[David Davis]

I've recently returned from a whirlwind golf tour of Brazil and Argentina. One thing is for certain, it was an adventure unlike any golf trip I've been on before. The overall quality of courses was decent (not great) however, there were few true standouts. Given the fact that Brazil will unlikely be on your list of first countries to run off and play golf in I wanted to provide a tour of a private course that I was very fortunate to be allowed to play that was truly spectacular in my opinion. It's also by far the best Fazio (Tom & Logon) course I've ever played.


The story of Santapazienza is an interesting one. The course and property are owned by a family passionate about golf, it's not a club and there are no members. Think Ellerston or Ardfin at this stage as they are of the same kin. Friends brought them to Fazio who apparently doesn't like to travel too far anymore and most certainly wasn't interested in pursuing renovation work in Brazil. However, the family was determined and wouldn't take no for an answer. To convince Fazio they created a video of the old course that they had basically designed themselves, this was complete with a #17 hole that copied Sawgrass and several other replica holes. Fazio didn't want to touch this course because he knew it would take a miracle to change it into something he could stand behind and would want to design, not to mention the travel aspect. How did they finally convince him? They invited his wife and his son to come visit. Fazio was not about to let them go alone and was extremely unhappy to have been dragged there. Yet in the end the family's infectious enthusiasm and passion for the game and their project won him over. I'm sure it helped that money was no object and they were willing to give him carte blanche to make the best possible course on the property. The project turned into a 6 year labor of love and then end result speaks for itself.


Santapazienze is about 1 hour out of Sao Paulo and well hidden on a beautiful private estate with excellent access to the highway though not visible from the highway. The course combines a lower lying front 9 characterized by several lakes and some flowing waterfalls with the raw beauty of the Brazilian rainforest which flows together with much of the back 9 as it climbs up into the mountains.


Note there are 4 sets of tees (Black - 7264 yds, Blue - 6724 yds, White - 6123 yds and Red - 5447) all played from various angles and each tee changes the view of the hole to the point that the holes plays much differently in relation to the hazards. I will use the Blue Tee for the following review as all but one round I played from here. (one round I mixed it up and tried different tees and different shots)


1. Par 4 - 405 yds (blue tee)


Dogleg left requiring a solid drive that avoids the bunkers on the left and right. The green is is slightly raised, slopes right to left and is protected by a bunker guarding the front right on the approach.

















2. Par 4 - 440 yds


So much for the gentle handshake, the second hole is a long and tough 2 shotter. Taking on the left hand bunker will afford the best angle with which to approach this green with a mid to long iron for most players. The green is very large so distance control is essential.












3. Par 3 - 184 yds


The first par 3 is a beautiful and strategic hole. Interestingly enough there are easier ways to play the hole for lesser players by playing to the right of the water and going around the long way.







4. Par 5 - 525 yds


The first par 5 plays slightly down hill. A long tee shot right of the left hand bunkers will afford a shot at this green in two.







5. Par 4 - 332 yds


The first short par 4 presents many options depending on the wind and tee placement. I played for the green a couple times and also plays safe a couple times with a rescue and a 5 iron. The green is relatively small and tricky to approach requiring an exacting short iron. My best result came from landing my drive just short of the front of the green.














As 5 holes is quite a lot for anyone to play in this heat (said with a touch of sarcasm) the cute little snack hut is a welcome pit stop for a fresh coconut.



















6. Par 4 - 390 yds


The 6th hole has the scariest and most difficult tee shot on the front 9. With the lake running down the left hand side and bunkers flanking the right this semi-long par 4 requires an excellent and daring shot setting up a testing approach to this small green guarded front, left center by a bunker.











7. Par 5 - 476 yds


This reachable par 5 plays uphill to a small and well guarded green. The fairway is guarded by bunkers and an excellent shot is required to go for this one in two.











8. Par 4 - 335 yds


This medium length par 4 requires a solid tee shot to the right side of the fairway to approach one of the smaller and most undulated greens on the front 9.
















