The centenary site of the 2026 Latin America Amateur Championship has hosted many regional, national and international competitions in the last couple of decades, including the Copa Los Andes seven times, the Pan American Games in 2019 and the 2024 Women’s Amateur Latin America. Over the years, the best Latin American golfers have been deceived by its relative short length and flatness.
For the 11th Latin America Amateur, parkland-style Lima Golf Club has raised its defenses, playing as a 6,804-yard par-70. The 17th, which normally plays as a par 5 has been converted to a par 4 for the week, and the practice putting green has been sectioned off to also include the teeing area for the extended par-4 10th. Here’s the local perspective of the golf course professionals and the six Peruvian competitors on how to navigate this tough set up.
Marco Ruiz, Head Golf Professional
Even though the distance won’t be an issue, because of the relatively short length, the course will defend itself with firm greens and high rough.
Joanna Molina, Superintendent
The greens are going to be firm and fast, and you can end up almost losing your ball in the lush and tall rough.
Eddy Martin, Head Coach
The most important factors are strategy and course management, because you are going to need how to play some of the key holes.
Simone De Souza, Head of Golf Academies
The key to winning the Latin America Amateur is to know how to read the breaks, the greens are going to roll very fast and some of them can be deceiving.
Martín Ordóñez, Head Greenkeeper
It is going to be extremely important to drive the ball well and accurately, to put it in the middle of the fairway.
María Salinas, Women’s Latin America Amateur participant and caddie for Rafael Claux
The greens are drying up and firming up, so it is going to be really hard to stop the ball. Also, there is not general reference on the direction of the breaks, each green is different.
José Luis Muñoz, Peruvian Golf Federation Coach
The key is to have a clear and defined strategy from the tee and controlling the distance of your wedges is going to be essential with these firm and fast greens.
Patrick Sparks, 24, 4th Latin America Amateur Appearance
The shots to the green can be confusing, you need to know where to land your ball, and you need to know where to miss when you are out of position.
Mauricio Tello, 19, 3rd Latin America Amateur Appearance
While there will be birdie opportunities, it is imperative to minimize bogeys and double bogeys. With pars on the last two holes, 17 and 18, you can gain a few strokes to the field.
Jaime Yzaga, 18, 2nd Latin America Amateur Appearance
I love the 10th hole because we're teeing off from the practice green. It's going to be crucial to get the ball in the middle of the fairway and control the spin with the wedges.
Tiago Ledgard, 18, 1st Latin America Amateur Appearance
It is essential to know from where and how to attack the flags and understand the greens. You also need to stay calm and play conservatively on some of the short holes.
Christian Muñoz, 24, 1st Latin America Amateur Appearance
Some of the holes can be gettable, but only if you put your tee shot on the fairway. Managing the course and the emotions is going to be key on the 17th hole, which now plays as a long par 4, and the last hole.
Rafael Claux, 40, 1st Latin America Amateur Appearance
It going to be tough to play the ball out of the rough, particularly when you are going for the small greens. And you will need to leave the ball on the good side of the green, because the downhill putts are going to be quite fast.
