Review of the Month January 2021 – Gávea
As humans, we like to categorise things and attach labels to them. Golf is much the same, whether it be the type of shot you hit, the ball you play or the course you walk. Having wrestled with it for some time, I have found categorising Gávea Golf Club in Rio De Janeiro particularly difficult. It is by the sea but I wouldn’t say it was a links design. It is tree lined and perfectly manicured but I wouldn’t say it was a parkland course. It is measures short in terms of yardage but long in difficulty. Gávea is as unique, vibrant and diverse as the streets and jungle covered mountains that encircle it.
First and foremost, the club is steeped in history and is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in Brazil. Originally laid out by a group of British golfers in the early 1920’s, it was later re-designed by Stanley Thompson (one of four of his projects in Brazil) in the 1930’s and it is then that it really took the shape of the course we see today. Gil Hanse then further modified the course (particularly the greens) in more recent times.
You could be forgiven for imagining yourself on the set of Jurassic Park while standing on the first tee and looking to your left. Jungle swathes cover large portions of the mountainous landscape and the air is alive with the sounds of wildlife. Take a look to the right though and you will see and hear the sights and sounds of one of the most bustling cities on earth. The contrast of the two backdrops is as mind blowing as it is dramatic. The layout wanders up and down the side of the iconic craggy barrier of mountains that pin most of the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro to the Eastern coastline of Brazil. From the top of Pedra da Gávea, hang gliders take off and soar above the course sharing the sky with the Frigate birds before eventually descending on to the beach beyond the holes on the back nine. Looking at the course from the clubhouse (and I’m sure from those hang gliders also), it makes you wonder just how anyone ever imagined a golf course could be built on such ground. Equally, one could be persuaded that the course has been here for thousands of years as it merges so beautifully with its surroundings.
I felt the course played in three distinct phases. The initial nine holes wrap around the clubhouse and take you from sea level up to the highest parts of the property (with some of the most enchanting views of any golf course I have seen in the world). The two par 3’s (No’s.6 and 8) in the middle of the front nine are particularly dramatic, No.6 for its extraordinary sheer green perched on the top of a precipitous outcrop and No.8 for the huge vertical drop between tee and green. After No.9, you then cross the highway to play the coastal holes which are much flatter (but no less interesting) and surround a large lake. The final four holes come back across the road and tuck themselves at the foot of the hills. No.17 is particularly dramatic with a near 100ft drop awaiting any shots missing the green by no more than a couple of metres left.
Pound for pound, I would say Gávea is one of the toughest courses I’ve played for such a short yardage (just over 6,000 yards from the back tees). Hitting short clubs off the tee, although initially providing a greater margin for error, only serves to crank up the pressure on what are already tight and punitive approaches. It really is a course where you have to play to your strengths. Once on the green, you will rarely find a flat putt and unless your proximity to the hole is consistently good, you will find yourself having more 3 putts than 1 putts.
Brazil is a wonderful place and Rio is as hectic as it gets but Gávea Golf Club is an oasis within the madness. Golf course design to me is a form of art and although provided with an excellent set of ingredients, Thompson has once again displayed a level of imagination and craft here that is truly remarkable.
Review of the Month January 2021 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter, and sponsored by TaylorMade – click to read more about Gávea. Photos courtesy of Brian Ward.
Playing the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Golf Course By Nicolas Iorio nicolas@wegolf.com.ar www.wegolf.com.ar On October 29, WeGolf finished the first international golf tournament for amateurs at the Olympic Golf Course located in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We tried to replicate the Olympic Games experience where amateurs from different countries participated in a 36-hole competition, awarding the first three positions with exact replicas of the Olympic medals won by Kuchar, Stenson and Rose. It was amazing! We knew we had to face a challenge. Being first is always a plus and a risk at the same time. The golf links, amid conflicts and controversies, was co-developed by IGF (International Golf Federation) and the IOC (International Olympic Committee). They had total control of the site and facilities from the very beginning of the works until the day Justin Rose won – and, just like a nomad camp, a few days later, they took everything away and left the facilities “empty” until the new steering committee takes charge. Luckily, maintenance of the course is undertaken every day with the same work group hired at the beginning. At dawn, a battalion with state-of-the-art machinery goes out to repair each divot, cutting fairways and rolling greens. The result is perfection rarely seen – the fairways look like carpet and the greens are perfect, firm and very fast. When you arrive you realize that you are in front of something special. Considered one of the five best architectural clubhouse designs in the world, the creation of the Olympic Golf Links building is all about minimal modernity, expressed in pure straight lines, where only three basic elements (concrete, glass and wood) have the dual role of matter and form that harmonise perfectly. The clubhouse also has an environmental and sustainable plus side. The roof of its central plaza, measuring more than 1,000 sq metres, is made of an innovative system of square canopies which, seen from above, create a giant chessboard. These canopies are funnels that collect and channel rainwater to a pipe system that feeds an enormous underground reservoir tank which is then used to irrigate the golf course. The golf links should have closed after the Brazil Open (won by Argentine Jorge Fernandez-Valdes) but the Tourism Board “Visit Rio” remained true to their word and kept the course open until the completion of the event organized by WeGolf. On October 31, after our tournament ended, the course closed its doors and hopefully will re-open as a functioning organized golf club in January 2017. But let’s get on to what’s important… the golf course Gil Hanse won the bid for the design. Many consider him: “The designer of the moment.” Among his works we can mention: Castle Stuart (Scotland), the re-design of the Blue Monster at Trump National Doral (Miami), Crail’s Craighead course (Scotland) and the new Black course at Streamsong (near Orlando). When you play the Olympic course you realize why Hanse fashioned what he did. The ground is quite flat, surrounded by lagoons and only a few meters away from the sea, where the strong prevailing winds come from. So a golf “links” is what Hanse attempted to create, but it’s more from the strategic point of view than from an aesthetic one. It does not have impenetrable rough, protected by sand dunes, but the fairways have gentle undulations allowing the ball to run and the greens are firm and fast enabling many shots typical of links golf. Wind is a determinant factor due to its proximity to the sea and usually after midday the wind blows strongly. The routing rotates in its orientation all the time and has only three pairs of consecutive holes aligned in the same direction, so the varying winds ensure each hole plays differently from day to day. The employees told us that during the week of the Olympic Games there was very little wind and Justin Rose shot 16-under-par, but during the Brazil Open it was blowing hard and Jorge Fernandez-Valdes won with 4-under-par. The Brazil Open caddies told us that professionals couldn’t even reach the greens with driver and then a 3-wood on a trio of par fours. Sand was one of the conflicts that delayed the build because the course extends into a wildlife reserve where there are varieties of protected birds and different types of capybara. Changing the areas that existed prior to the construction of the course, or adding elements that did not naturally belong, was prohibited. Consequently three different types of local sand was used for the bunkers and waste areas. According to Gil Hanse: "It’s a unique, sand-based site with a variety of different sands: bright white, brown and orange. Whatever sand was native to a given hole, that’s what we used. On the same hole, you’ll even see different sand in each of the bunkers." I've certainly never seen anything like it before and behind the driving range you can see the same type of geology occurring naturally in the mountains. I’ve never played a course with such a unique design, where all the character comes from the architect’s hand. There are few trees, almost no water – the architect fashioned everything. Each hill, each slope, each bunker, each green design, everything was Hanse and his team’s vision. It’s a par 71, with five par threes and the course stretches to 7,163 yards from the black tees (rating 73,9) and 6,616 yards from the blue tees (rating 71,4). Apart from five holes with “normal” distances (1, 6, 10, 15 and 18), the remaining thirteen holes are “very short” or “very long” which makes it a really enjoyable layout. Among