Last week I returned to play Olivos Golf Club, which I had last played about eight years ago. The two better nines at Olivos, which is located about 25 miles from the center of Buenos Aireas, are ranked by Golf Digest as the #1 course in Argentina and the #71 course outside of the United States. It was a beautiful fall day, and there is a lot to like about the course – it’s on a gently rolling piece of property (the best site I’ve seen in Greater Buenos Aires); it’s an easy walk, with greens and tees very close to one another; the par 4’s and par 5’s require the low handicapper to work the ball to get in the best position, but are still playable for the high handicapper; a few of the greens have some pretty interesting contours (see a few below); and the greens were in terrific condition the day I played. It’s a really enjoyable place to play.
But is it worthy of its #71 outside-the-U.S. ranking by GD? To paraphrase Matt Ward, hold the phone: the San Isidro layout just doesn’t put forward enough from a design perspective to stand with the top 100. To start with, it has several weaknesses. Among other things, the par 3’s are very similar (all placed on flat pieces of the property with raised greens that slope back to front), one or two holes are head-scratchers, the greens struck me as too large for the layout, and some of the newer fairways bunkers don’t fit the overall style. More generally, and I realize this is an extremely general and subjective comment, but nothing about the course stood out to me as great. But to be ranked #71 in the world Olivos has to be better than the 29 courses ranked below it and ALL of the *unranked* courses, a list that includes (just to name a few): County Louth, Doonbeg, Ballyliffin, Enniscrone, Portstewart, Nairn, Saunton, Royal Cinque Ports, Jasper Park, Dye Fore, and various courses in Cabo. I just don’t think Olivos is that good.
So what explains the ranking? I think it’s either a desire on GD’s part to have some form of geographical diversity in its rankings or (more likely, in my view) a bias that creeps into individual raters’ minds as they think something along these lines: everybody talks about Argentina’s long golf history, including MacKenzie’s work at the Jockey Club and other locations; Buenos Aires has a European feel; a city/country with that history and that kind of vibe must have *some* courses that are in the top 100 outside the U.S.; because it was designed by MacKenzie, the Jockey Club must be in the top 100; this course might be better than the Jockey Club; ergo, this course has to be ranked in the top 100. And they vote accordingly.
But that’s not really the point of this post, which is really supposed to just be a photo tour of the course. [I’m no Aidan Bradley, but the ho-hum nature of a lot these pics still suggests that this isn’t a top 100 course. My camera also doesn't really pick up the rolling nature of the site.] All distances are from the back tees.
Nice, understated clubhouse, with a nice expanse of green around it and the various holes that play to and from it (all three nines return to the clubhouse)
White Nine.
#1. Par 5, 508 yards. Plays downhill, then doglegs left and back uphill to a tricky green, especially when the pin is in front. Good opener.
#2. 385 yards. Dogleg right up the hill. Double green, split from the other hole by a huge hump that you can see a little bit of from the last shot.
#3. 420 yards. Dogleg left; very difficult to get in the right position. Green has a Biarritz-like swale in the middle, but set at an angle to the line of play.
#4. 178 yards. First of the par 3’s.
#5. 445 yards. Probably my favorite hole out here -- slight dogleg right, then a green that looks like it’s hanging on a precipice.
#6. par 4, 415 yards. Slight dogleg left.
While #10 at Winged Foot may require a shot that feels like you’re hitting for someone’s living room, the play here is to pick a shanty outside the gates of the neighborhood and swing…..
….as contrasted with the house (in traditional Argentine) inside the gates.
#7. 176 yards.
#8 par 5, 512 yards. Dogleg right.
From the landing zone; circular, steep-faced fairway bunker on left-hand side seems out of place
#9. 346 yards. Downhill, then uphill dogleg left. Interesting green set into the slope of the hill. One of my favorite holes, even if the bunkers don’t quite fit in.
Really cool halfway house – but very odd that it’s located within 100 yards of the clubhouse.
Colorada (Red) Nine
#1. 199 yards
#2. 557 yards. Down the hill, then dogleg left.
#3. 399 yards. Uphill tee shot/dogleg right, then two-tiered green.
#4. 166 yards. Claustrophobic!
#5. 436 yards, dogleg left. Greenside bunkers remind me of some of Rees Jones’s work.
#6. Par 5, 470 yards. Dogleg right, downhill to green with pond in front. Good risk-reward hole.
#7. Par 4, 402 yards. Hard dogleg left; turn point seemed to be about 170 yards from the tee, and trees block out cutting off the dogleg. Not my favorite.
#8 210 yards. Really tough hole; in addition to the length, the green has significant contours.
#9 Par 5, 503 yards. Uphill back to the clubhouse.
