The greatest legend in the world of golf will be making tracks to the 2009 Asia Pacific Golf Summit to be held in Malaysia on 26-28 October. This is a huge development for the Summit which is still a relatively young international golf business event. “It is indeed a great honour for Jack to be at the Summit,” said Mike Sebastian, the producer and managing director of Asia Pacific Golf Development Conferences Pte Ltd, the owners of the Summit.
Jack, also known as ‘The Golden Bear’, currently holds the record for the most victories in major championships. After winning two U.S. Amateur Championships in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open, he turned professional towards the end of 1961.
The 1962 U.S. Open was both Jack’s first major championship win, and his first professional win. This win over Arnold Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two. In 1966, he won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this, and also won the Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. After failing to win a major for two years, Jack won another Open Championship in 1970.
Between 1971 and 1980, he would win a further nine major championships, as well as overtaking Bobby Jones’s record of 13 major championships. At the age of 46, he claimed his 18th and last major championship at the 1986 Masters Tournament, becoming the oldest major championship winner. Jack joined the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) in 1990, when he became eligible, and by 1996 had won ten of the tour’s tournaments, including eight of that tour’s majors. He continued to play the four PGA Tour majors until 2005, when he made his final appearances at The Open Championship and the Masters Tournament.
“Jack’s visit to Malaysia is a very significant event in that it demonstrates the importance that he personally places on the growth and development of golf in Asia,” commented Spencer Robinson, executive managing editor of Asian Golf Business. He went on to add, “The fact that Jack is coming to the region at a time when the whole world is going through a financial crisis is proof positive that Asia is going to continue on the growth path as far as golf is concerned.”
Executive director of Asia Pacific Golf Development Conferences Pte Ltd, Georgina Wong added, “We are overwhelmed by the news of Jack’s decision to attend the Summit. He will be our VVIP guest of honour and we know that he will be a huge draw for the Summit.”
Jack has taken part in many off-course activities, including golf course design, book writing, and running his own tournament on the PGA Tour, the Memorial Tournament. His golf course design company is one of the largest in the world. Jack’s book writing varies from instructional to autobiographical, and his book Golf My Way is considered one of the best instructional golf books of all time.
With a philosophy of working closely with golf course design clients, enhancing the natural environment, and creating courses that are both challenging and enjoyable for players of all levels, the company has 341 courses open for play in 34 countries and 39 states. Of those 341 golf courses, Jack has been involved in the design of 271 courses.
At least 63 Nicklaus Design courses have been ranked by major industry publications like Golf Digest, Golfweek, GOLF Magazine, Travel and Leisure Golf and Asian Golf Monthly, in various national or international Top-100 lists, and no fewer than 88 Nicklaus Design courses have hosted a combined total of over 600 professional golf tournaments worldwide or significant national amateur championships including events on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, the LPGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour, among others.
Nicklaus Design currently has more than 40 golf courses under construction and projects under development in 46 different countries.
Jack Nicklaus and Nicklaus Design also have been credited for elevating and enhancing the relationship between golf and luxury home communities. Since independent research began in the early 1990s, communities that feature a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course as an amenity have resulted in the highest real estate value, the highest average home price, and the greatest velocity of home and lot sales. The survey also included the impact on membership fees, annual dues and greens fees. When all data was combined, a “net present value” was determined for each golf course designer, and Jack Nicklaus was the overall and overwhelming No. 1 choice.
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