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Media Coverage  Reprinted from Business in Vancouver Business in Vancouver, May 8-14, 2007
Developers pin resort golf course hopes on former golfers-turned-designers by Glen Korstrom Please scroll down for the article
Field of greens Hiring a professional golfer to design a golf course was almost unheard of 30 years ago. Then, along came Jack Nicklaus with his first solo-design for Ontario’s Glen Abbey. Sure, some big name golfers-turned-designers’ second careers fizzled. Lee Trevino, for example, saw limited design work after he completed Pitt Meadows’ Swan-E-Set. But, today’s golf course developers pay ever-escalating fees to professional golfers for their expert eye and their ability to transfer their passion for the game into designs that will attract duffers and experts alike. What’s more is that a big-name golfer-turned-designer can help sell the surrounding real estate that makes many new courses viable. Nicklaus is onto his third B.C. signature course. He is head designer of the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Canada course at Ucluelet’s $650 million Wyndansea development, which is slated to open in mid-2008. That follows his Nicklaus North Whistler signature course and his signature course on James Island near Victoria. Nicklaus also co-designed B.C.’s Okanagan Golf Club in Kelowna and Bear Mountain near Victoria. Nicklaus is more passionate about designing than he ever was about playing, he told Business in Vancouver during a recent visit to Ucluelet. “Playing was something that, once I played a shot, the shot was over,” Nicklaus said. “Once I play the shot here, it’s here for hundreds of years.” Although Nicklaus kept mispronouncing the resort’s name (“win-dancy” instead of the correct “wind-and-sea”), and laughing each time he did, there was no doubt that he paid attention to course’s details. Nicklaus spoke at length about several holes and how distinct golf course features would contribute to an exhilarating playing experience. Other former pro golfers currently designing B.C. golf courses include:
But, Nicklaus shrugs off his rivals. “I don’t look at anybody as competition. I look at the land as competition,” he said. “How can I take that land and transform that land and utilize what the good Lord gave us to be able to put something on there that will complement that land and stay a long time.” Nicklaus is CEO of Nicklaus Design, a 60-employee North Palm Beach, Florida-based family business where Nicklaus’ son, Jack Nicklaus Jr. is both owner and president. Like Couples, Norman and many other professional golfers-turned-designers, Nicklaus has final approval on each signature course hole. “I don’t claim to say that everything here is me. I say that everything here is my firm and there won’t be anything here that I don’t want,” he said of the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Canada course. For that, he is earning a $2.5 million fee. Had it merely been a Nicklaus Design course where Nicklaus did not have final approval, fees would have been closer to $1 million, said Wyndansea director of sales and marketing Stephen Duke. Duke said course developer Marine Drive Properties Ltd. chose Nicklaus for his name recognition, hands-on nature, large team and experience. “There are no designers that put the kind of effort into it that Jack Nicklaus does,” Duke said. The Rise’s developer, Ian Renton, chose Couples, partly because Couples doesn’t do many projects, said Rise general manager Rod Cochrane. This will be Couples’ second signature course in Canada, following Quebec’s Le Maître de Mont-Tremblant. “Fred fits our demographic: the 45 to 60 age range,” Cochrane said. “He is the poster boy for that age group in that he exudes the persona of someone who looks like they are having a good time. Fred’s a guy a lot of guys aspire to be: laid back and successful. He doesn’t appear to have much stress in his life. He’s got this great easy swing with effortless power.” Couples’ fee is less than $1 million, and he will visit Vernon once or twice during the golf course’s development, Cochrane said. Nicklaus said that he would be in Ucluelet approximately six times during the development. The lure of cash and the desire to stay part of the game is undoubtedly motivation for Kelowna-born former professional golfer Dave Barr . Barr has teamed up with fellow Kelowna Golf Club member Marc Pezzin to co-develop Salmon Arm’s Canoe Creek Golf Course, which will open its first nine holes May 18. A three-day men’s open tournament will launch the entire 18 holes during the July 1 long weekend. “This will be Dave’s first course design. It’s an opportunity for him to present his skills,” Pezzin said. “The result has surpassed our expectations.” Pezzin would not reveal Barr’s design fee.
For additional information regarding the project, click on the logo: Reprinted from Business in Vancouver |
