Gianluca di Biase is relishing the chance to join one of the rising stars of European golf after being appointed as the new golf manager at the deluxe Verdura Resort in Sicily.
The 38-year-old has acquired a wealth of experience in the golf industry working at a number of Italy’s top golfing venues including Argentario Golf Resort & SPA in Tuscany and, most recently, San Domenico Hotels.
di Biase took up his new position at Verdura – a Rocco Forte hotel – this month and is delighted to have been given a key role in helping the award-winning contemporary golf and lifestyle resort build on its recent success following a record-breaking last 12 months which saw its total golf revenues rise by almost 20 per cent.
“I’m very excited to have joined Verdura Resort and feel very privileged. It is a resort that I’ve respected and admired ever since it opened in 2010,” said di Biase.
“The courses here are fantastic and everything is of the highest quality. Having worked in a number of different golfing roles, I feel I have plenty to offer and am really looking forward to meeting all our golfers and helping the resort enhance its reputation as one of Europe’s elite luxury golf resorts.”
As well as overseeing golf operations and the management of the pro shop, di Biase will also be responsible for helping Verdura’s golf sales team promote the resort to key domestic and international markets.
Marcello Della Vecchia, Director of Golf Sales at Verdura Resort, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Gianluca to the team and are confident he will be a great asset in helping us grow the golf business on many different levels.”
Host of the Sicilian Open in 2012 and nestling adjacent to the Mediterranean in 230 hectares of stunning landscape, Verdura has everything needed for a relaxing golfing break and features two outstanding 18-hole championship courses – the East Course and West Course – as well as a par-three nine hole course.
Designed by top architect Kyle Phillips and built to the highest specifications, Verdura’s three links-style layouts offer a golf experience to remember, with tee times arranged at 12-minute intervals to ensure free-flowing play, five sets of tees making the courses playable for golfers of all abilities and one of its courses dedicated daily to two-ball play only.
Bookings at Verdura have increased across its golfing sectors over the last 12 months, and its success on the course has been mirrored off it. The resort has claimed a series of top international accolades in recent months including receiving a Golf Digest Editors’ Choice Award for Best International Resorts, being named ‘Best Golf Hotel in Italy’ at the 2015 World Golf Awards and retaining its place in Golf World’s benchmark ‘Top 100 Courses in Continental Europe 2015/16’ rankings.
Situated on Sicily’s southern coast between Agrigento and the fishing city of Sciacca, an 80-minute drive from Trapani and Palermo airports, Verdura Resort features 203 rooms and suites – all with a sea view.
Away from the fairways, the resort features an array of other luxury sports and lifestyle facilities while guests also have the opportunity to sample a taste of the gastronomy, wine, history and culture that has made Sicily famous across the world.
Verdura Resort Golf www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/verdura-resort/golf/