As I pass through the gate of Itanhanga Golf Club in Rio, it’s like moving from the city to the country in just a 10-yard roll of the coaches’ wheels. The course sits surround by hills and one in particular that the original inhabitants of this land named “Devil’s Rock” and it certainly dominates the landscape here.
My first thoughts on the course is that it is very flat and this morning I am just going to fly round in a buggy and take photos, as the Brazilian junior championships are being played today and they are allowing me to play the course once the tournament has finished.
What is great to see is so many children of all ages both male and female playing the game and the practice ground looks like a mini kindergarten with the kids getting in their final practice sessions before they go out and compete.
But as I make my way round in the buggy, I can see the course is quite a strategic track with some great par 3s and the way the course nestles in the landscape surrounded by the hills, does give it a unique feeling and I am now itching to get out there and play it myself.
I’m finally on the tee and smashing my 3-wood down the first, a slight mistake as I am only a foot away from the water on the left, but I am able to wedge onto the green, which turns out to be very tricky with some very interesting complexes. Canadian, Stanley Thompson designed the course in 1935 and Robert Trent Jones, Sr completed some remoulding in 1958, the course has held many championships including the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open where Roger Chapman beat Irishman Padraig Harrington in a playoff.
I loved the par 3s and although the course is not long you need to be in the right position to get at the flag and with a lot of the holes running parallel the mixture of pines and trees help give each hole it own space so golfers don’t feel like they are on top of each other.
There are many stand out holes and I loved the 5th and 6th holes where water comes into play on your approach shot to the green on the 5th and the island green on the par 3 6th. The 18th is a tough finishing hole with a reservoir channel running down the left and more water on the right. After playing in the heat of a Brazilian day you will appreciate a nice cold drink in the well-appointed air-conditioned clubhouse. Not only do I feel as though I have earned it, but it also gives me time to reflect on what a great course this turned out to be and once again reminds me never to go by first impressions.
Top: The beautiful setting of the 5th hole. Above bunker surrounded 17th hole
Mountain backdrop at the 1stMore mountains at the 13th The 16th fairway bunker
Top: The beautiful setting of the 5th hole. Above bunker surrounded 17th hole
