When the sun starts to shine and Europe comes back to life after a long winter, the grasses begin to grow, the people work out their winter kinks and then they hit the links.  Check out the following 5  best places  to tee-off in Europe this summer.

Sicily – Verdura Golf & Spa Resort

This fabulous, award-winning getaway is located on the southern coast of Sicily in the town of Sciacca.  The hotel features 203 rooms with private terraces and gorgeous views of the sea. The entire resort is set upon a 230 hectare landscape with 1.8km of private coastline. The rooms are designed with modern Sicilian style in mind by Olga Polizzi. Outside the hotel is where the fun on the links begins. Two 18-hole championship-style courses surround the property. As well as a 9-hole course. Olive and lemon groves grow among the trails and links, adding to its spectacular Sicilian charm.

Scotland – Turnberry Resort Avrshire

The Turnberry Resort has the distinction of being the world’s first golf resort, opened in 1906. Since then it has undergone major makeovers with investments in the millions. The Alisa golf course hosted the 2009 Open and is ranked as Britain’s number one golf course. The Kintyre course offers exciting fairways and oceanside playing, while the 9-hole Arran course serves as an introduction to professional playing in links golf.

Students from the world around attend Colin Montgomerie’s Links Golf Academy and the TaylorMade Performance Lab in order to nurture their golfing skills at the magnificent Turnberry, which has consistently ranked among the best golf hotspots in the world.

Provence – Four Seasons Resort Provence at Terre Blanche

This gorgeous, classic resort offers two courses and serves as the most complete golf facility in Europe. Both courses, Le Riou and Le Chateau, are 18 hole, par-72 championship links exquisitely designed by golfing giant Dave Thomas. The resort also features a training academy, the Albatros Golf Performance Center, which offers golfers (both novice and advanced) specialized help on their swing using the BioMeca Swing Assessment. The David Leadbetter Golf Academy is also located at the center.

Greece – The Romanos Resort

The beachside par-72 Navarino Dunescourse is a relative newcomer to the European golfing leisure scene, having first opened in 2009. The golf course is designed by Bernhard Langer, former two-time US Masters Champion and Ryder Cup captain and features wooded holes on the inland as well as challenges right by the crystal blue ocean.  It is Greece’s first signature 18-hole course.

Algarve – Portugal

Beautiful Algarve, the southernmost province in Portugal  offers a healthy abundance of fantastic golf courses to play at. You can find golf packages pretty affordable y and they make for some amazing sport and sun in one of Europe’s best kept secrets. One attractive option is Oceanico Golf, named Portugal’s Number 1 course in 2011’s Travel Awards hosted by Today’s Golfer. Oceanico features a total of seven championship courses in Algarve and even entered the U.S market in 2007 when it acquired Pinehurst, North Carolina’s Little River Golf & Resort.

What’s your favorite course in Europe?