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Wow- plants and grass grow fast in tropical Rio- it would take 5 years in a temperate climate for a course to look like that.

True.

(Irony mode on)

Not only golf course. Last year 12 stadiums just grew suddenly too...

Some pictures from intl media showed how tropical climate can grow things quickly

(Irony mode off and not intended to be directed to torchbearersydney)

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Rio Olympic golf course handed over to games organizers

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Rio de Janeiro's Olympic golf course - slowed by environmental lawsuits, land ownership disputes and doubts it even needed to be built - was handed over Sunday to organizers of next year's games.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes spent 15 minutes defending the course, built in the wealthy neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca, where most Olympic venues will be located.

''If you are in politics, you always have to spend some time defending your point of view,'' Paes said.

Paes spoke to several hundred guests and repeatedly thanked billionaire developer Pasquale Mauro, who stood alongside him. The developer is spending about 60 million Brazilian reals ($16.2 million) to build the course. He is also constructing luxury marble and glass high-rise apartments around the layout, which was created from a nature reserve.

The course is to remain public for at least 20 years, joining two private clubs in Rio, and took almost three years to build. It started six months behind schedule.

Environmentalists filed suit, and there were several legal disputes about who owns the property, some of the most expensive land in the western Rio suburb.

The stops and starts took some of the glamor away from golf's return to the Olympics after a 112-year absence.

Paes, who is mentioned as a possible candidate for Brazilian president, denied Sunday several reports that Mauro had donated to his political campaigns.

''No, not at all,'' Paes said when asked by The Associated Press. ''But it was not a problem if he had.''

Paes insisted Sunday that, although some of the nature reserve was bulldozed to shape the course's grass mounds, the lion's share was degraded land that had been a sand quarry.

''I think during the Olympic games there's always going to be lots of controversy,'' Paes said. ''But people finally understood that this is a great environmental legacy, that this is a great golf course.''

The legacy for the sport is unclear.

Few people play golf in Brazil, and Paes has acknowledged the game probably has little future in the South American country. Some have compared building a golf course in Brazil to setting up a bullring in Finland.

''In Brazil I don't think there's much legacy for a golf course,'' Paes said. ''I've always said that. I don't think this is something Brazil is very famous for, delivering courses. It's not a popular sport in Brazil. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics.''

Carlos Nuzman, the head of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, contradicted the mayor just minutes later.

''It's a big legacy,'' Nuzman said. ''It's a public golf course. There are a lot of young kids - boys and girls - who want to participate to develop golf. It's a chance for golf in a new region of the world to be developed.''

The sure winner is probably the developer Mauro, who is building the course with private money. It follows the pattern of other Olympic projects in Rio, where large real estate interests have moved in. Another is the nearby Athletes Village - 3,600 apartment units - that will be sold off after the games.

Brazil is spending about $10 billion to organize the games, a mix of public and private money, and is being buffeted by a deep recession with major cuts recently to the games' organizing budget.

Alberto Murray Neto, a Sao Paulo lawyer and former member of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, said it was unclear why the city would press ahead with construction on legally disputed land. He and others have suggested that the Itanhanga Golf Club in Barra could have been remodeled for the Olympics, and at a lower cost.

''It seems that this is part of real estate speculation that will be favorable to the company that is building the luxury condominium just behind the Olympic course,'' Murray said in an email to The Associated Press.

AP

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rio-olympic-golf-course-handed-over-games-organizers-145927472--spt.html

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Few people play golf in Brazil, and Paes has acknowledged the game probably has little future in the South American country. Some have compared building a golf course in Brazil to setting up a bullring in Finland.

''In Brazil I don't think there's much legacy for a golf course,'' Paes said. ''I've always said that. I don't think this is something Brazil is very famous for, delivering courses. It's not a popular sport in Brazil. But there are some things you need to do when you deliver the Olympics.''

I can't entirely agree with that part. There are certain sports (football, basketball, tennis and golf) that are likely to be popular in every country in the world in another century. Brazil has a very different climate than Scotland, but so do the USA, Australia, Japan, Korea, etc.

Edited by Nacre
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I can't entirely agree with that part. There are certain sports (football, basketball, tennis and golf) that are likely to be popular in every country in the world in another century. Brazil has a very different climate than Scotland, but so do the USA, Australia, Japan, Korea, etc.

