A structure at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome, Italy, went up in massive flames on Thursday just days after the club hosted the 2023 Ryder Cup.
A video surfaced on social media of a three-story hospitality stand engulfed in fire, producing large black smoke clouds that could be seen from miles away. Local news stated that five teams of firefighters are on the scene and that no injuries were reported. A notice was sent to local residents to close their windows.
“A fire was reported in one of the temporary hospitality structures to the right of the first fairway at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club earlier this afternoon,” a statement from Ryder Cup Europe read. “Local fire crews were called to the scene at 5:07 p.m. local time and quickly brought the blaze under control. Nobody was injured in the incident and the fire did not spread beyond the hospitality structure. There was no damage to the golf course or any over structure. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated.”
Hundreds of thousands of fans were at the club over the last week to witness Team Europe defeat Team USA and reclaim the Ryder Cup, 16½-11½.
Insane footage from Marco Simone today, hopefully no injuries/ casualties #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/f1z333I9Q5
— Conor Nolan (@ConorN11) October 5, 2023
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome originally was designed by David Mezzacane and Jim Fazio and opened in 1989. The layout was completely renovated in 2018-2020 by a team of European Golf Design led by Dave Sampson in conjunction with Tom Fazio II, a leading American architect and the son of Jim Fazio – Tom Fazio worked for his dad on the original layout. The renovation included a complete rerouting of the hilly layout with the Ryder Cup in mind. With 155 feet of elevation change across the course, the holes were laid out to favor match play, with several drivable par 4s. Marco Simone is a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website.
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