Jack Nicklaus II cut his teeth working with his famous father on a host of designs and now
the thirty-something Jack II is a legitimate golf course designer in his own right. Having first designed
his own courses overseas, Jack II made his solo debut in the States in 1991 with
Legacy GolfLinks
in the
Pinehurst
area. Located 6 miles east of Highway 1 in
Aberdeen,
about a 20 minute drive from The Village of Pinehurst, Legacy is a finely crafted upscale daily fee course.
Much to son Jack's credit, the course is a triumph of restraint over creative overindulgence. The result is
a very playable, vista-filled course that has the subtlety and length to challenge the long-ball hitters and
the forgiveability from the forward tees to provide a congenial golfing experience for the higher handicappers.
Legacy stretches from 7,018 yards to 4,948 yards and plays to a par of 72. The slope is 132 from the
championship markers and 116 from the middle tees.
Awarded 'Top Course in North Carolina 2000',
the scenic Legacy course is a delight
for golfers of any handicap.
"We hear a lot of, 'I shot my best score here,' from golfers," said Legacy's head professional Mike Riddle, "but it is not a walk-over by any means." Awarded the top course in North Carolina for 2000 by the National Golf Course Superintendents Association, Legacy hosted the 2000 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship, a highly successful event that has players and sponsors delighted with the performance of the course under top tournament conditions.
In designing Legacy, Jack II worked with Jim Lipe, a long-time lead designer with Golden Bear Design whose credits include Williamsburg National. In the summer of 2000, Jack II became president of Golden Bear Design.
Legacy is owned and managed by Legacy Golf Management based in Atlanta. According to Riddle, the company has no plans to develop the property, a decision that company officials think will ensure Legacy's popularity for years to come. There are NO houses anywhere in site of the course. "Golfers like it because they feel they are out there in the woods with nothing but themselves and the golf course," Riddle explained.
Indeed, the site is ideal for golf. The heavily wooded land parcel with several large lakes meandering through it afforded Nicklaus ample opportunities to sculpt holes with scenic vistas through the pines. The site, which includes four lakes and connecting streams, was once a farm where catfish were harvested. In some spots on the course, New Englanders could well imagine they are in Vermont or Maine. Water comes into play on no less than 12 holes including all four par 3s, none of which measures over 191 yards from the tips.
The 17th green is bordered by Legacy's largest lake
With the exception of the finishing hole, a 432-yard (459 yards from the back) monster up a steep hill for the drive and over water for the approach shot to the green, the course is very fair and uncontrived. On this moderately rolling landscape, the fairways are generous and not overly contoured or mounded, a refreshing feature in this age of overly frisky, harshly penal designs. The small greens feature modest slopes that get your attention without sending you to the medicine cabinet. The majority of the greens allow for bump-and-run approaches. Wide and shallow, the bunkers are relatively un-penal and very sparing on this course. Fourteen greens have just one bunker and four holes have no greenside bunkers at all. The Bermuda rough is kept fairly close and beyond the rough are areas of pine straw from which you can extricate your ball without too much trouble.
Jack II's design philosophy of interspersing difficult and less difficult holes is best illustrated by the par 5's. Two of the three-shotters are very long and unreachable, and two are reachable with two good shots. The signature hole is the downhill 174-yard 5th. On this picturesque hole, an accurate tee shot must avoid going left where it could end up in the lake or left-hand bunker. As in so many of the holes, however, Nicklaus has created bailout areas, in this case the right-hand side. Two other one-shotters-the 162-yard (191 from the back) 9th and the 170-yard (181) 11th also require water-avoiding tee shots. From the back and middle tees, the tee shot on the 11th is over water but Nicklaus has positioned the forward tee to take out the over-water carry.
A pine tree's view of Legacy's interesting 8th hole
One of the best holes is the 387-yard 8th. Though relatively short for a par 4, it is beautiful and testy, requiring a tee shot through the pines to the crest of a hill from where the fairway meanders downhill to a wide but very narrow green backdropped by an amphitheater bank. The 12th and 13th holes are also gems. The 12th measures 385 from the middle tees and traverses up an incline almost all the way to the hole. The 13th is 527 yards long and starts from a lowland tee box up to another crest at the landing area. From there, the holes slide down to a green bordered right by the property's largest lake. It is a very pretty hole.
Judging from the responses of the Public Links Championship contestants, sponsors and the public, Legacy got high marks as tournament host, and the course could well stage another major event. "We are evaluating that now," according to Riddle.
It speaks volumes about the caliber of a golf course that it can successfully host a national competition and yet offer the middle or high handicap golfer a rewarding round of golf. Add Legacy to your list on your next visit to the Pinehurst area. 
Pinehurst Golf