What does the climate have to do with the popularity of the sport? There are many cold and windy states in the US that cater to the sport regardless of the conditions of the land. Hell even in Australia there is a course in the opal-mining city of Coober Pedy that is completely grassless and because it can get brutally hot during the day, the golf course offers night time golf with glow in the dark golf balls.

The thing is golf is an expensive sport such as equestrian and sailing. Countries like the US, Australia, Japan excel in golf because there are more people who are able to afford to play the games. Even public schools offer golfing as a sport to take. Yes Brazil is far from an impoverished country, but the majority of the population live in lower middle class status or lower and don't have the money to splurge on the membership costs to use golf courses, much less to buy the expensive equipment needed to play the sport.

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The thing is golf is an expensive sport such as equestrian and sailing. Countries like the US, Australia, Japan excel in golf because there are more people who are able to afford to play the games. Even public schools offer golfing as a sport to take. Yes Brazil is far from an impoverished country, but the majority of the population live in lower middle class status or lower and don't have the money to splurge on the membership costs to use golf courses, much less to buy the expensive equipment needed to play the sport.

As the economies of Brazil, China, etc improve that should change. Swimming and tennis are also expensive sports, yet Brazil already has a decent number of quality athletes in those sports.

Edited by Nacre
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As the economies of Brazil, China, etc improve that should change. Swimming and tennis are also expensive sports, yet Brazil already has a decent number of quality athletes in those sports.

The difference between swimming and tennis and golf is that the latter requires a piece of land in single ownership around half a kilometre long for a single hole. Tennis requires a space about the size of a house-plot and swimming requires nothing more than a deepish part of a stream, free from dangerous aquatic life. With those sports, most of the expense comes from the training regime.

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I have to admit I'm pretty impressed with the golf course. Considering all the issues and controversies it looks like the end product was a pretty fine venue. Lets hope there's enough demand for a public course in Rio to justify it's existence long term.

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I know most folks here hate the idea of Olympic Golf. But I'm getting excited.

Hard to get excited about a sport with a popularity that's severely inflated. Cannot stand sitting and watching a golf game it's one of the most boring things on television, almost as boring as watching a crafts show on PBS.

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I have to admit I'm pretty impressed with the golf course. Considering all the issues and controversies it looks like the end product was a pretty fine venue. Lets hope there's enough demand for a public course in Rio to justify it's existence long term.

I think most of the outrage over the golf course were the environmental issues and the possibility of not finishing the venue in time for the games since everything was severely delayed, but I don't think anybody was going to expect them to deliver the games a sub-par golf venue.

But nah I highly doubt that this golf course will be of much use after the games, even if it is a public golf course. It's still an expensive sport that most people cannot afford to keep up with. Also it's not really a sport to get that excited about. This is a nation who lives, eats and breathes football and throws massive parties like Carnaval at the Sambadrome and the biggest gay pride festival (possibly in the world) in Sao Paulo. They're very passionate people, and to go from all that excitement to trying to increase interest in a quiet formal "sport" like golf I don't see it happening. And with all the protests going on in the country right now the last thing that Brazilians have on their minds is what to do with that golf course, or probably the rest of the venues, from the Olympics.

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Hard to get excited about a sport with a popularity that's severely inflated. Cannot stand sitting and watching a golf game it's one of the most boring things on television, almost as boring as watching a crafts show on PBS.

I have to admit I'm with zeke on this one. I've gotten sick of people on here freaking out about golf being an Olympic sport. It belongs more than a number of other sports, not to mention it's one of top spectator sports in many countries.

I respect your opinion completely Latin, and I guess I'm the complete opposite when I say that I'm excited for the competition as an avid follower of golf. I just can't take the constant abuse that the sport gets on here.

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Who knows how this is going to end. Golf might become more popular in Rio because of a lower entry point course as a result of these Games. I am not the biggest fan of gold. It is one of my 3 shitlist sports, but I'm not going to condemn it. I understand the appeal. I especially think golf is going to be a boon for the women's game.

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Who knows how this is going to end. Golf might become more popular in Rio because of a lower entry point course as a result of these Games. I am not the biggest fan of gold. It is one of my 3 shitlist sports, but I'm not going to condemn it. I understand the appeal. I especially think golf is going to be a boon for the women's game.

What else is on your shitlist?

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