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Argentina, Patagonia – Golf at the foot of the Andes
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FACTS ABOUT ARGENTINA
Country: Argentina
Population: 39.5 million
Government: Republic
Area: 2,766,890 square kilometres
Capital: Buenos Aires
Language: Argentinean Spanish (English, Italian, German, French, various indigenous languages)
Religion: Roman Catholic (92%), Protestant (2%), Judaism (2%), other (4%)
Ethnic groups: white, over 90%, Mestizo about 5%, Indians 30 000-40 000
Main exports: Tourism, cereals, beef, other food, oil, cars
Currency: Peso
Time difference: -4 hours
Tips: swimming, golf, shopping, horseback riding, skiing, adventure
Golf at the foot of the Andes
Our reporter visited Patagonia in Argentina for a ski vacation in the Andes. When he got wind of the new, promising Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, Cahapelco Golf Club, he couldn’t help but hire a set of clubs and take the challenge - a challenge that turned out to offer both beautiful surroundings and varied golf.
Chapelco Golf Club is located in Patagonia, near the foot of the Andes some 1000 kilometres southeast of Buenos Aires and 1600 kilometres north of Cape Horn.
In August, early spring in the southern hemisphere, I traveled to Argentina to test two ski resorts. But when I heard about the newly opened Jack Nicklaus-course in the vicinity, I asked the local tourist authorities if they could arrange a start time. The day after, I received a confirmation that I was welcome to play.
The Andes are an incredibly beautiful place to build a golf course. Huge lakes meet forests which meet mountain which meet volcanoes. In the valleys cattle contentedly graze in the great wide open spaces. And Jack Nicklaus's creation is the only path for many, many miles.
Like the rest of the Patagonia, the Andes are an isolated place. Earlier, Chapelco Estancia was inhabited by a single farmer and his family. Now there is an eighteen-hole course, and the first of potentially hundreds of holiday homes for golfers.
The course was not in the best condition when I visited. The entire eighteen-hole course was officially opened by Jack in February 2006, during the Argentinean summer, before winter (June and July) closed it again. As I said I had come down from skiing on the Chapelco Mountains, from where the course gets its name. Patagonia was an impressive background in every way.
Although the course is located in a national park, it is cut from a piece of the farmer's forestation. Several mountain peaks rise up about 2,000 metres above the course. The course itself is 600 metres above sea level which gives your ball those much sought after extra metres. Not surprisingly, Jack has designed the course in the North American tradition with five tees on every hole. Only one of these for ladies - the other four are for men, depending on the handicap. From the white tees the course stretches 5,964 metres, and the ladies have to deal with 5,056 metres from the red tee.
Since August still means winter in Argentina, the course can be forced to be closed due to nightly snowfall. When I showed up, the course was snow-free, but several holes were still closed due to frost so I started the round on the tenth hole, which lay to the north. Holes located to the north receive the most sun here. The tenth hole was a fantastic par 5 of 508 metres (I'm talking lengths from the medium handicapper’s blue tee here). From the raised tenth’s view there is both good and bad news. The fairway was wide, around 150 metres, but it was full of bunkers, some of them quite huge. Luckily, should you get stuck in one of them the sand was fluffy and forgiving despite the damp weather.
When I was back at the clubhouse the first nine holes had thawed so much that I could start playing. I especially appreciated the 169-metre long, seventh hole, par 3. This took courage from a canted tee over a star-shaped mini-valley. The ball could have taken any route. Even the signature hole required sharpness. Hole four, par four, 382 metres with the tee-off placed high in a grove where the fairway faded far away in the form of a narrow finger. Parallel to this yet another fairway strip crept ahead, but a further 45 metres away. Both were embedded in thick rough.
This was without a doubt good golf, but it was not as constantly superb as other Jack Nicklaus courses that I've played. There were some great holes, while others were just decent, but the surrounding landscape is nothing to complain about.
Chapelco Golf Club is located in Patagonia, near the foot of the Andes some 1000 kilometres southeast of Buenos Aires and 1600 kilometres north of Cape Horn.
In August, early spring in the southern hemisphere, I traveled to Argentina to test two ski resorts. But when I heard about the newly opened Jack Nicklaus-course in the vicinity, I asked the local tourist authorities if they could arrange a start time. The day after, I received a confirmation that I was welcome to play.
The Andes are an incredibly beautiful place to build a golf course. Huge lakes meet forests which meet mountain which meet volcanoes. In the valleys cattle contentedly graze in the great wide open spaces. And Jack Nicklaus's creation is the only path for many, many miles.
Like the rest of the Patagonia, the Andes are an isolated place. Earlier, Chapelco Estancia was inhabited by a single farmer and his family. Now there is an eighteen-hole course, and the first of potentially hundreds of holiday homes for golfers.
The course was not in the best condition when I visited. The entire eighteen-hole course was officially opened by Jack in February 2006, during the Argentinean summer, before winter (June and July) closed it again. As I said I had come down from skiing on the Chapelco Mountains, from where the course gets its name. Patagonia was an impressive background in every way.
Although the course is located in a national park, it is cut from a piece of the farmer's forestation. Several mountain peaks rise up about 2,000 metres above the course. The course itself is 600 metres above sea level which gives your ball those much sought after extra metres. Not surprisingly, Jack has designed the course in the North American tradition with five tees on every hole. Only one of these for ladies - the other four are for men, depending on the handicap. From the white tees the course stretches 5,964 metres, and the ladies have to deal with 5,056 metres from the red tee.
Since August still means winter in Argentina, the course can be forced to be closed due to nightly snowfall. When I showed up, the course was snow-free, but several holes were still closed due to frost so I started the round on the tenth hole, which lay to the north. Holes located to the north receive the most sun here. The tenth hole was a fantastic par 5 of 508 metres (I'm talking lengths from the medium handicapper’s blue tee here). From the raised tenth’s view there is both good and bad news. The fairway was wide, around 150 metres, but it was full of bunkers, some of them quite huge. Luckily, should you get stuck in one of them the sand was fluffy and forgiving despite the damp weather.
When I was back at the clubhouse the first nine holes had thawed so much that I could start playing. I especially appreciated the 169-metre long, seventh hole, par 3. This took courage from a canted tee over a star-shaped mini-valley. The ball could have taken any route. Even the signature hole required sharpness. Hole four, par four, 382 metres with the tee-off placed high in a grove where the fairway faded far away in the form of a narrow finger. Parallel to this yet another fairway strip crept ahead, but a further 45 metres away. Both were embedded in thick rough.
This was without a doubt good golf, but it was not as constantly superb as other Jack Nicklaus courses that I've played. There were some great holes, while others were just decent, but the surrounding landscape is nothing to complain about.
By Tony Gearing
Processing: Mikael Andersson