Hanse wins Olympic design bid

Castle Stuart co-creator given the nod to design Rio 2016 golf course

Brazil-iant: A 3D digital render of what part of the Hanse’s completed Olympic golf course will look like

The organising committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games has selected US-based Hanse Golf Course Design to develop the golf course in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympic Games in 2016, when golf will makes its return to the programme after an absence of 112 years.

Hanse Golf Course Design was selected from eight finalists as the candidate that most aptly met the selection criteria that were issued by Rio 2016. The proposal was cited for its design characteristics, including accentuation of the natural dune formations and retention of the natural contours of the land.

The design effectively addresses the planning of temporary overlay structures and internal flow systems for the venue and contains a strong legacy component with the prioritising of a golf academy as an essential tool for the development of golf in Brazil.

The design also considers the location of permanent buildings and the experience of players and spectators.

Gilbert S. Hanse, 48, the founder and president of the successful company, boasts a portfolio of internationally-renowned golf courses, amongst them Castle Stuart, which Hanse co-designed with Mark Parsinen.

Hanse Golf Course Design has teamed up with LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member, Amy Alcott, for the project. Alcott amassed 29 professional victories on the LPGA Tour including five major championship victories.

They will work closely with environmental and sustainability engineering firms in the final design process and advocate the use of native vegetation and a minimum of land movement. Hanse has committed to relocating to Rio while the golf course is under construction.

“As it marks 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,” said the president of Rio 2016, Carlos Arthur Nuzman. “It will enable Rio to host important events in the international calendar and it will be an example of sustainability and preservation of an environmentally protected area.

“This course will be an excellent facility for the practice and development of golf and will inspire millions of youth across Brazil and the globe. We look forward to welcoming the athletes and spectators to the course in 2016.”

Bird’s eye view: Another digital render of the proposed course, showing the route it will take

Peter Dawson, president of the International Golf Federation, said, “The IGF would like to thank all of the architects who worked so hard on their bids and whose presentations demonstrated great vision. The selection process adopted by Rio 2016 was extremely thorough and reflected the importance of the project. I am delighted Hanse Golf Course Design has been appointed to design the Olympic golf course which promises to provide an outstanding venue for the Games and a tremendous legacy for our sport in Brazil.”

Hanse Golf Course Design tackled the challenge of designing a course for use by both elite and amateur athletes; one of the main legacy objectives. It addressed the environmental sustainability directives for the Games and efficiently conformed to the building restrictions on the land. Hanse Golf Course Design also effectively integrated native vegetation to the design, reducing the areas where frequent maintenance will be required.

In a statement on his website, Hanse said: “We want to take this opportunity to say how honored and humbled we are to have been selected to design the golf course for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. On behalf of everyone involved with the Hanse Golf Course Design presentation, thank you to the City of Rio de Janeiro, the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, and the International Golf Federation for placing their trust in us to deliver a course that will become the first course to host golf in the Olympics since 1904.

“It has always been our goal to produce pleasurable and interesting golf courses, so needless to say we are excited that our body of work has been deemed to be of a standard that will provide a great stage for the Olympic games while providing a long lasting legacy for the game of golf in Brazil. We will strive to produce a course that will maximize the benefits of the site while creating an identity that is in keeping with the natural terrain, vegetation and wildlife indigenous to what we believe will be transformed into a picturesque landscape which will make the people of Rio proud.”

Hanse got the nod ahead of: Jack Nicklaus-Annika Sorenstam, Greg Norman-Lorena Ochoa, Gary Player, Martin Hawtree, Tom Doak, Robert Trent Jones II, and Peter Thomson-Ross Perrett.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered