Jack Nicklaus Makes First Visit to Patagonia Virgin in Southern Chile

Nicklaus visited the Tenth Chiliean Region as plans continue for the first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in Chile.

(10/10/06)-- Legend Jack Nicklaus, the world's leading golf course designer, made his first visit to Frutillar, Chile on Oct. 3, to visit the site of the country's first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. Together with Jaime Said, creator and owner of the Patagonia Virgin project, and Andres Rubio, general manager, Nicklaus made the visit to get a feel for the site and what the area had to offer for the 18-hole golf course.

"We are excited and honored to be given the opportunity to bring the first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course to Chile and South America, and to be given the important responsibility to further introduce and grow the game of golf in this country," Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus spent time exploring the 155 acres of land with members of the Nicklaus Design team, and they used this visit as a chance to determine the best features in the area to take advantage of and incorporate into plans for the course.

"Patagonia Virgin has a very nice piece of land, with beautiful views of volcanoes and native forests," Nicklaus said. "It has dramatic highs and lows that will make the course fit very naturally with the surrounding area. Our main goal is to make a fun and enjoyable golf course for the average player."

In addition to the golf course, the entire 487-acre community located 65 kilometers south of Osorno and 45 kilometers north of Puerto Montt, will be complete with a five-star luxury hotel, tennis courts, a polo field and nautical sports on Llanquihue Lake.

Nicklaus Design is widely regarded as the world's leading design firm with 305 courses open for play in 29 countries and 38 states. Of those, Jack Nicklaus has been involved in 250 courses. At least 48 Nicklaus Design courses have been ranked in various national or international Top-100 lists, and by the end of 2006, at least 79 Nicklaus courses will have hosted a combined total of more than 500 professional tournaments worldwide or significant national amateur championships. Nicklaus Design currently has more than 50 courses under construction, and courses under development in 35 different countries.