There’s a private golf course in a Brazilian rainforest that you’ve probably never heard of but apparently, it’s actually one of the best golf courses in the world.
There are no members, no website, you can only play if you’re invited by the family who own it, the course can go days or even weeks without a single round being played but the course is ranked in the top 50 golf courses in the world. It’s ranked higher than Pinehurst No. 2, Bethpage Black, Seminole, Portmarnock and Birkdale.
When you think of Brazil, golf is likely not the sport that comes to mind. Pele, Ronaldinho, the original Ronaldo or even Neymar are more likely to be what you think of.
So how did this magical golf course in the rainforest of a country not known for golf come to be?
Way back in 1859, the Malzoni family moved from Italy to Brazil. At the time, Brazil had become the biggest producer of coffee in the world with 80% of all coffee produced around the world coming from Brazil.
Like the gold rush in the US around the same time, Brazil was experiencing a “coffee rush”. Those little brown beans promised a world of wealth for those who could crack the market.
The Malzonis, like a lot of Italians, were coffee drinkers and could see the growing popularity of this little drink spread across their country. Even the Pope had recently given his blessing to coffee around this time. So the Malzonis decided to take a risk. They boarded a ship bound for a crossing over the Atlantic from Italy to Brazil to buy a coffee bean farm just outside Sao Paulo.
Over the next few decades, their plan worked and the Malzoni coffee empire grew.
In the years that followed, the family diversified their portfolio and expanded into real estate and other ventures. Rino, one of the sons, actually set up a sports car company called Puma and although I can’t say I’m much of a car fan, based on what I’ve seen, the Puma GT looked pretty cool.
The car company even received investment from Muhammad Ali at one point.
Although there are no publicly available figures that outline the exact net worth of the Malzoni family, they are understood to still be one of the wealthiest families in Brazil with a net worth in the billions.
Paulo, who was head of the family office for many years, is also a keen golfer. He developed a love for the sport during the 1980’s and started travelling the world ticking off every golf course in the top 100 in the world he could before doing what any reasonable man with a few billion dollars and a love for golf would do - he decided to build his own golf course.
Originally, he built a course full of replica holes.
Holes that had made an impression on him from his golf travels around the world. Think, 17 at Sawgrass or the 12th at Augusta. I’m sure the course was cool in one sense but after a while, he decided that his course lacked its own distinct character so he developed a new plan.
He decided to approach one of the most famous and respected golf course designers in the world, Tom Fazio and asked him to build his golf course.
Mr.Fazio has built courses around the world like Shadow Creek in Las Vegas (the most expensive green fee in the world) and was even involved in the remodeling of Adare Manor in Ireland a few years ago, site of next year’s Ryder Cup amongst dozens of other famous golf projects around the world.
At first, Tom Fazio was not interested in this project in the middle of a Brazilian rainforest. He has built enough great golf courses and he didn’t need the hassle of that much travel and living on site away from his family. But Paulo didn’t give up.
Paulo pitched his vision for the course. He wanted to build an incredible golf course with slopes more extreme than Augusta and a course in as good condition as Oakmont but beyond these ideals, he would give Tom Fazio complete freedom to build the golf course in his image. Most golf projects have this tension. The owner has a vision. The architect has a different one. The result is usually a compromise that satisfies neither.
Paulo laid out a philosophy for what he wanted Tom to keep in mind but ultimately, would give Tom free rein (and in all likelihood, a hefty budget) to build the best golf course they could.
Eventually he won Tom over and, along with Tom’s son Logan, they got to work.
Over the next few years they carved their way through the rainforest, moving trees and land to shape their course and in 2015 they opened their golf course which they called, Santapanzienza.
Some modern golf course architects like the idea of minimalism, that is to make the course look like it was just uncovered from underneath an existing plot of land rather than built. Courses like Tara Iti in New Zealand or St.Patrick’s at Rosapenna have this feature and it’s beautiful when it works but this was not possible for Santapanzienza. They had to build a golf course rather than reveal one.
It took them 3 years to produce but what they built has been recognised as one of the very best golf courses in the world (by those lucky enough to have played it). It has dramatic slopes that are apparently more extreme than those at Augusta and the conditioning of the course is at the standard of the very best in the world.
Some golf courses are built for commercial use, i.e. to make as much money as possible but Santapanzienza is not a money making exercise, this was a project of pure passion.
They wanted to build the best golf course they possibly could and maintain it as such. No expense was spared in the building of the course nor with the maintenance of it - the first Director of Grounds at the course had worked as the superintendent at courses like Merion, Oakmont, Aronimink and Shadow Creek - some of the best maintained golf courses in America.
The name ‘Santapanzienza’ translates in English to ‘holy patience’ which, according to those who have played it, matches the experience. There is even a little bridge that runs through the course that lies slightly underwater known as the Jesus bridge - you’re walking on water (well, driving your golf cart on water). They wanted to hide cart paths where possible so as not to take away from the beauty of the place.
What you can read and research about this place is limited which seems intentional but some reviews I read imply they might be open to one day hosting some grand tournament there - I’m sure they would love the South American version of The Masters but whether that’s possible or not is a different question.
You might think that you need to walk on eggshells when you’re at a place like this but from what I’ve read, once you’re inside the property you’re treated like a member of the family.
Whether Santapanzienza ever hosts a grand tournament and becomes known around the world or remains this ultra-private secret known only to a handful of people - I don’t know. But if it does become famous one day, at least you’ll have heard about it before everyone else.
I’ll probably never get the chance to play it. But if you have, I’d love to hear what the experience was like.
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The Read
The Match, by Mark Frost tells the story of one of the greatest matches ever played where 2 professionals, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson took on 2 amateurs, Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward at Cypress Point - the best golf course in the world. Great read.
The Caddies Line
The green fee at Shadow Creek, another Tom Fazio designed course, is currently $1,250 making it the most expensive public access tee time in America.