Termas de Río Hondo

Termas de Río Hondo Golf Club is the latest development in Santiago del Estero Province’s plans to position the nearby town as a top tourist destination, joining the new Formula 1 racetrack, international airport and national museum of art and history as yet another local star attraction for visitors.

“We designed a golf course that will attract people to the region to stay and play for several days,” said Bruce Charlton of RTJ II Architects when the course opened in 2018. “But it was also important that we give them a golf course that someday is going to host a world championship level golf tournament.”

The course lies within a large coastal wetland habitat bordering the Rio Dulce, with wide and engaging fairways allowing golfers latitude to cope with the changing winds that often blow around these parts. Sandy waste areas border many of the holes as they weave in and out of nine ravines in a very natural environment.

Several holes can be played as a long par three or short par four, with others as optional par fours or par fives, allowing the course to be set up differently on a daily basis. One thing’s for certain though: golfers will surely discover new and interesting challenges every time they play here.

In the R&A publication Golf Around the World 2019 Brad Klein had this to say about the new layout:

"Since the goal of the golf course is to attract play from a wide range of golfers, both skilled and unskilled, the fairways are wide and generous and the tees sport a ribbony look suited to varied set up.

'We could easily have over-designed what was really a blank canvas,' says Bruce Charlton, a veteran of the Jones design operation who oversaw site work on the project. By preserving and in some cases transplanting native mesquite and chiapi trees, the course was given a look befitting the Gran Chaco."