Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda, Mont., will celebrate its 20th anniversary on September 28th with a golf tournament and post-round reception featuring golf legend and Old Works course designer Jack Nicklaus. The 20th anniversary tournament and reception will celebrate how the small town of Anaconda, with the help of the Golden Bear’s design and later, the management of Troon, has taken a Superfund remediation project and turned it into one of Golf Digest’s Top-100 daily fee golf courses in the United States.
The day’s festivities will include a pre-tournament golf clinic with famed instructor Tim Mahoney; a four-person scramble golf tournament, complete with Jack Nicklaus-signed prizes; and an evening reception, highlighted by a Q&A session with Nicklaus. Those interested in playing in the golf tournament and attending the reception should contact the Old Works Golf Course golf shop at 406-563-5989. The cost to play in the tournament and attend the festivities is $125 per golfer.
“Old Works is such an amazing success story,” said Mark Savoy, general manager of Old Works. “We invite folks from all over to help us celebrate two amazing decades on September 28 by attending our 20th anniversary golf tournament and reception with Jack Nicklaus.”
Reborn on what was the site of Anaconda’s century-old copper-smelting plant, Old Works is the first course ever designed and built on a Federal EPA Superfund site. Jack Nicklaus, who was lauded by the EPA for his innovative efforts, incorporated historic relics into his design of Old Works. Granite slabs from the old mill line the banks of trout-filled Warm Springs Creek, protecting the 10th green. Massive stone furnaces border the third fairway, while the 150-foot flue provides a dramatic backdrop to the fourth green. All bunkers are filled with black slag sand—the by-product of the copper-smelting process—giving the course its unique and signature look.
“The decision to build a golf course there was a terrific, money-saving use of the property, and it was a special opportunity to create a source of pride, employment and potential revenue to a town that was struggling due to unemployment from the loss of Anaconda mining,” Nicklaus said. “Old Works brought tourism to the town; it brought jobs to the town; and in some way, it brought new life. It was a very worthwhile project all around. And, we were able to construct the project for about half the cost that it would have taken to clean up the site, due to regulations.”
Old Works is currently rated the No. 2 golf course in Montana by Golfweek magazine and is also featured in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses” list, making the course a must-play for golfers traveling near or through Montana. Moreover, Old Works is an affordable opportunity to play a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course—only the third municipal golf course in Nicklaus Design’s U.S. portfolio of more than 200 courses.
Managed by Troon and owned by Anaconda Deer Lodge County, Old Works is an 18-hole, par-72, public course spread across 220 acres. The club’s unique three-hole “Little Bear” course has two par 4s and a par 3, and is popular with families and golfers short on time. Little Bear greens fees are just $5 per three-hole round. The Old Works practice facility includes a driving range with multiple target greens, chipping and putting greens and two practice bunkers.
About Troon
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf management company, with more than 270 golf courses in its portfolio. Also specializing in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues, the company oversees operations at Troon Golf, Honours Golf and Troon Privé properties located in 38 states and 31 countries. Additionally, there are 56 Troon-affiliated properties featuring 75 courses that have been recipients of a “Top 100” ranking by national and international publications. Troon properties include Princeville Makai Golf Club, Kauai, Hawaii; Centurion Club, London, England; The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, Tucson, Ariz.; The Bay Club, Berlin, Md.; Prince’s Golf Club, Sandwich, England; and CostaBaja Golf Club, in La Paz, Mexico. For additional news and information, visit www.Troon.com, or connect with Troon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Blog, and Press Room, or subscribe to Troon Golf & Travel.