9. Par 3 - 146 yds


The closing 1 shotter on the front 9 is a medium length hole that plays slightly up hill to a well guarded green.









One very interesting characteristic of the front 9 which you can notice in the photos, or actually better stated you can't notice is that you can't see any cart paths. The front 9 is perfectly walkable but in practice with the warm weather most visitors here will likely take a cart. Huge efforts were taken to hide the cart paths from view. This part is almost hard to imagine but this is done by running the paths through tunnels and over what has been called "Jesus bridges". These bridges are just under the water and out of site, when the cart drives across them it looks as if the carts are driving on the water.


I mainly have video of this but will try to take some photos to give an idea of what this is like. Must say it has a slight Disneyland for golfers aspect to it.

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks for posting David.
Your South American adventure sounds interesting. Looking forward to reading more about it.
“How the other half live” (sic) is an expression that comes to mind when reading about this particular course! I note your Disneyland comment and the photos did make me think along these lines. The bunkering style seems familiar from TV as well. Intrigued by the ‘Jesus bridges’. They sound fun......the look on the face of a guest sitting in the passenger seat of a buggy heading at full speed towards such a feature would be a look to behold!
Looking forward to seeing the back-9.

Atb

[Tom_Doak]

Wow, isn't that three times in a row you have gotten to play a billionaire's private course [multiple rounds on each], and three times you've thought it was "truly spectacular in your opinion" ?  What are the odds of that ?

[David Davis]

Wow, isn't that three times in a row you have gotten to play a billionaire's private course [multiple rounds on each], and three times you've thought it was "truly spectacular in your opinion" ?  What are the odds of that ?

Tom, you are absolutely right, I've been extremely fortunate to be allowed the privilege of seeing not only these courses you allude to but so many others in this last year. Ellerston, Ardfin and Santapazienza are the courses I think you are commenting on. However, to be fair there are another 100 in-between these some of which I loved as well but have been discussed at great lengths on GCA and IMO are well documented. I've only added tours of Ardfin and Santapazienza because I asked for permission to do so and to share them with anyone interested here.


These aren't the only projects from extremely wealthy people that I've found spectacular, Bandon Dunes Resort, Barnbougle and Tara Iti to name just a few are all amazing though something tells me you don't have too many issues with my high opinion regarding those.

[David Davis]

Thanks for posting David.
Your South American adventure sounds interesting. Looking forward to reading more about it.
“How the other half live” (sic) is an expression that comes to mind when reading about this particular course! I note your Disneyland comment and the photos did make me think along these lines. The bunkering style seems familiar from TV as well. Intrigued by the ‘Jesus bridges’. They sound fun......the look on the face of a guest sitting in the passenger seat of a buggy heading at full speed towards such a feature would be a look to behold!
Looking forward to seeing the back-9.

Atb

Thanks Thomas, the bunkering was quite unique on this course, wait until you see the back 9. The size and scale of the bunkers is something I've not seen anyplace else.


The adventurous part was more non-golf related as Brazil feels a bit dangerous in areas and often there are favelas (slums) literally right up against the nicest areas in Sao Paulo and Rio. That's an eye opener and interesting that in Sao Paulo many people from upper middle class on drive around in armored cars. This was a bit surreal, while in Rio, where visually the favelas are all over the place and is known to be one of the most dangerous cities, I didn't see a single one in use from my hosts who were all wealthy people.

[Tom_Doak]

Tom, you are absolutely right, I've been extremely fortunate to be allowed the privilege of seeing not only these courses you allude to but so many others in this last year. Ellerston, Ardfin and Santapazienza are the courses I think you are commenting on. However, to be fair there are another 100 in-between these some of which I loved as well but have been discussed at great lengths on GCA and IMO are well documented. I've only added tours of Ardfin and Santapazienza because I asked for permission to do so and to share them with anyone interested here.


