The Olympic Golf Course is a new venue that was built for the men’s and women’s individual golf events of the 2016 Summer Games, where golf returned for the first time as an Olympic sport after 112 years. Hanse Golf Course Design was chosen from eight contenders to build the course.

The new golf facility is located at Reserva de Marapendi in Barra da Tijuca – Rio de Janeiro. As Rio 2016 marked the return of golf to the Olympic Games after over a century of absence, this course represents the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the sport. It will enable Rio to host important events in the international calendar and it would be an example of sustainability and preservation of an environmentally protected area. This Olympic Golf Course is an excellent facility for the practice and development of golf and will inspire millions of youth across Brazil and the globe.

The Olympic 18-hole course has a links-style feel, most comparable to the Australian sand-belt courses and is naturally integrated with the native vegetation. There is plenty of wildlife present at the course, including capybaras (large rodent), caimans (small crocodile) and corujas (burrowing owls). The experience of playing this already legendary course, on your golf holiday in Brazil, will linger in your memory forever!

Gávea Golf & Country Club in the south of Rio de Janeiro City is widely regarded as one of Brazil’s most prestigious golf clubs and dates back to 1921, where the course layout was designed by Arthur Morgan Davidson. The course is located between Pedra da Gávea – an enormous rocky outcrop that looms over the course, Tijuca Forest and São Conrado beach.

The beauty of Rio de Janeiro, with its hills, sea and amazing vegetation makes Gávea Golf & Country Club a truly unique course & a dream to play on your Brazil golf holiday, it gives you the feeling of playing in a magical tropical valley. You need to be in shape to face its hilly fairways – particularly the ones on the front nine. However, the reward is worthwhile: an unforgettable view over the course and the sea.

With just less than 6,000 yards from the back tees, it is a short course, but the distance from tee to green is not important on this strategic little charmer.

Itanhangá Golf Club is founded in the 30’s and is the only club with 27 holes in Rio de Janeiro State. The club always played an important role for golf in Brazil, as it hosted some of the major golf competitions, including the Brazil Open and the LPGA Tour & now it will host you on your golf holiday in Brazil. Itanhangá is also famous for its Golf school, which is active in promoting junior golf.

The club has an 18 holes championship course and an additional 9 holes course. From the course, there is a privileged view of Pedra da Gávea and Tijuca Forest, two of Rio de Janeiro’s most beautiful postcard views.

Surrounded by the hills, the course gives you a unique feeling of playing in a huge valley. Golfers say when they pass through the gate of Itanhanga Golf Club, it’s like moving from the big city to a peaceful country within a 10 yards walk.

Itanhangá Golf Club is a relatively flat parkland golf course, with a wide variety of beautiful decades-old trees.

The small village of Trancoso was discovered in the 70s. After the 90s, it became famous as a stronghold for business people, artists, celebrities and members of the Brazilian jet set. It was at this exact location, where the Portuguese sailors first saw the Brazilian coastline over 500 years ago. A mix of deserted beaches, pristine nature, and magnificent views.

Nowadays, Trancoso is being discovered by golfers from all over the world, thanks to Terravista Golf Course, one of the most famous Brazilian courses & a must play course if you are on a golf holiday in Brazil.

Designed by American architect Dan Blankenship, the course opened in 2004. Its fairways cover 175 acres of a resort complex that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, near the small town of Trancoso on Brazil’s Discovery Coast

The front nine holes are routed through an Atlantic rainforest environment while the back nine holes are played closer to the coast, with four holes laid out along the edge of the cliffs. The signature hole is found at hole 14, a much-photographed par three where the green is perched 150 feet above the water’s level. From the tee box, giant sea turtles can be observed swimming in the ocean.

The Comandatuba Ocean Course in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia region is a world-class golf course designed and executed by American architect Dan Blankenship. The 18 holes of the Ocean Course at Ilha de Comandatuba are set out on a beautiful tropical peninsula that sits between the Canal de Comandatuba and the Atlantic Ocean.

The course is fully integrated into the natural environment that is dominated by century-old palm trees, mangroves, sand dunes, beautiful lakes, native vegetation and a rich local fauna of monkeys, birds, foxes, and anteaters.

A mangrove swamp bounds the canal side of the resort alongside holes 5,6, 10 and 11 so golfers are advised against straying too far offline here. The final five holes are the most memorable, as they lie closest to the beach. The 15th is the toughest hole and most players will be happy to mark a five on their scorecard at this long par four.

Playing in Comandatuba in the late afternoon is a memorable experience – rays of sunshine streaming through the coconut trees form different shades of light, changing the whole course into an extremely rare and beautiful sight, which often breaks the concentration of players.

The course is chosen by Golf Digest magazine as one of the best golf courses in Brazil. Be sure to play a round on your golf holiday to Brazil.