglietti, Niccolò Cateni, Olio Restaurant, Poggio Amorelli, Tero Parkkinen, Tuscany, Ugolino Golf Club, Villa Olmi Florence

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