The Olympic Golf Course (Rio de Janeiro) - Photo Tour

[Matthew Mollica]

Based on pictures alone, the Olympics course looks similar in some ways to the sandbelt courses around Melbourne.  (I've never played any of these.)  Is that right?

Jim, Mike Clayton may comment further. He's extremely familiar with the Melbourne sandbelt, and caddied during the Olympics. He noted many similarities at Rio.

[Jon Cavalier]

Terrific stuff, Joe. Really enjoyed this. Thanks for the effort.

And the course looks great too.

[Mike_Clayton]

Joe,


The big mound short of 16 had another consequence (intended of not) - aside from making some approaches blind from way back. On the tee we were always aware that a driver hitting the downslope would be shot forward hard enough to reach all the rubbish long and left of the green. Su Oh and I learned it watching Rickie Fowler on the last day when someone (can't recall who) he was playing with did it.


Jim,


It played a lot like a sand belt course with all the short grass around the greens - so there was always a choice of shot and those shots were the same we you find in Melbourne including running chips with many clubs, high pitch shots and putts
The fairways were wide - another similarity with many holes on the sandbelt and especially at Royal Melbourne - but the orientation of the greens really favoured an approach from one part of the fairway. That is the basis of the strategy of all sandbelt courses.
The bunkers with the big sand faces looked very similar but they played quite differently. The sand was softer and there was more of it - so more plugged lies and balls stopping on the faces as opposed to always running to the base. Like they are in Melbourne, they were hazards to be avoided.
The 16th hole was exactly the sort of 300 yard hole you find on the sandbelt - it asks a simple question but the answer is usually complicated.The 15th at Victoria is a good example.
Gil never saw the old 15th at Huntingdale but the 4th hole was almost an exact replica - only done better.

[Joe Zucker]

Thanks, Jon and others.

Mike, that possibility is something I never considered.  Pros really do play a different game I guess...

I can see how the feature of a steep slope kicking the ball very far off line in a few other spots on the course.  The mounds fronting 9 or the left side of the 4th green are both steep and could kick a ball more than 20 yards.

[Mike_Clayton]

Joe,


9 didn't seem to be much of a problem with kicking the ball off line because the shot in was so short. The blindness of the pitch of you didn't drive exactly right was something making the hole really interesting.
 The bank off the left of 4 was brutal if you hit it. Su hit a hook the first day which just missed the green and made the mandatory 5 from down there. The second shot if you missed the green in the wrong place was almost harder than the tee shot.

[Joe Zucker]

Mike,

I can see how 9 would be tricky in that way.  The fairway can play so wide that a casual player won't necessarily be disciplined enough to play to a spot that gives a good angle.  You're left with a wedge, but not necessarily a good shot at the pin.

In your trips around the course, how did the bowl around the 6th green play?  I can't imagine players of that level intentionally banking shots off the slope, but did missed shots kick onto the surface regularly?

Thanks for your insights.  It's fun to hear about what the best saw in the course and how they approached its challenges.

[Kalen Braley]

I must admit, those pics looked terrific. Seeing it on TV did not do justice to all the micro elevation and humps and bumps on that course.

[Mike_Clayton]

Joe


We tried a shot off the left bank on 6 in a practice round but it was never an option in the tournament. If it had been 200 yards maybe it would have been but it only played between 165 (1st day) and 180 (last day) with the pin way back.
I didn't see shots missed left there but the last day Su pushed a 5 iron a little and the bank on the right kicked it onto the green.
It was a pity they didn't use the alternate tee way to the right and the back left pin - a pin made specifically for the right tee.


I've seen a few LPGA courses this year and this one was a huge step above the courses they generally play.

[Dan Herrmann]

Joe - fantastic work.  Greatly appreciated!

[Tom Bacsanyi]

Great writeup Joe!  Can you comment on the playability of the zoysia fairways and the paspalum greens? You mentioned everything was firm but did the ball roll out a lot on the fairways?  How did the greens putt?

Thanks!

[Joe Zucker]

Thanks for the insight, Mike.  I didn't even know that tee existed.  It would make for an interesting shot.

Tom, the greens were perfect and fast.  I wasn't playing a very serious round, but if I had been I would have three putted several times because the ball really seemed to trickle out those last few feet around the hole.  I can't imagine them playing better.  As for the fairways, they were firm, but the grass seemed to be a little spongy.  The ball rolled out in the fairways so I didn't notice it there, but when I bumped shots around the green they seemed to die more than I expected on the first bounce.  Still firm, but not like a true links course.

I haven't played enough golf on this type of grass to know if the conditions I experienced are standard and expected.  In total, the course is plays fast, but never overly so.

[Rob Clisdell]

Great tour, I was really looking forward to seeing that course and for mostly flat land, it looks sensational.

[Joe Zucker]

Geoff Shackelford linked to this article with the superintendent on his blog today:


http://www.nationalclubgolfer.com/2017/02/08/golf-olympics-neil-cleverly/


When I played the course the week it opened I ran into Neil Cleverly when I was on the course and talked to him for a few minutes.  We talked about how great the conditions were and he shared the same sentiment he notes in the article, that it was tough training the workers but everyone was very proud of the work.  It's too bad the course is not progressing and the clubhouse is still empty.  They were planning on furnishing it for the summer, but I guess that isn't going to happen...

[David_Tepper]

It is not just the golf course that has been neglected and abandoned. Many of the other venues built for the Rio Olympics has suffered the same fate.

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Here-is-what-the-abandoned-venues-of-the-Rio-10929538.php

[Matthew Mollica]

I found myself thinking about the course in Rio today, and felt compelled to return to this thread. I wonder what it looks like today, and how much play it is getting. And whether this July 2021 article is an accurate reflection of weekly playing numbers...


https://golf.com/travel/rios-controversial-olympic-course-grow-game/

[Wayne_Kozun]

Good to see that the course is still being used and seems to be somewhat helping to introduce Brazilians to golf.