Golf legend and course designer Jack "the Golden Bear" Nicklaus made one of the last in a series of scheduled visits to the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course at Baha Mar late last month before the course and the resort open this coming December.
The Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course has been described as the highest tier of design offerings at Nicklaus Design. The course incorporates hands-on, customized involvement by Nicklaus and is the only one of its caliber in The Bahamas. The new course will join the existing handful of Nicklaus Design courses located in the Caribbean.
"We are proud to be home to a Jack Nicklaus Signature course, one of the premier golf courses in the world. It is part of the collection of diverse, world-class experiences that Baha Mar will offer," remarked Paul Pusateri, Baha Mar's chief operating officer.
"These experiences, along with the superb hospitality of our team, will put The Bahamas on the world stage in a way that has never been seen before."
During his recent visit, Nicklaus inspected final details of the golf course, which has been grassed with salt water-tolerant Platinum TE seashore Paspalum grass and is now in the grow-in phase. The 18-hole, par-72 championship golf course at Baha Mar boasts ocean views and a peninsula green, as well as elements such as bunkers from the natural terrain of the site.
The golf course is designed to offer "two courses in one", with the front nine holes providing dramatic play, while the back nine holes wind through inland forest and native habitat.
"I feel blessed that golfers around the world have shown an affinity for our course designs, and Baha Mar should only perpetuate that," Nicklaus said. "Travelers are going to come to Baha Mar for the casino, the world-class hotels and the beautiful water. We also believe that they are going to enjoy the golf experience that we will provide.
While most of the golf courses in The Bahamas are designed on smaller pieces of land and as a result are fairly tight, there is plenty of room to play golf on this course and it will appeal to golfers of every level. Better golfers will appreciate the strategy and the shot values, but every golfer should love the playability and aesthetics of the course."
Baha Mar is seeking to make golf "greener" at the luxury resort by incorporating smart design and irrigating the course with reclaimed water.

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