Rio Olympic Golf Course Hole by Hole: Hole 1

A guide to the first hole of the Rio Olympic Golf Course ahead of the 2016 Olympics in August

Rio Olympic Golf Course Hole by Hole: Hole 1

Hole 1 - Par 5 - 601 yards

Both nines on the Olympic course open up with par fives with the first hole measuring 601 yards and presenting players with a birdie chance.

The drive, like most tee shots on the course, is wide open.

The course was designed by Gil Hanse - designer of Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness in Scotland - so it has a certain linsky feel and also takes inspiration from the courses on Australia's sand belt.

Instead of spongy fairways and thick rough the course plays with fast fairways and native sand areas.

Depending on the length of the players' drives – and the wind direction which will play a big part in whether this hole is reachable in two – the competitors will be playing anything from 320 – 270 yards for their second shots.

The players that do go for the green in two have to be accurate as the putting surface is only 15-yards deep and it can be difficult to stop the ball on it.

The alternative is to play for position and try to wedge it close to make birdie that way.

There are no bunkers protecting the green but subtle, linksy humps and bumps surround it making it difficult to get up and down if you do miss on the wrong side.

This is a great opening hole and one where we should see some early excitement.

James Mason of planetgolfreview.com travelled to Rio to produce the guide of the 2016 Olympic Golf Course of Golf Monthly

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18