Well, not quite a week. I’m off on Thursday for a quick jaunt around a new course in Ucluelet, B.C. to walk it with Jack Nicklaus and conduct an interview with him. It should be an interesting exercise, as I’ve never spent much time (re: any) with Nicklaus, though I have done several interviews through email with him.
The course, part of the Wyndansea Resort on the west side of [photopress:jack_1_2.jpg,full,alignright]Vancouver Island, is one of a handful of signature “Jack Nicklaus” courses that will then use that name. In this case it is the Jack Nicklaus Club of Canada. Apparently there will be 25 similar courses scattered around the world.
The site looks dramatic and rocky, though I’m always concerned seeing as there is a housing component. It will also be intriguing to see Nicklaus’ style of design these days, especially after working on a co-design with Tom Doak in New York and the creation of Dismal River in Nebraska.
Of course, Jack will also be back in Canada at the end of September to captain the U.S. Presidents Cup squad at Royal Montreal.
I’ll also be in Vancouver for a couple of extra days to get started on my book for Key Porter, Going for the Green: On the Links with Canada’s Business and Political Leaders. This will give me the opportunity to see Shaughnessy again, one of my favourite courses in the country.
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Ontgolf.ca turned off our course user ratings module for the past couple of months, while we reworked it. The overlord that runs Ontgolf.ca has said to watch for it to come back online in coming days, giving Ontgolf.ca users the opportunity to dish the dirt — the good and the bad — on Ontario’s many courses.
Got any room for a tag a long, Robert? Sounds like the chance of a life time to spend sometime with Jack!