Castle Pines comes in at No. 3; Desert Mountain places five
11/27/2006– Nicklaus Design, lauded for years for its ability to masterfully weave golf course design with the residential component of a project, proved once again that it is an industry leader by taking almost a fifth of Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Courses for 2007. Included in the listing were five of Desert Mountain’s six layouts.
Nicklaus Design also took two of the top six spots, with Castle Pines Golf Club (Castle Rock, Colo.) ranked No. 3 and Mayacama Golf Club (Santa Rosa, Calif.) at No. 6. Castle Pines has hosted the PGA Tour’s International since 1986. Mayacama opened in August 2001, and less than eight months later appeared in Golfweek’s list of America’s 100 Best Courses. Castle Pines and Mayacama are currently ranked Nos. 29 and 38, respectively, in Golfweek’s listing of America’s Best Courses.
“Every time you do a real estate development, you’ve got to look at every hole and every shot you do on the golf course,” Jack Nicklaus said, “and remember that somebody is going to be buying a lot there and you have really got to be very observant of what the views are to the golf course from each of the lots. So, we are very aware of how we design the golf course inside a residential project.”
Among the 19 Nicklaus Design courses to make the Top 100 were four layouts making their debut on the list. Topping that group was The Club at Pronghorn, which debuted at a lofty No. 18. Pronghorn made its debut last year in America’s Best Courses at No. 71. Also making its debut last year in America’s Best Courses (No. 100), and its first showing in the Best Residential list is May River Golf Club, the centerpiece to the Palmetto Bluff development near Hilton Head, S.C. May River came in at No. 31. The other first-timers were Desert Mountain-Outlaw in Arizona (No. 48) and Old Greenwood (No. 50).
Outlaw was one of five Desert Mountain entries. The others were: Chiracahua (No. 55); Renegade (No. 75); Geronimo (No. 76); and Cochise (No. 97).
Desert Mountain’s developer, Lyle Anderson, also had his first project with Jack Nicklaus, Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, finish 62nd. Anderson later developed 36 holes at Superstition Mountain (Ariz.), including the Prospector Course–a Jack and Gary Nicklaus co-design–which came in at No. 41 on Golfweek’s list. Anderson also did Las Campanas (Santa Fe, N.M.), which had its Sunset course rank No. 88.
“Market research has shown for years that Nicklaus Design adds tremendous value to a residential project, whether that is reflected in lot prices, home prices, speed of sale or just membership pricing,” said Jack Nicklaus II, president of Nicklaus Design. “A simple but significant reason for that is that we believe in offering the developer and the eventual consumer a quality golf experience. I think this also reflects our efforts over the years to maintain a high level of quality and expertise in our work.”
The other Nicklaus Design courses to make the list: Lake Las Vegas–SouthShore (No. 26); Colleton River in Bluffton, S.C. (No. 44); Ocean Hammock in Palm Coast, Fla. (No. 47); Montreux in Reno, Nev. (No. 53); Great Waters at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga. (No. 61); and TPC Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie, Wash. (No. 80).
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