Golf’s governing body the R&A says the green light has finally been given to build the course for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after months of legal wrangling.

“I can announce happily that last weekend all the permits needed to start constructing the course was issued down in Rio so that work can now proceed at pace,” said R&A chief executive Peter Dawson.

“If the construction schedule goes to plan, the course will be completed in good time for a test event and then for the Games tournament.

“It has been a worry what with all the delays, so let’s just hope we can get it done and crack on.”

Work on the Gil Hanse-designed course in the Brazilian city has been delayed by a dispute over ownership of the site.

And while clearing work started a month ago, it was only last weekend that approval was given to begin actual construction of the 18-hole layout.

Rio organising committee head Carlos Nuzman confirmed last month that the course would be ready for a test event in 2015.

Golf is returning to the Olympics in 2016 for the first time since the 1904 Games in the US city of St Louis.

But calls by a number of leading male professionals for an Olympic tournament other than stroke-play have been ignored.

“As you know, we went for 72-hole stroke-play for men and 72-hole stroke-play for women and that was after player consultation and, at the time, we wanted to be certain we had players’ support,” said Dawson, who is also president of the IGF.

“So, we will go with that format for 2016, have a cracking good golf competition and then review it for future years rather than try and experiment with something different in four years’ time.”

Dawson was confident that the game’s leading men’s and women’s players will commit to the 2016 Olympic Games, despite a packed tour schedule.

“I would expect the world’s best players to play,” he said.

“I have spoken to many players and through their individual tours and the mood seems to be very much so.”

The course, at Reserva de Marapendi in the Barra da Tijuca district where the largest number of Games venues will be located, is about five kilometres from the athletes’ village.