Best Golf Courses in Brazil
3 ranked courses in Brazil
Brazil has three clubs in this guide: one in São Paulo, one in Rio de Janeiro and one on the coast of Bahia. São Paulo Golf Club was founded in 1901 as the São Paulo Country Club by British and Scottish railway workers, the first golf club in Brazil. After early grounds at Chácara Dulley and on the Morro dos Ingleses in Bela Vista, the members settled around 1915 on land in Santo Amaro, where 18 holes cover about 59 hectares of gently rolling parkland with small lakes. Stanley Thompson renovated the course in 1935 with José Maria Gonzalez, replacing the sand greens with grass. The Clark Cup has been contested there since 1904, and the club staged the São Paulo 500 Years Open, a European Tour event, in 2000. In Rio, the Olympic Golf Course in Barra da Tijuca is Gil Hanse's design for the 2016 Games, golf's first Olympic appearance since 1904. Justin Rose and Inbee Park won the gold medals, and the par 71 of 7,128 yards sits beside the Marapendi Lagoon with Atlantic forest hills behind it and firm, wind-exposed playing surfaces. Terravista Golf Course at Trancoso is Dan Blankenship's clifftop par 72 above the Atlantic on the Costa do Descobrimento, the coast where Pedro Álvares Cabral first sighted Brazil in 1500. It is routed between the cliff edge and native Mata Atlântica forest, and its par-3 14th plays across the cliff edge to a green set in coastal dunes.
— Top 3 Rankings
Top 3 Best Golf Courses in Brazil
Updated
About Golf Courses in Brazil
Two of the three take visitors. The Rio Olympic Golf Course opens every day except Tuesday and takes tee times by phone or email; bring a handicap record, since its fee scale separates Brazilian from international handicaps. Terravista needs tee times booked in advance, and Porto Seguro airport is about 65 kilometers north of Trancoso. Rio is driest from April to September, Trancoso from June to September. São Paulo Golf Club plays by member invitation only, so call the club office well ahead of travel.
- Ranked courses
- 3
- Course styles
- coastal 2 · parkland 1
- Access
- private 1 · public 1 · resort 1
- Opened
- 1901–2016
- Playable without membership
- 2 of 3