Nicklaus to Debut New Oregon Course

BEND, Ore. -- Jack Nicklaus plans to play all 18 holes at Pronghorn Golf Club on Monday, but the Golden Bear isn’t competing.

He’s opening a new Oregon course that he designed and which also bears his name.

‘I knew this was a beautiful piece of land, but I never dreamed it could turn out this good,’ Nicklaus said in describing his new Signature Golf Course.

The Nicklaus Course is one of two planned for The Club at Pronghorn -- the other is a Tom Fazio Championship Course.

That will make Pronghorn the only resort on the West Coast to offer courses designed by both Nicklaus and Fazio.

Nicklaus, 64, played in the Memorial earlier this month. There was some speculation that it might be his last round of competitive golf, but the winner of 18 majors would not say if he was finished.

Most of the holes at Pronghorn’s Nicklaus course feature 1,000-year-old juniper trees and many are shaped by lava rock outcroppings.

‘The course just fit beautifully into the property. The site is essentially all lava. We didn’t touch it. We instead just built on top of it,’ he said.

The design and layout place a premium on thinking, strategy and wise decision-making, said Lindsey Taft, Pronghorn’s Director of Golf.

‘You’ll use every club in your bag,’ she said.

The signature hole of the 7,381-yard course may be the 543-yard 15th.

From the elevated tee on the par-5, the view is straight in to the Cascade Mountains, including the Three Sisters. The uphill approach to the green features lava rock, deep bunkering, trees and a smallish green.

Recently, Nicklaus proudly described the 15th as ‘Pine Valley West,’ referring to Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, one of the top-ranked courses in the country.

‘It’s about as good a golf course, from a conditioning standpoint, as I have ever seen at this point,’ he said.

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