Four sessions, eighteen golfers: making room for autism at Verdura

For the eighteen autistic children and young people due to attend Golf for Autism at Verdura, the weekend is being organised around a travelling support network as well as golf instruction. Parents, instructors and support staff will accompany participants from Italian regions where the Golf4Autism project is active. Their presence puts families and those supporting the young golfers within the event, rather than treating participation as something that happens solely between player and coach.^[1]

Scheduled for November 13–15, 2026, on Sicily’s southwest coast, the gathering is organised by the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians Italia, with Verdura hosting and sponsoring. Four coached sessions give the weekend its structure: Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and afternoon, and Sunday morning. It builds on several years of work between Verdura and Dr Filippo Alessi, through which autistic children have played golf on dedicated programmes at the resort.^[1]

A routine, not a prescription

The organisers’ case for golf rests partly on its repeatable actions. Setting up to the ball and playing a shot provide a recognisable sequence; individual turns can create time together without making complex conversation central to participation. They also argue that an unhurried pace and open, quiet surroundings can help concentration and ease anxiety. These are the organisers’ proposed benefits, not established clinical outcomes from the weekend.^[1]

The useful distinction is between offering a predictable activity and assuming that the same setting will suit everyone. A timetable tells families when coaching happens; making it workable also means considering individual sensory needs, the amount of instruction and the balance between company and personal space. Those are practical priorities for an inclusive session, rather than a list of accommodations announced for Verdura. Predictability should give a young golfer something to rely on, without making the schedule another demand to meet.^[1]

Parents and siblings are encouraged to join in and see each child’s progress. That gives family participation a specific place in the format, alongside the planned comparison of teaching methods. Alessi’s ambition is to use what is learned to help other clubs welcome autistic children. For coaches, the valuable exchange would be about which approaches help particular participants, rather than finding a single method to apply to all eighteen.^[1]

Organisers also intend to assess social skills and consider whether playing alongside one another helps the young golfers improve. Those aims deserve separating: a better golf shot, greater ease in a group and a therapeutic outcome are different things. Four shared sessions provide a focused opportunity to compare teaching approaches. The strongest practical purpose is simpler than a broad promise about golf and autism: giving each participant a manageable way into the activity, with their family and support network included.^[1]