these “very short” par four holes, I’d like to mention #3 (306 yards), #9 (344 yards) and #16 (304 yards). These are all drivable for long hitters, but the designer has played with the golfer’s temptation. They are sheltered by mounds which hide the flag (#9) or they have very small greens (#9 and #16), or blind landing areas where, if the ball reaches a slope, it goes into a deep pit (#16). Moreover, it’s virtually impossible to leave the ball near the flags. In the “very long” par four category there’s #2 (452 yards), #7 (442 yards), #11 (462 yards), #12 (496 yards), #13 (454 yards) and then there’s the par three 14th at 213 yards. These holes are not only long, but depending on the predominant wind, many of them are played into a headwind! This is the main reason that during the Olympic Games many players played easily under par on the front nine and then struggled. How to play it? You must try and take advantage of the first nine holes to make birdies, but be careful at #2 and #7, both long par fours. Then you need to try and get through (as unscathed as possible) the “death string” of the next five extremely difficult holes, which run from #10 to #14. Finally, if you have any energy left, try and make some birdies between #15 and #18. The closing par five 18th decided the Olympic Games. There was nothing to separate Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson through 71 holes, but Rose birdied the final hole while Stenson could only manage bogey and had to settle for the silver medal. My Favorite Holes #2 Par 4, 452 yards – If you can strike a tee shot around 260 yards on the edge of the bunker at the dogleg, it will catch a slope that will run an extra 30 yards. Then there’s a tough semi-blind approach where a hill obstructs the vision of the whole right side and back side of the kidney-shaped green that’s set close to a lagoon. #7 Par4, 442 yards – The rolling fairway is protected on the right-hand side by deep hidden bunkers that cannot be seen from the tee. The 55-yard long green has a murderous false front that feels straight out of Pinehurst. When this hole has the flag cut back right it’s the most difficult hole on the course. #9 is a jewel of a hole that measures only 334 yards. From the tee, there’s a small dune at around 120 yards where there’s a cashew tree growing which creates a semi-blind tee shot. It doesn’t block the vision of the whole fairway, so you can see the tiny green (the smallest on the course) to the right-hand side with a high mound that hides the whole of the right half of the green. Behind the mound there’s a downhill slope which makes it almost impossible to get the ball near the pin. #11 is one the most scenic holes. This Par 4 of 462 yards is protected on the left side from tee to green by a bunker and waste areas full of native grasses. The green is very long and diagonally offset from left to right, it’s also raised and protected by a grassy hollow on the left and a bunker on the right and behind the green. #16 arrives at a potentially defining moment in a tight match. It’s the shortest Par 4 on the course and intentionally driveable, but with a tiny, narrow, hourglass-shaped, two-tiered green with a mound in the middle of the fairway protecting the entrance some 20 yards short of the green it’s not easy to find. There’s a deep fall-off to the left of the green and a bunker on the right. Flagstick locations on this hole can be extreme. #17 – What could be more attractive than facing a short Par 3 of 110 yards needing a birdie to win? This tricky one-shotter has an inverted U-shaped green, with deep bunkers in front and at the rear on the right (in the direction where the wind comes from). It offers many flag positions and it is often played with a cross-wind from right to left, which pushes the tee shot towards an area of deep trouble on the left. Our Conclusion We sincerely hope that the new Steering Committee (responsible for the course and its facilities) cherish and appreciate the extraordinary value of this unique golfing gem for all Latin Americans and every other visiting nationality. It’s a living monument celebrating the history of this sport which will always have the magic spirit of the Olympic Games flowing through the air. It offers an architecturally awesome clubhouse, practice facilities of Major championship quality and a world-class golf course with design character and soul that is difficult to find anywhere in the world. Moreover, we are very lucky to have direct flights that arrive in Rio 2½ hours from leaving Buenos Aires, enabling us to play a Ryder Cup match with friends at the weekend. The Olympic golf course is totally unique and simply has to be experienced! By Nicolas Iorio nicolas@wegolf.com.ar www.wegolf.com.ar
Review of the Month February 2021 – Vilamoura (Victoria) In a way, I think it’s tricky to fairly review a course you played on holiday. Everything seems better on holiday. You’re in Portugal. The weather is perfect. You’re with your best mates. You’ve got 4 bottles of ice-cold Super Bock in the buggy cooler. Your work phone is 2,000 miles away. Life is about as good as it can get for any golfer who isn’t a Tour pro or the owner of a diamond mine. But I digress. Here are the most objective thoughts I can muster about this course. It’s taken as gospel that the best track in Vilamoura is the Old. An elegant, mature course that gracefully winds its way through the umbrella pines over dramatically undulating terrain. The Victoria meanwhile is an open, largely flat, bulldozer scarred behemoth that’s lacking any scenic beauty, clearly designed to be a spectator course for European Tour events. But the thing is, I actually think the latter is more enjoyable. Yes, the front 9 is a bit ordinary in its architecture (the 4th and 7th standing out in my mind as exceptions) and I find the bunker on number 8 at best a gimmick, at worst an eyesore. But from the approach to the 10th green onwards, it’s rollocking good fun. Water is an ever-present threat on the back 9 but there is plenty of fairway to hit if you can keep your nerve. 