( CNN ) -- The organizers of the 2016 Olympics in Rio selected a U.S-based company Wednesday to design the golf course where the leading players in the world will battle for gold in four years time . Hanse Golf Course Design beat off seven other challengers , including golf legends Jack Nicklaus , Gary Player and Greg Norman , to land the honor as the sport returns to the Olympic program for the first time in 112 years . The golf course will be built at Reserva de Marapendi in Barra da Tijuca , the district that will contain the largest number of Olympic venues . It is about five kilometres from the Athletes ' Village . The Olympic golf competition will see medals awarded for men and women and the sport will also feature in the Paralympic Games in Rio . After the Games , the course will become a public facility to promote golf in Brazil . Gil Hanse , 48 , is the president of the company he founded in 1993 and has its headquarters in Malvern , Pennsylvania . Blog : Why golf must get it right for 2016 Olympics . He will team up with LPGA star Amy Alcott , a five-time major winner , on the project and has also promised to relocate to the Brazilian city while the course is under construction . `` As it marks the return of golf to the Olympic Games after over a century of absence , this course represents the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the sport , '' said Carlos Arthur Nuzman , the president of the Rio organizing committee . `` It will enable Rio to host important events in the international calendar and it will be an example of sustainability and preservation of an environmentally protected area , '' he added . Hanse was named `` Architect of the Year '' by Golf Magazine in 2009 and has been associated with a number of leading golf courses in the world , including Castle Stuart in Scotland . Hanse has also been commissioned by American tycoon Donald Trump to re-work the famous 'Blue Monster ' course at Doral , the venue for this week 's WGC-Cadillac Championships . Trump purchased the resort out of bankruptcy for $ 150 million last week . The design company of Martin Hawtree , the architect for Trump 's much-vaunted championship course at Menie in northern Scotland , was also among the disappointed bidders .
Golf architects were in choice for architects of 2016 Olympic golf course in Rio . Jack White , Gary Player and Greg Norman were not however . American company - Hanse Golf Course Design - selected as architects . Golf will return to the Olympic Games after long absence .