Del Viso · Buenos Aires · Argentina
Golf Club Argentino
The first club in the country founded entirely by Argentine golfers. A narrow parkland course of small, fast, inverted-dish greens — a true test for the highest-skilled amateurs, and for the professionals who have contested more Argentine Opens here than almost anywhere else.
01 — History
Where golf in Argentina begins
The Golf Club Argentino's history goes back to the origins of golf in this country. It was founded in 1905, with its course in Palermo — where you will find the Lagos de Palermo Golf Club today, also known as the Campo Municipal de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
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1900s
Golf arrives by rail
English and Scottish railway engineers and workers, commissioned to build Argentina's railway system, laid out golf courses beside the train stations as they went — and in doing so introduced the sport to the country.
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1905
The first Argentine club
Golf Club Argentino was the first club founded entirely by Argentine golfers, on a course in Palermo barely three miles from downtown Buenos Aires. Its original layout was drawn by Mungo Park, brother of Willie Park Jr.
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1930s
Mackenzie and Koontz
The Palermo course was modified in the early 1930s by Dr Alister MacKenzie — the architect of Augusta National and Cypress Point — working with Luther Koontz.
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Late 1940s
Expropriation
General Perón expropriated the course from the club, forcing the members to move. The Levy family donated the land at Del Viso on which the new course would be built.
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1949–52
A course in exile
For almost three years the members had nowhere of their own to play, and other clubs opened their courses to them. The Club Championship was held at Lomas Athletic Club, the oldest golf course in the country. Luther Koontz designed the new course in 1949; it opened for play in 1952.
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Today
A club, and a country club
In time the club became a country club, and the course became the preserve of its members. Members and their guests can enjoy a fantastic venue — a true test of golf for the highest-skilled amateurs.
Golf Club Argentino's trade mark is its greens: small, hard, fast, and shaped like an inverted dish. Holding an approach shot on them is the hardest part of a round here.
02 — The Club
Everyone knows everyone
The number of members is not as high as at other clubs in Argentina, and that makes for a far more familiar atmosphere — a spirit of comradeship in which everyone is acquainted with everyone. On a weekend you will easily find a fourball made up of four golfers of very different ages who happen to be friends.
Because it is a country club, members tend to spend a good deal of time here, practising not only golf but football, tennis and paddle as well. The tournament schedule for members opens in March and runs until the middle of December.
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A small membership
Fewer members than most Argentine clubs, and a familiar atmosphere because of it.
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More than golf
Football, tennis and paddle share the grounds with the course.
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March to December
The members' tournament calendar runs for nine months of the year.
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Pure golf
The course sits in the middle of the country club, with the houses kept well away from the holes.
03 — The Course
Narrow, wooded, and defended by its greens
The original course was designed by Mungo Park, brother of Willie Park Jr, around 1905, then modified by Dr Alister MacKenzie and Luther Koontz in the early 1930s. The new course at Del Viso was designed by Koontz in 1949 and opened for play in 1952. Emilio Serra reshaped some greens in the 1980s, and the Argentine architects Caprile and Capdepont redesigned the 1st, 2nd and 8th in 1993.
It sits in the middle of the country club, with the houses kept far enough from the holes to give the course a pure-golf atmosphere all of its own. The maintenance is among the best in the country: the greens roll at eleven feet on the Stimpmeter for the most important events, and greens, fairways and even the rough look manicured. The variety of trees gives the place an extra beauty.
The course measures a little over 6,700 yards from the back tees for a par of 72 — 37 out and 35 in. It was a long course in the 1980s; today it is not short, but it cannot be called long either.
It is a very narrow course with several doglegs, ideal for lovers of parkland golf, with the right amount of water, and located relatively close to everything. This club is a noteworthy option for every golfer who visits Argentina.
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The greens
Small, hard, fast, and built as inverted dishes. Holding an approach shot is the toughest part of a round in this classic parkland.
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The hardest three
The 2nd, 8th and 11th — stroke index 3, 1 and 2. The tee shot at the 2nd, with out of bounds left and water right, is the most demanding on the course.
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Amen Corner
The 9th, 10th and 11th are known here as Amen Corner, in the way Augusta National's 11th, 12th and 13th are. Three pars there and the hardest work of the round is done.
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The finish
The closing three holes are reckoned among the toughest in Argentina — especially the par-three 17th, where a badly missed shot leads easily to a double bogey, even for professionals.
04 — Hole by Hole
Eighteen holes, and the stories in them
Yardages and stroke index are the club's own, taken from its yardage book. Choose a hole to read the notes and see the full diagram.
The card
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 72 |
| Blue | 515 | 470 | 360 | 163 | 362 | 482 | 146 | 540 | 400 | 3,438 | 435 | 460 | 387 | 350 | 135 | 513 | 387 | 195 | 407 | 3,269 | 6,707 |
| White | 503 | 401 | 348 | 163 | 349 | 460 | 136 | 523 | 390 | 3,273 | 390 | 445 | 367 | 350 | 125 | 513 | 387 | 183 | 387 | 3,147 | 6,420 |
| Red | 461 | 370 | 338 | 151 | 319 | 433 | 126 | 461 | 321 | 2,980 | 400 | 445 | 335 | 305 | 117 | 457 | 323 | 137 | 335 | 2,854 | 5,834 |
| S.I. | 5 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 7 | — | 6 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 8 | — | — |
The 10th and 11th play as par fives from the red tees.
05 — Tradition
Over a century of it
After San Andrés Golf Club, this club has held more Argentine Opens than any other in the country. The last was in 1991, and the course can still be a true test for the professionals. Beyond the Open, it has hosted every one of the main events in the Argentine calendar more than once.
The club maintains the traditions of the golfing society and is often called the best golf club in the country — not only for having inherited and kept the British tradition for the game, nor only for the course, but for the relationship among its members. It is a course visitors always want to come back to.
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20 times
Interclub First Division champions
Still the biggest winner of the most important amateur event in the country. The last victory came in 1981, with a team of Fernando Curutchet, Santiago Luis Arauz, Tulio Carlos Martini, Jorge Eiras, Santiago Luis Cardona, Roberto Patricio Benito, Luis Alberto Obarrio (h) and Martín Aguirre.
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8 wins
The Emilio Mitre Trophy
The men's Club Championship trophy is named after a former club president. Luis Alberto Obarrio (n) and Federico Elortondo have each won it eight times, more than anyone. The ladies' trophy carries the club's own name, and Maggie Maglione has won it more often than any other player.
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1991
The last Argentine Open here
Eduardo "Gato" Romero won the 1989 edition on this course with a 6-iron at the 17th. The championship returned in 1991, and the layout would still hold up to it.
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63
The course record
Nine under par, set by Vicente "Chino" Fernández. The amateur record is a 64 — eight under — by Luis Obarrio (h) in 2011.
Many other former presidents, captains and committee members are honoured with trophies bearing their names — among them Ricardo Mackinlay, Alberto Anchorena, Benjamín Cornejo, Juan Bautista Segura, Carlos María Dibar, Alberto del Solar Dorrego, Julián Aguirre Lynch and Federico Elortondo.
06 — Gallery
The course, through the year
07 — Contact
Come and play
Golf Club Argentino is a private members' club. Visiting play is arranged in advance — tell us who you are, when you would like to play and how many of you there are, and we will come back to you.