11 is risk/reward off the tee as the fairway is pinched narrow by the lake at around the 240-yard (sorry we’re on the continent – 220-metre) mark, but successfully threading the needle offers up a much more simple second shot. The 12th is a monstrous par 5 that demands two carries over the lake. 13 is a beautiful par 3. 14 is a really fun par 4 with a stream dividing the fairway into two halves – a brave (and successful) tee shot gets rewarded with a simple approach. 15 is a drivable par 4 for the longer hitters. 16 is a tough, long par 3, though the green is much bigger than it looks. 17 is a spectacular par 5 that winds its way through babbling brooks, mini waterfalls and more dramatic lakes. Finally, 18 is one of the toughest holes on the course. A long par 4 with water threatening down the left of the fairway and bunkers guarding the safer right-hand side. The green is handsomely guarded by more water framed by classy looking stonework. In the end, perhaps this isn’t an objective review. Golf is the experience you have and it’s difficult to compartmentalise the different elements of that experience. Is the Victoria course a great layout worthy of the 5 ball rating I’m giving it? Its world ranking on this site would suggest not. Who am I to argue with the collective wisdom of those more experienced and articulate than I am? I’m just a guy who had the time of his life playing the Victoria course. And in the end, isn’t that all that matters? Jack Snell Review of the Month February 2021 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter, and sponsored by TaylorMade – click to read more about Vilamoura (Victoria). Photos courtesy of Dom Pedro Golf.
Review of the Month December 2020 – Bulls Bay The Lowcountry. When one considers this geographic descriptor bestowed on the coastal plains of South Carolina, a towering and broad-shouldered hill that climbs 75 feet above sea level is not the first thing to pop into mind. But Bulls Bay Golf Club, whose stately clubhouse and several teeing grounds sit just that high above their surrounds, is not a course that aligns with rational expectations. With a few notable exceptions, South Carolina golf requires an aerial approach. Bump and runs, overly aggressive tee shots skidding through fairways, and approach shots that must be aimed according to undulations in the greens, not pin placements – these are things you might find on Texas hardpan, the dolomite bedrock of the upper Midwest, or the distant shores of Scotland’s wind-battered linksland. But there they are, fully on display at Bulls Bay, complete with golden autumn hues more reminiscent of Shinnecock Hills on Long Island than Long Cove on Hilton Head. Mike Strantz’s masterpiece (yes, it’s better than Tobacco Road… though slightly less dramatic) is perhaps the most creative 18 holes within spitting distance of the South Carolina coastline. To be sure, there are “better” courses in the state (Palmetto, Ocean Course, among others), but you’d be hard pressed to find one that requires more imagination and produces more enjoyment than Bulls Bay. Despite stretching 7,200+ yards from the tips, Bulls Bay is exceptionally playable from its more reasonable teeing grounds. Its spacious and undulating fairways allow balls to release, especially on several holes where hillocks and sloping collars guide and funnel running shots to the putting surface. The greens range in size and character. Under the direction of Alan Black, each putting surface maintains consistent speed and challenges a player to consider breaks from every angle, even when you’ve got a wedge in your hand, not a putter. Bulls Bay isn’t perfect. There are some quirks that many a modern golfer will find infuriating or unfair: blind approaches, visual deception and plenty of unknowable hazards for players visiting for the first time or two. And for the more traditional architecture nut, the number of forced carries over water may seem excessive, particularly on a couple par 3s that present narrow landing strips perpendicular to the angle of the tee ball (for a low-ball hitter, the only thing more difficult getting over the water is being able to stop your ball before it barrels over the green or into some bunker). But the variety of golf shots required – or better stated, the variety of golf shots available to the imaginative golfer – make Bulls Bay a course that never plays the same way. The beauty of the grounds also benefits from diversity. The routing bends through marshland, thin forests and dramatic elevation changes, presenting magnificent and expansive views of ruggedly shaped waste areas and a number of bending bodies of water. In short, Bulls Bay is one of golf’s best-kept secrets. Though its renown has grown in recent years, the vision of founder/owner Joe Rice and the late Mike Strantz, has been given a much-deserved facelift by Alan Black and his grounds crew, and the result is truly something to behold. Nick Schreiber Review of the Month December 2020 selected by Editor-in-Chief, Keith Baxter, and sponsored by TaylorMade – click to read more about Bulls Bay. Photos courtesy of Nick Schreiber.
