HEBER CITY — Jack was back Friday morning to show off his latest golf course in Utah, the spectacular Red Ledges Golf Course.
Jack Nicklaus, considered the greatest golfer of all time and who spends most of his time as a golf course designer these days, flew in on his private jet Thursday evening, met with the press Friday morning before giving a clinic on the driving range to a couple hundred property owners and potential owners. After that he took a five-hole walking tour of his latest creation, pointing out some of the subtleties of the course.
For Nicklaus, who has designed or redesigned 274 courses around the world, it's the third golf course he has designed in Utah, 27 years after his first course, Park Meadows, opened in Park City. He also designed the new Nicklaus course at Promontory near Park City, which has yet to officially open.
After touring all 18 holes with Tony Burns, the managing owner of Red Ledges, Nicklaus proclaimed the course to his liking and made just one change, eliminating a tee that he found too long for the hole.
"Jack has done a magnificent job," exclaimed Burns. "I think the golf course is fabulous and plays well."
Nicklaus got involved with the project because of the long friendship he's had with Burns, the owner of the 2,000-acre property where Red Ledges sits. Burns, a native Utahn, is a former CEO of Ryder Systems and developed a close friendship with Nicklaus more than 25 years ago when Ryder sponsored the Doral Open in Florida.
Red Ledges will be a private course and part of an ambitious development two miles east of Heber City. Burns estimates that more than $100 million has been invested into the project.
Along with the golf course, which stretches to 7,653 yards from the tips, there will be a Jim McLean Golf Academy, featuring the world-renowned golf instructor, the Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy, and an Equestrian Center with indoor and outdoor horse-riding facilities.
The golf course features elevation changes on most holes, numerous bunkers and large, undulating greens. The fairways and greens are bent grass, and the roughs are bluegrass with native grasses around the edges.
"We tried to move as little dirt as we could to enhance the beauty of the property without destroying it," said Nicklaus.
To some, the course with a 77.2 rating and 153 slope from the "Nicklaus" tees and a 73.0, 149 slope from the member tees, might seem overly difficult.
However, Nicklaus said he hadn't heard any negative comments from members who have played the course, and he believes it is playable as long as golfers hit from the correct tees.
One of the more unusual holes is the par-3 No. 9 hole, which Nicklaus calls a "semi-blind par-3."
The back tee is situated on a red rock bluff, and no matter which tee you hit from, a couple of cedar trees are between the tees and the green, a rarity on par-3s.
"I like to create a little bit of mystery on a golf course, here and there," Nicklaus said in explaining the hole. "You try to create enough variety in your golf course where every type of golfer has something for them that's good and easy and something that's challenging."
When a TV reporter asked Nicklaus if there was a particular hole he liked, he said, "I like 1 ... 2, 3's good, 4 ... 5," after which laughter drowned him out before he could get to 18.
"Hopefully, you get a signature golf course without a signature hole," Nicklaus said.
The one change Nicklaus made on his tour of the course was eliminating the 486-yard back tee at the No. 2 hole and making the 425-yard member tee the back tee while adding another front tee.
"It was just too long," he said.
Eventually, Red Ledges will encompass approximately 1,200 homes around the outside of the golf course. Nicklaus said he made sure in his design not to have homes and golf holes too close to each other.
"I tried to create an amenity for Tony that people can enjoy to play golf on," Nicklaus said. "I tried to utilize the land and the terrain where the golf course and the housing don't interfere with each other. You want people who live there to have a nice view and a nice experience without having golf balls and golfers in their back yards all the time."
Despite the tough economic times, Nicklaus says Red Ledges might be the only project of its kind in the country that is doing well right now.
"What has amazed me in this economy is that people have been coming out here and seeing this project, playing the golf course and buying the lots," he said. "You're not finding that anywhere in the country. This is the only place I've found it. It's a credit to Tony and his people and the commitment they've made and turning this into something that will be very special."
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