A couple weeks ago, the International Olympic Committee tweeted out a peek at the plans for the course that'll be used when golf returns to the Summer Games in 2016. Now we have a bird's-eye view of the cleared-off property on which the course will be built.
The course is being built at Reserva de Marapendi in Barra da Tijuca, the district of Rio de Janeiro that will contain the largest number of Olympic Games venues. It will be "a unique Olympic Games venue," says the IOC, located about three miles from the Athletes' Village and five miles from the Main Press Center and the International Broadcast Center.
The course, which was designed by American course architect Gil Hanse – who was chosen for the job a little more than a year ago – will boast a number of sand and water features, including a large inland lake surrounded by several holes on the right side of the photo. The practice range will be on the far left side of the photo, running from the road down toward the water, and the course will begin and end right next to the range, in the lower left area of the photo.
Several holes will border the shore of Lake Marapendi – the long, skinny lake between the course and the barrier island. None will dramatically interact with the large lake, though the long 13th hole will run parallel to the coastline, next to the wooded area, in the upper right of the photo. Beyond the barrier island, by the way, is the Atlantic Ocean.
After the Olympics, the IOC says, "the course will be used as a public facility with the chief purpose of promoting golf in Brazil and the globe, representing one of the most important Olympic Games legacies for sport development in the country."
If you know Rio, the course is south of the Avenue of the Americas, and a few miles west of the famed Copacabana neighborhood.