These aren't the only projects from extremely wealthy people that I've found spectacular, Bandon Dunes Resort, Barnbougle and Tara Iti to name just a few are all amazing though something tells me you don't have too many issues with my high opinion regarding those.

I expected a response like that.  I could see it being justified in the case of Tara Iti, even though their policy toward outsiders does NOT hinge on whether you can find a personal contact with the owner.  But Bandon Dunes and Barnbougle are resorts open to the public that do 30,000+ rounds per year, so to compare them to Ellerston and Santa-whatever is pure b.s. 


[Plus, I don't think Mr. Keiser is a billionaire, and I'm sure Richard Sattler isn't, unless golf has made them such, which I doubt.]


Let me be clearer:  I'm suggesting that you rate these courses higher than they deserve because you are one of the privileged few who got to play them, and you are kissing up to your hosts in return by lauding their efforts.  That's a standard panelist behavior ... I don't know of many panelists who don't act that way, and it's true for places like Cypress Point and Seminole, too. 


However, when the ONLY way one can see a course is to be the guest of the owner, then the sample is pretty heavily biased by that natural tendency.  We don't have a balancing opinion on Santapazienza or Ardfin because no one will get to go there who isn't subject to the same bias you were.  [Whereas anyone can go play Bandon Dunes and write a negative review if they want.]  So I have to read your reviews of the more exclusive places with a large dose of skepticism, because you're going to gloss over the weaker bits, and play up the highlights ... especially if you don't have to rank them against all the other great courses, and risk your credibility in doing so. 

[David Davis]

I expected a response like that.  I could see it being justified in the case of Tara Iti, even though their policy toward outsiders does NOT hinge on whether you can find a personal contact with the owner.  But Bandon Dunes and Barnbougle are resorts open to the public that do 30,000+ rounds per year, so to compare them to Ellerston and Santa-whatever is pure b.s. 


[Plus, I don't think Mr. Keiser is a billionaire, and I'm sure Richard Sattler isn't, unless golf has made them such, which I doubt.]


Let me be clearer:  I'm suggesting that you rate these courses higher than they deserve because you are one of the privileged few who got to play them, and you are kissing up to your hosts in return by lauding their efforts.  That's a standard panelist behavior ... I don't know of many panelists who don't act that way, and it's true for places like Cypress Point and Seminole, too. 


However, when the ONLY way one can see a course is to be the guest of the owner, then the sample is pretty heavily biased by that natural tendency.  We don't have a balancing opinion on Santapazienza or Ardfin because no one will get to go there who isn't subject to the same bias you were.  [Whereas anyone can go play Bandon Dunes and write a negative review if they want.]  So I have to read your reviews of the more exclusive places with a large dose of skepticism, because you're going to gloss over the weaker bits, and play up the highlights ... especially if you don't have to rank them against all the other great courses, and risk your credibility in doing so.

Tom,


Thanks for sharing your opinion.










[/size][size=78%] [/size]

[David Davis]

10. Par 4 - 435 yds


The back nine opens with a tough hole with cape hole characteristics. Cut off as much of the water as you dare. The green is large and will need to be approached with a mid to long iron after a solid tee shot left of the fairway bunker. The green is open in the front and a run on or low approach works well.


The tee box is actually a bit more left and back of where I took this photo as I had forgotten to snap the shot.












11. Par 4 - 432 yds


A long tough uphill hole. A strong tee shot to the left side will run back to the center. The green can also best be approached to the left side as it slopes heavily back to front and is protected on the right side.












12. Par 3 - 191 yds


For walkers the first major gap in the routing happens between the 11th and 12th. This was clearly a difficult area of the course to route given the mountain, rainforest and dramatic terrain. The walk up the hill, is roughly 250 meters and a serious climb. The cart path was built on a suspended bridge raised off the rainforest ground high enough for animals and nature to remain unaffected.


The 12th hole is a long and dramatic drop shot par 3, dropping about 30 yds downhill. Picking the right club is tough given the size of the drop.







