About
The signature 14th hole at Terravista Golf Club, designed by Blankenship, features a dramatic cliffside tee box overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where sea turtles are commonly visible swimming below, providing a unique and captivating golfing experience.
Dan Blankenship is a distinguished golf course architect recognized as the premier designer in Brazil, having created a significant portion of the country’s modern golf courses. Raised partly in Wausa, Nebraska, Blankenship developed an early passion for golf and pursued landscape design and agronomy at South Dakota State University. His formative professional experience came under the mentorship of Pete Dye through Dye Designs, where he worked from the mid-1980s until 1991, contributing to projects across Japan, Thailand, and Taiwan, including courses such as Glenmoor Country Club (Narita City) and Bagna Country Club (Bangkok).
In 1988, Blankenship began work on the Buzios Golf Club project in Brazil, though it was initially halted due to the nation’s financial crisis. After completing his work abroad, he returned to Brazil in the 1990s, ultimately establishing Gold Tee Golf International and becoming deeply embedded in the Brazilian golf scene. He has designed or consulted on 18 projects across Brazil in the last 25 years, including Terravista Golf Club and Comandatuba Ocean Course, known for blending rainforest and oceanfront landscapes with strategic play. His designs emphasize natural topography, risk-reward scenarios, and accessibility for players of different skill levels.
Blankenship is fluent in Portuguese and maintains strong relationships with local clients, often collaborating with real estate developers due to Brazil's prevalent golf-gated community market. Though based in Denver, Colorado, he spends significant time in Brazil managing his projects and hopes to design courses in the U.S., particularly near Lake McConaughy in Nebraska, close to Sand Hills Golf Club, his personal favorite.
