Introducing The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona
(MARANA, ARIZONA) – October 18, 2007 – With Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses in a spectacular Sonoran Desert setting, Ritz-Carlton service, a major clubhouse complex and an internationally televised PGA Tour event, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain will be a world-class golf destination. Now under construction, the $60 million Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain is the most visible component within its largest and most comprehensive Ritz-Carlton-branded project in the continental U.S. to date, which also includes the 250-room Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain resort hotel and spa and a 300-home Ritz-Carlton-branded residential community.
Twenty-seven holes of golf and the clubhouse complex are under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2008, with an additional nine holes of golf planned for 2010. The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain will host the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in February 2009, posing a significant challenge to the world’s best players.
The Nicklaus Signature Courses will still emphasize playability and aesthetic appeal for all golfers, though, as they will be available to a select membership as well as guests of The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain resort. A total of 493 golf memberships for the planned 36-hole club are dedicated to owners of The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain as well as a limited number of non-resident members. To ensure the finest golf experience for both the resort guest and the Golf Club member, play will alternate between the courses each day to provide a private members-only experience.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous high desert, with a great forest of Saguaro, an abundance of cactus and beautiful vistas,” said Jack Nicklaus. “It’s a very pretty piece of property to work with in designing two uniquely special high desert courses.”
The first 18 holes, comprising the two tournament nines, are par 72 measuring 7,833 yards, while the third nine measures 3,974 yards at par 36. The routing of the final nine holes is complete but exact yardage has yet to be finalized.
“Obviously we’re tailoring the golf course towards the Match Play Championship, in the area of 7,800 yards,” said Nicklaus. “At this altitude, though, you’re taking about 4 percent off that so you’re basically at a 7,500-yard golf course, which is fine for professionals. For the non-professionals, we have a golf course that sets up at around 6,700 yards, which actually plays about 6,400-6,450 yards. You want to challenge them, but you also want them to make some birdies.”
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain is a collaboration between Arizona developers Cottonwood Properties and Greenbrier Southwest Corporation and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. as manager. Cottonwood Properties, a Tucson-based development company, developed the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature layout at La Paloma Country Club, which is continually singled out for excellence. Greenbrier Southwest Corporation’s golf course involvements in the southwestern U.S. include the Kierland Golf Club, a 27-hole Scott Miller design in Phoenix; the 18-hole Tom Weiskopf layout at Seven Canyons of Sedona; and the Gary Panks-designed Twin Warriors Golf Club at New Mexico’s Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort.
“We are delighted to have Jack Nicklaus’ artistic genius behind the design of these golf courses, and it’s an honor to work with him again,” said David Mehl, president of Cottonwood Properties, the master developer and owner of Dove Mountain. “This project will solidify Dove Mountain’s position as one of the Southwest’s most exclusive communities and further enhance its reputation as a national golf destination.”
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain experience is enhanced even more by the exemplary service provided by Ritz-Carlton’s Caddie Concierge program. A Ritz-Carlton caddie, whose duties go well beyond what is traditionally expected, accompanies each foursome. The highly trained, always gracious caddie anticipates and provides for virtually any need throughout the round, even confirming or rescheduling a dinner reservation or spa appointment.
“The Golf Caddie Concierge Program extends The Ritz-Carlton’s legendary Sequence of Service from the hotel to the golf course,” said Kevin Hammock, vice president golf development for Ritz-Carlton Hotels. “It is the ultimate in on-course service and allows us to fulfill and exceed even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our golfing members and guests.”
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain will also feature an approximately 50,000-square-foot Clubhouse complex, complete with all of the services one would expect from a top-level private club, including a pool, tennis center, supervised Ritz Kids program, state-of-the-art fitness center, steward-serviced private locker rooms, a double-ended practice facility, and several dining venues with spectacular views.
“Golf course design has been a blessing for me,” said Nicklaus. “It has allowed me to take what I learned playing the game of golf and apply it to a piece of ground. Design has not only allowed me to stay connected to the game I love, it has created a legacy that will live well beyond what I accomplished as a golfer. If I can design The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain to take advantage of its spectacular high-desert setting and beautiful vistas, while integrating solid strategy and good, fair golf shots, then I’ve done what should be done.”
About the Course Designer, Jack Nicklaus
No name is more synonymous with greatness in the sport of golf than the name Jack Nicklaus, and no single person has changed the face of the sport more than Jack Nicklaus – the player, the designer and the goodwill ambassador.
Jack, 67, has been named “Golfer of the Century” or “Golfer of the Millennium” by almost every major golf publication in the world. He was also named Individual Male Athlete of the Century by Sports Illustrated, and one of the 10 Greatest Athletes of the Century by ESPN.
Jack’s competitive career has spanned five decades, and his legend has been built with 105 professional tournament victories worldwide and a record 18 professional major-championship titles. He is the only player in history to have won each of the game’s majors at least three times and is the only player to have completed the career “Grand Slam” on both the regular and senior tours.
The legacy Jack has left as a player can be rivaled only by the legacy he is leaving as a golf-course designer.
In October, Golf Inc. magazine ranked Jack “The Most Powerful Person in Golf” for the fourth consecutive year, due to his impact on various aspects of the industry, particularly through his course design work, marketing and licensing business, and his involvement on a national level with various charitable causes. Jack was named GolfWorld’s Architect of the Year in 1993, and in 1999, Golf Digest named him the world’s leading active designer. Since his debut design opened in 1969, Jack has been involved in the design of 261 courses open for play worldwide, and his thriving business, Nicklaus Design, has 321 courses open for play around the world. Nicklaus Design courses are represented in 31 countries, 38 states, and by the end of 2007, at least 83 will have hosted a combined total of close to 600 professional tournaments or significant national amateur championships. At least 59 Nicklaus Design courses have appeared in various national and international Top-100 lists. The firm currently has projects under construction or under development in 40 different countries—26 in which Nicklaus Design has never been involved.
About the World Golf Championships- Accenture Match Play Championship
The International Federation of PGA Tours, formed in 1996, created the World Golf Championships to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the six member Tours. The member Tours are the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The Canadian Tour is named an Associate Member of the Federation.
The Accenture Match Play Championship, which brings together the world’s top 64 golfers in a unique head-to-head match-play competition, was founded in 1999 and was held in Arizona for the first time in February 2007 at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain. It was announced during that event that the Accenture Match Play Championship, after another year at The Gallery, will move to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain for the February 2009 tournament.
Approximately $1.5 million was raised by The World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2007. The funds raised during the event are designated for The Tucson Conquistadores youth charities. More than 150 charities will benefit, including The First Tee of Tucson, Special Olympics Pima County, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, Sierra Vista and Santa Cruz County.
“This event is a great fit in the Greater Tucson community,” said Mike Garten, executive director of the Accenture Match Play Championship. “We are truly looking forward to being at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain to play a course designed specifically for this event by Jack Nicklaus.”
About The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain is an essential component within a landmark half-billion-dollar 850-acre Ritz-Carlton community in northwest Tucson’s high Sonoran Desert. The Golf Club will serve The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, a 250-room resort, as well as 300 luxury single-family homes at The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain. Twenty-seven holes of golf and the 50,000-square-foot clubhouse complex are already under construction and scheduled for completion in late 2008, with an additional nine holes of golf planned for 2010. The Nicklaus Signature courses will emphasize playability and aesthetic appeal while still posing a significant challenge to the world’s best golfers, who will experience the layout starting with the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in February 2009. For further information, please visit: thegolfclubatdovemountain.com or call (407) 206-6208. For media inquiries, please contact Amanda Conti () or Jill Neumann () at (303) 333-1402.
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