Gavea Golf & Country Club was original designed in 1926 by a young lesser known Scotsman named Arthur Davidson. Legend has it that none other than Stanley Thompson and Robert Trent Jones modified the course in the 30's.
In the shadow of the enormous rock structure Pedra de Gavea, one has to admit this is a crazy setting, like no other for a golf course to be located.
This is most certainly the kind of course that the typical Golden Age enthusiast from GCA will immediately love. If any of you have played it I'd be curious of your thoughts. Gavea was incredibly fortunate that one Gil Hanse was spending a lot of time locally building the Olympic Course. So lucky they managed to get him in to undergo a thoughtful renovation to improve an already wonderful and quirky course. I would suggest his changes so far have only served to improve and maximize the usage of the available land and features.
We played the back tees (blue tee) and my descriptions are from these.
1. Par 4 - 319 yds
As short as this hole is as equally quirky and narrow it is. What looks on the card to be a gentle opener was anything but that on our day with a solid 30 mph wind to spice up the quirkiness. This hole runs alongside the driving range on the right and is bordered by a wee burn on the left that doglegs with the hole. Hanse moved the green further into the corner right up against the burn so you must contend with it the entire hole.
The second picture is looking back toward the tee and clubhouse to show the burn which I didn't realize was there when on the tee.
2. Par 3 - 204 yds
With the range on the right and the highway (that was built well after the course was here, on the left and the wind blowing hard into us from right to left, this hole played even harder than it looks. Oh and if it seems narrow in the photo, wait till you stand on the tee.
3. Par 5 - 485 yds
This very tricky par 5 requires an excellent drive either straight or faded in case you are a longer hitter. A long fade on a normal day can afford a chance to attempt to reach in two. Though I'm not sure how smart that would be given the difficulty of the green and the recovery options around it. On our day it was playing into the wind. The backdrop to me looks like something out of Close Encounters, although if you are familiar with Rio then I guess it's par for the course.
I failed to mention that left is OB.
4. Par 3 - 178 yds
Delighted with the start this cracking hole was next up. Playing steeply up hill to a wonderful green. My playing companions who were all playing in a club stroke-play event suggested not to miss right or left, ha ha...a common theme the first few holes.
A green with a decent view and no easy way down. Check out the undulations and remember, it's blind from the tee. Cool stuff.
5. Par 4 - 405 yds
What goes up, must come down. This tee box I will admit is not one for people with vertigo. As I'm a huge fan of quirk I was naturally falling in love with Gavea at this juncture. Crazy hole this one. Don't forget the wind I mentioned. Hard left to right against us.
An up hill approach to a tough green with a false front. Don't forget it's Bermuda and it's sticky so you need to get it there.
This is the cool burn crossing the fairway.
I did mention it was in the shadow of...
6. Par 3 - 167 yds
Another hole requiring a precision shot in the wind, don't miss anywhere and especially don't miss long right. It was at this stage the first very good player in our group, carded a no return. He hit long and right and ended up dead in the water in the back bunker of number 3 stuck with no way to get out and not enough will to walk back to the tee after declaring it unplayable.