13. Par 4 - 370 yds


The 13th is a strong par 4 characterized by huge bunkers and a split level fairway. Take the high side for a better view of the green and flag. Take the low side to the right for a shorter approach but a semi blind shot.












14. Par 5 - 542 yds


A strong uphill par 5, that is reachable for longer hitter if they take on the right side bunker with success and get the kick down the hill on the back side. Not an easy task. For the rest of us playing as close as possible to the massive bunker on the right set ups the best angle for the second shot.









As often is the case, photos just done do a course justice. The elevation changes the undulation and size and scale of things are completely lost. I've mentioned a few times how the scale of things was massive but you don't see that in the photos I took. With the next photos I've tried to give some perspective here. The photo below is the right side bunker that long hitters need to take on to reach this green in two.












15. Par 5 - 657 yds


The longest par 5 on the course, one of the best views and a 50 yd drop down to the fairway. It's a fun tee shot that makes you feel like you could hit it forever. I can almost dare you to not try and oversewing at this one.


A solid drive lands to the left of the huge bunker. The lay-up for me was a tricky shot as the fairway slopes a bit left to right and the right side drops down to the river. The green has significant undulations and is really set up as a 3 shot par 5 green to be approached with a mid to short iron. It's a challenging long hole.












16. Par 3 - 167 yds


This visually challenging par 3 with the largest green on the course played much longer than it looked during each of my plays. The green has two tiers and a reverse redan like character if the pin is placed back right. Very long putts are the norm here at 16. The last round we even had a front pin position and one of my playing partners hit long and I witnessed a truly impressive two put from about 100 ft up a steep face.

[David Davis]

17. Par 4 - 367 yds


One of my favorite par 4's on the course. An strong uphill par 4 highlighted by some more massive bunkers and some natural rock formations and a deep ravine.


The green is a challenge to approach and the back right pin position requires a great shot over the bunker.












18. Par 4 - 330 yds


The final hole offers many options off the tee. Playing 40 yds downhill it can be played with anything from an iron to going for the green with a driver.

[Peter Ferlicca]

I am sorry, but nothing in these pictures screams a fantastic golf course.  I know you can’t judge too much from pictures, but this could be any other private fazio course in the states with a big budget.   I personally myself have worked at two high end Fazio privates that look ten times better and more memorable than this course.  I have heard about this place but now seeing the pictures I am underwhelmed.   I can’t imagine I am the only one with these thoughts.  I am sure the experience is off the charts as would be expected with that type of ownership, but as a golf course is that better than Shadow Creek or Gozzer Ranch?

[/size][size=78%]I would like to see a picture of these bridges that go through water though.  [/size]

[Tim_Weiman]

Peter,


I had exactly the same reaction.

[David Davis]

I am sorry, but nothing in these pictures screams a fantastic golf course.  I know you can’t judge too much from pictures, but this could be any other private fazio course in the states with a big budget.   I personally myself have worked at two high end Fazio privates that look ten times better and more memorable than this course.  I have heard about this place but now seeing the pictures I am underwhelmed.   I can’t imagine I am the only one with these thoughts.  I am sure the experience is off the charts as would be expected with that type of ownership, but as a golf course is that better than Shadow Creek or Gozzer Ranch?

[size=78%]I would like to see a picture of these bridges that go through water though.  [/size]

Peter, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you realize you can't judge too much from pictures. But on the other hand you didn't seem to have any problem doing so in this case? Of course that's your prerogative to say A and do B but it would be more interesting if you suggested based on architecture based comments what you didn't like. It's takes considerable time to post a tour, anyone that has done this knows this so while it does nothing for me whether you like the tour, the course or the photos, it's interesting when comments are backed up with something architectural given the nature of this site.


Have you actually played Shadow Creek or Gozer Ranch? You didn't mention that, only that you worked at a couple Fazio courses. Judging by your current comments I'd have to guess you don't currently work for a Fazio designed course or likely you would phrase things in a more professional manner. You do realize that both courses you mentioned were selected by none other than Golf Digest to the Top 30 courses in the US. Yet you are comparing these photos with those courses and suggesting nothing screams a fantastic course.


