Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus, born on January 21, 1940 in Columbus, Ohio, is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. Known as the Golden Bear, he won 18 professional major championships: six Masters titles, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens and three Open Championships. He took the first of them at the 1962 U.S. Open at the age of 22 and the last at the 1986 Masters at the age of 46, a span of 24 years. That 1986 win is still the oldest by a Masters champion, and his total of 18 majors remains the men’s record. On the PGA Tour he won 73 times.

His design work began at the end of the 1960s, while he was still at the top of the game. Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina, which opened in 1969, was a Pete Dye design on which Nicklaus served as consultant. In 1974 Muirfield Village Golf Club opened in his home state of Ohio, and from 1976 it has hosted the Memorial Tournament, the PGA Tour event Nicklaus himself founded. Glen Abbey Golf Club in Canada, which opened that same year, is counted by Nicklaus Design as the first course he laid out on his own.

Nicklaus Design today has more than 440 courses to its name in over 45 countries, with his eldest son, Jack Nicklaus II, heading the design division. The wording attached to a course carries meaning: “Jack Nicklaus Signature” marks a design that bears his own name, while “Nicklaus Design” denotes a course credited to the firm and drawn by the senior designers who have worked alongside him. If you want to play a course he shaped himself, the Signature label is the one to look for.

A good deal of that work is in Southeast Asia. Among the courses listed on GoGolf alone there are 14, spread across Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. In Indonesia, Damai Indah Golf – BSD Course, which opened in 1992, was Nicklaus Design’s first project in the country, and the work carried on for almost 30 years, up to Sedayu Indo Golf in 2021. At Emeralda Golf & Country Club in Depok the nine holes of the Plantation course are by Nicklaus while the River and Lake nines are by Arnold Palmer, making it a rare place where the work of both men can be played at the same club. Ten of those 14 courses can be booked through GoGolf.

Nicklaus courses you can book on GoGolf

• Damai Indah Golf – BSD Course (Tangerang, Indonesia) — Jack Nicklaus Signature, opened 1992
• Sedayu Indo Golf (PIK, North Jakarta, Indonesia) — Nicklaus Design, opened 2021
• Emeralda Golf & Country Club (Depok, Indonesia) — the Plantation nine designed by Nicklaus, 1995
• Tamarin Santana Golf Club (Batam, Indonesia) — Jack Nicklaus Signature, opened 1995
• Taman Dayu Golf Club & Resort (near Surabaya, Indonesia) — Jack Nicklaus Signature, opened 1997
• The Legacy Golf Club (Bangkok, Thailand) — designed by Jack Nicklaus, opened 1992
• Laem Chabang International Country Club (Chonburi, Thailand) — Jack Nicklaus Signature, 27 holes
• Springfield Royal Country Club (near Hua Hin, Thailand) — designed by Jack Nicklaus, 27 holes
• Khao Yai Country Club (Khao Yai, Thailand) — designed by Jack Nicklaus, opened 1993
• Mission Hills Phuket Golf Resort & Spa (Phuket, Thailand) — Nicklaus Design, opened 2004

GoGolf also covers Bintan Lagoon Golf Club on Bintan Island, Indonesia (the Sea View course, 1997), Bukit Darmo Golf in Surabaya (the first course Jack Nicklaus II worked on in Asia, 1995), and, in Johor, Malaysia, The Legends Golf and Country Resort (18 holes carrying the Signature designation, 1997) and Forest City Golf Course Resort (the Legacy course, designed by father and son together). These four courses are not currently open for booking through GoGolf. Tee times and rates for a given day can be checked on each course page or in the GoGolf app.

See the other golf course architects here.

Photo: Moody College of Communication / CC BY-SA 2.0