Sicily’s golfing market looks ready to erupt

Playing golf on the lower slopes of Europe’s most active volcano; looking for a lost ball amidst the black sand and rocks of hardened lava, and the sound of a helicopter ferrying tourists for overhead views of the highest crater.

Just some of the experiences of negotiating a course at Mount Etna, in Sicily.

Sicily is not among the top golfing destinations in the Mediterranean and its locally-based, registered golfers are numbered in hundreds. But it’s now trying to win a share of a lucrative golf tourism trade dominated by destinations like the Algarve and numerous Spanish sun spots.