What in your opinion screams a fantastic course?


Tim, since you had "exactly the same reaction" I'd be interested to hear your thoughts as well.

[Brad Tufts]

Thanks for the tour David!  It's a place most of us will never see, so these are always a treat.

It's tough to judge from photos, I agree.

I have always found that most Fazio courses fall into a seldom-loved category of golf courses for us armchair critics.  The aficionados love old, and we love new that looks like old, or at least supremely values old in concept or homage.  Most Fazio courses sit somewhere in the "modern-course" middle where we hold back the love.

Fazio courses in my experience are always solid and well-planned, but do not conjure emotion like the Golden Age courses or the modern "rebirth" (avoiding brand names  ) courses do.  Perhaps it's the flashy, sharp-edged bunker style, or the modern shaping that can often clutter the view.  I have played Fazio courses that I've really liked, but few that I have loved.  More plays tend to help, as I often eventually find that Fazio's green complexes are underrated.  Regardless, I'm not surprised a Fazio photo-tour doesn't stir the emotions.

When traveling to a new city, I often find myself on a Fazio.  It may not be the greatest course ever, but I will likely enjoy my round over a well-planned course even if I didn't learn anything new.

[Randy Thompson]

David,
Did you go to any other neighboring courses? What courses did you visit in both countries?
Randy

[David Davis]

Thanks for the tour David!  It's a place most of us will never see, so these are always a treat.

It's tough to judge from photos, I agree.

I have always found that most Fazio courses fall into a seldom-loved category of golf courses for us armchair critics.  The aficionados love old, and we love new that looks like old, or at least supremely values old in concept or homage.  Most Fazio courses sit somewhere in the "modern-course" middle where we hold back the love.

Fazio courses in my experience are always solid and well-planned, but do not conjure emotion like the Golden Age courses or the modern "rebirth" (avoiding brand names  ) courses do.  Perhaps it's the flashy, sharp-edged bunker style, or the modern shaping that can often clutter the view.  I have played Fazio courses that I've really liked, but few that I have loved.  More plays tend to help, as I often eventually find that Fazio's green complexes are underrated.  Regardless, I'm not surprised a Fazio photo-tour doesn't stir the emotions.

When traveling to a new city, I often find myself on a Fazio.  It may not be the greatest course ever, but I will likely enjoy my round over a well-planned course even if I didn't learn anything new.

Brad, thanks for the response, it's a great post and extremely well worded to express what I think a lot of us feel. I'm no different. I'm not a big fan of Fazio designs though some of his better stuff I will admit to liking quite a bit. What I don't love is that they are usually not walkable, that being said, as a member of a links course in a typical year I walk nearly all my golf rounds except a few when on the road where there is no choice. For some reason then when I run into courses like Wade Hampton as an example which is a great course in my opinion I don't really mind riding.

[Tim_Weiman]

David,


Based on the pictures, there just wasn't anything that said "jump on a plane....you have to see this place and play the course". None of the holes jumped out at me as particularly interesting and a few of those Par 3s appeared like they were Shadow Creek leftovers.


All things considered, I would rather spend an afternoon at Ipanema Beach.

[David Davis]

David,
Did you go to any other neighboring courses? What courses did you visit in both countries?
Randy

Randy,


Thanks for the reply: I did though as always not as many as I would of liked to but to be fair most of the other courses I would of liked to see would of been in Argentina rather than Brazil.


I started my trip in Buenos Aires and played:


Jockey Club
Buenos Aires Golf Club
Ellerstina
Nordelta
San Andres
Golf Club de Argentino
Olivos


While I really liked Olivos the standout was Ellerstina because it was something new and unique. I will likely post a short tour about this course in the coming week.


