Praça das Cruzadas

Rio de Janeiro's relationship with golf is complicated — the city is so dominated by its beaches, mountains, and football culture that the sport has always occupied a peculiar, somewhat elite corner of carioca life. Praça das Cruzadas sits within that context as a public facility, offering access to a game that in most of Rio's history has been the province of clubs like Itanhangá or Gávea, with their long waiting lists and social weight.

The name itself — "Square of the Crosses" — suggests a place with some civic or religious resonance in the city's urban fabric, and playing golf here means doing so against the backdrop of one of the world's most visually dramatic cities, where forested hillsides, Atlantic coastline, and dense neighborhoods press against each other in every direction.

Public golf in Rio remains relatively rare, which gives any accessible layout real value for local players who want to develop their games without the barriers of private membership. Expect a course shaped more by the realities of urban land than by grand design ambitions.