The name Nicklaus has long been associated with greatness on the golf course. The 18 professional major championships, the electrifying finishes, the sheer will to win; Jack’s achievements are legendary.
However, the name Nicklaus transcends Jack Nicklaus’ dominance as a player and extends far beyond the man. Today the name Nicklaus also stands for superior golf course design, the result of Jack’s more than four decades as a renowned golf course designer.
What became a vocation for Jack Nicklaus began as an avocation. After playing numerous tournaments and exhibitions throughout the early 1960s on courses designed by the head golf professional or superintendent at those clubs, Jack developed an eye and an interest in what was good in golf course design. Then, in the mid 1960s, course architect Pete Dye invited Jack to The Golf Club in Jack’s hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Dye was designing the course, and asked Jack to look at what he was doing and offer his suggestions. A hobby and budding passion were born.
A few years later, Jack and Dye teamed to design Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C., a course that quickly earned and continues to maintain its place among the Top 100 courses in the world. Since that collaboration opened in 1969, Nicklaus courses have continued to blanket the globe, and Nicklaus Design, a team of the world’s most accomplished golf course design associates, agronomists, industry consultants and experts in golf course construction and marketing, has soared to the forefront of the industry. Just as Jack once raised golf to a higher level, Nicklaus Design has elevated the standards of golf course design.
The result of that dedication and ingenuity is a firm recognized through out the world as the industry leader with a résumé of close to 350 spectacular courses in more than 32 countries and nearly 40 states. No other design firm has produced more world-ranked or championship golf courses and no firm has more current projects under construction or in development globally than Nicklaus Design. Yet as unique as each design is, they all share Nicklaus Design’s philosophy of working closely with clients, enhancing the natural environment and creating courses that are both challenging and enjoyable for players of all levels.
The accolades that followed Jack Nicklaus’ storied tournament career and the honors that hang like badges on his playing legacy have followed the Golden Bear into his second career as a golf-course designer.
If Nicklaus’ mark on the 20th century was as a player, he is fast making his mark on this century as a designer, iconic name and brand, and good-will ambassador who is embracing the challenge of introducing and growing the game of golf in countries around the world by designing the highest quality of facilities.
Jack has been honored with every significant award that recognizes excellence in course design and development. For four straight years (2004-’07), Golf Inc. magazine ranked Jack as “The Most Powerful Person in Golf,” for his impact on the industry through his course design work, marketing and licensing business, and involvement on a national level with various charitable causes. He was also named “Golf Development Newsmaker of the Year” by Golf Inc. in 2005 — the same year he was honored at the White House with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed on a U.S. civilian. The Robb Report once named Jack the “Leading Power Player” in the golf market; and almost a decade ago, Golf Digest tabbed Jack the world’s leading active designer. Yet in the years since, Nicklaus Design’s business has nearly tripled.
Golf has quickly become the chief amenity for luxury communities worldwide, and Nicklaus Design has been lauded for years for its ability to masterfully weave golf course design with the residential component of a project. As more publications begin to recognize the skill and art behind tying golf to residential, Nicklaus has separated himself and his firm from the competition. In Travel & Leisure Golf’s 2007 ranking of the “Top 100 Golf Communities,” seven of the top 10 and 28 overall were anchored by Nicklaus courses. In Golfweek’s 2007 ranking of the “Top 100 Residential Courses,” presented in conjunction with The Wall Street Journal, 21 Nicklaus Design courses made the list, with another four among “Golf Courses of Distinction.”
The firm’s exacting standards of quality associated with the construction and maintenance of golf courses have been recognized for ushering in a new era of golf course design and forever changing the face of golf course architecture.
Jack Nicklaus and Nicklaus Design also have been credited for elevating and enhancing the relationship between golf and luxury home communities. Since independent research began in the early 1990s, communities that feature a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course as an amenity have resulted in the highest real estate value, the highest average home price and the greatest velocity of home and lot sales. The survey also included the impact on membership fees, annual dues and greens fees. When all data was combined, a “net present value” was determined for each golf course designer, and Jack Nicklaus was the overall and overwhelming No. 1 choice.
With the name Nicklaus behind a golf course, its value is enhanced tremendously. And that value will only grow with time.
The name Nicklaus has long been associated with greatness on the golf course. The 18 professional major championships, the electrifying finishes, the sheer will to win; Jack’s achievements are legendary.