In Brazil I played:


Sao Paulo:


Boa Vista
São Paulo Golf Club
Santapazienza


Rio:


Olympic Course
Gavea

[David Davis]

David,


Based on the pictures, there just wasn't anything that said "jump on a plane....you have to see this place and play the course". None of the holes jumped out at me as particularly interesting and a few of those Par 3s appeared like they were Shadow Creek leftovers.


All things considered, I would rather spend an afternoon at Ipanema Beach.

Tim,


Funny, what if I told you that Ipanema Beach was a 426 km - 5.5 hour drive from there? With that kind of local knowledge I'd give you about 1.5 hours on Ipanema Beach to survive before you were mugged while looking at some half naked eye candy.


If you can honestly look at those picture and try to convince me that you would rather lay on the beach than play that course, or Shadow Creek since you mentioned that or even any average Fazio course then you're either sick of golf, looking at the wrong damn website or perhaps should consider taking on some other hobby. Tennis or polo or anything that might inspire you a bit. If the Top 1% of golf courses in the world don't even make you want to play then I honestly feel bad for you.


Don't know you but I guess you probably work in the business, that's about the only thing that could make something better and in the long run much cheaper than sex uninspiring.

[Brad Tufts]

I'd be excited for full tours on all those!!!


It's a part of the world with which I'm not very familiar golf-wise.

[George Pazin]

How do #6 and #10 differ?

[Eric Smith]

A bit harsh, don't you think, David? No need to get personal with Tim. I would HAVE thought by now you would take criticism a little better than that.

[David Davis]

Here is a few of the ways they hid away the cart paths as mentioned, most of this is on video and for some reason doesn't work as well in photos:

[Michael Dugger]

Pretty underwhelming images considering how hard David was selling it.


Drop shot #12 looked cool.  A few others on the back looked moderately exciting.  Front nine looked like any parkland course with a bunch of white sand bunkers.


Uphill par 4 near the end has some weird scale to it.  Closing hole looked like it was shoe-horned in.


Some texture and color variation would help the aesthetics a lot.  Granted we are all just judging from pictures here, and I'd never want to insult someone's pet project, but I can see why a lot of the treehouse is chiming in here...

[David Davis]

A bit harsh, don't you think, David? No need to get personal with Tim. I would HAVE thought by now you would take criticism a little better than that.

Mr. Smith, how's life? I'm guessing you are taking a piss here because I was anything but harsh, a little tongue and cheek, yes, I don't see any criticism towards me in his post other than my photos suck (tell me something I don't already know), I didn't design the course and I'm not the owner either but if 2 hours of playing with photos to do something constructive inspires you enough to say, "yeah, what he said" then honestly I'd way rather defend the Fazio's. 


I bet like Brad said, if we photo shopped the flavor of the month frizzy bunkers in most would be happy.

[David Davis]

Pretty underwhelming images considering how hard David was selling it.


Drop shot #12 looked cool.  A few others on the back looked moderately exciting.  Front nine looked like any parkland course with a bunch of white sand bunkers.


Uphill par 4 near the end has some weird scale to it.  Closing hole looked like it was shoe-horned in.


Some texture and color variation would help the aesthetics a lot.  Granted we are all just judging from pictures here, and I'd never want to insult someone's pet project, but I can see why a lot of the treehouse is chiming in here...

Michael, thanks for the comments. Fair enough and cool that you back up your thoughts at least a bit.


One question, what am I selling? I posted photos of a way off the beaten path course for people to see. Maybe some of them actually interested in new courses and architecture are interested to keep up on what's happening in other countries. Maybe they saw the special feature on the Golf Channel about this course?


Trust me I've seen enough courses to know when I find something special for me. So nothing to sell. I thought the course was great and a blast to play, no two holes a-like, easy to remember the entire course after one play, not even close to anything I've run into before, not even from Fazio (with the exception of the two waterfalls). But hey, I like Cypress, Pine Valley, Oakmont, Merion, Sand Hills and pretty much all the courses I've played in the top 200 in the world. They beat the heck out of the average Dutch polder course here in The Netherlands.

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