Nicklaus thinks Vegas will major in golf

Adam Candee

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 | 10:01 a.m.

If you really believe that the PGA Championship might one day be somewhere in the emptiness north of Las Vegas, then Jack Nicklaus has a nice big piece of desert he'd like to sell you. Seriously.

Promoting the future Coyote Springs master-planned community as part of an overnight stop Monday in Las Vegas, Nicklaus expressed confidence that one of the championship designs he is creating will host the PGA Championship -- one of golf's four majors -- sooner than later.

"My guess is the answer would be very definitely yes," Nicklaus said. "I would be very surprised if it didn't."

Nicklaus will design a series of connected golf courses to be known as "The Bear Trail" as part of the 43,000-acre Coyote Springs development, which will sit in both Clark and Lincoln counties about 60 miles north of the city along U.S. 93. At maturity, Coyote Springs could be almost 20,000 acres larger than Summerlin, and the golf component will include multiple golf courses and the first full "PGA Village" in the West.

In an in-depth interview with the Sun, Nicklaus pointed to his fine Valhalla course in Louisville, Ky., as an example of what the PGA of America does with its full-service settings. Valhalla hosted the PGA Championship in 1996 and 2000, and it will host the next Ryder Cup in the United States in 2008.

"I did Valhalla and the PGA of America bought Valhalla and they did it for one reason: They wanted to have a tournament facility back east where they could hold a PGA Championship," Nicklaus said. "They have the PGA down in Palm Beach Garden -- what'd they hold down there? They held a PGA Championship, didn't they? And they held the Ryder Cup matches."

"So my guess is they're going to do exactly the same thing here. If they don't, I would miss my guess greatly (laughs). It's going to be great for the Las Vegas area."

The PGA maintains a very select rotation of courses for its major events and the arrival of a major championship near Las Vegas is certainly not imminent. The PGA Championship is spoken for through 2011 and the Ryder Cup match locations are set through 2016.

The PGA is partnering with Coyote Springs to build and operate the "Village," which will include a PGA Learning Center and will serve as the western winter home for PGA professionals. The initial work on the golf course land is slated to begin before the end of the year with first-phase completion expected within 2006.

Coyote Springs could eventually be a destination for the PGA Tour outside of major championships as well. Nicklaus' Bear's Best layout in Summerlin met with positive reviews from players in its first run as a host course for the 2004 Michelin Championship at Las Vegas.

With 230 courses to his credit -- 36 of which have been listed in the world's top 100 courses -- Nicklaus' burgeoning design business is as respected as his legendary golf game. Now 64 years old, Nicklaus has been in the design business for more than three decades, turning it into a family endeavor with his sons -- Jack II, Steve, Gary and Michael.

Harvey Whittemore, a Nevada gaming lobbyist and developer who owns the Coyote Springs land, approached Nicklaus Design long ago about designing the signature golf courses for the development.

"When Harvey came to us three or four years ago, we didn't know what was going to happen," Nicklaus said. "We checked Harvey out and Harvey's got a great reputation. He's a doer."

"To be involved in this project from day one is going to be a lot of fun," Nicklaus said. "All the mistakes you make, you know you've made them yourself. And all the things you do right, you take a little credit for."

Nicklaus' brief stop in Las Vegas was just part of the ambitious schedule that the Golden Bear still keeps. He was to leave for Mexico this morning for more course development work. Last week, Nicklaus spent time in Delaware, Boston and Portugal before finally heading home to Florida "to have dinner with my wife."

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