Malvern’s Famed Golf-Course Designer Discusses His Contentious Olympic Course

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Olympic golf course via USA Today.

Malvern resident Gil Hanse, one of golf’s most-esteemed course designers, recently discussed with the Philadelphia Inquirer the obstacles he faced in supervising the construction of this summer’s Olympic course in Brazil.

Land ownership disputes, environmental protests, logistical nightmares, and broken promises turned the historic project into a stressful undertaking, writes Joe Juliano of the Inquirer.

Despite the setbacks, Hanse is thrilled with the finished product.

Gil Hanse via www.golfchannel.com
Gil Hanse via www.golfchannel.com

“I don’t feel like we’re going to have to apologize for this golf course,” the 52-year-old Hanse told Juliano.

According to Juliano, the mostly flat par-71 layout, located in the Barra da Tijuca region just three miles from the Olympic Village, plays at 7,128 yards for the men and 6,245 yards for the women.

Built mostly on what used to be a sand quarry, the course “has a linksy feel and look to it,” Hanse said, with wide fairways, 79 bunkers and four holes where water may come into play. Its primary defenses are wind and a firm and fast track.

Legal challenges delayed the January 2013 start of the project for more than two months. It took two more months after that before Hanse and his crew started receiving paychecks.

“At the start, we had a bulldozer that was ancient,” Hanse told Juliano. “On a certain level, it was kind of comical because you’re like, ‘Really? This is how this is going to work out?’ We’ve been asked to build a very visible golf course, and we’re doing it with three of us and six Brazilian workers, who were all great guys but had never seen a golf course let alone know how to build one.”

Click here to read more about Gil Hanse from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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