Overview

Designer Biographies

Tiger Woods

Established in 2006, the mission of Tiger Woods Design is to utilize Tiger’s worldwide experience, his limitless pursuit of excellence and his love of golf to create a unique collection of amazing golf courses around the world.

Tiger believes that every project should be special and provide an outstanding golf experience. As a result, Tiger Woods Design seeks to find the best sites, select the best partners and create fantastic course designs. A cornerstone of every project, the Tiger Woods Design team works closely with each client to provide exceptional, customized service.

Complementing this selective approach are the company’s design goals. Tiger Woods is famous for setting a high standard and working hard to surpass it. Tiger Woods Design is no different. Every project incorporates its Chairman’s highest standards, personal vision and passion for golf as well as his international experience in the game. Currently, Tiger Woods Design is designing courses in Dubai, U.A.E.; Asheville, North Carolina; and Ensenada, Mexico.

Tiger Woods Design’s first American project is The Cliffs at High Carolina. Located in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, The Cliffs at High Carolina will be a mountain meadow course featuring stunning 50-mile views. At elevations of nearly 4,000 feet, Tiger is focused on a design that works with the land and utilizes what nature has provided.  It will be a walkable course, reflecting his focus on tradition and wellness.

More information on Tiger Woods Design can be found at tigerwoodsdesign.com.

 

Gary Player

In 2003 Gary Player celebrated his 50th anniversary as a professional golfer.  Over the last half century, the man who became known as “The Black Knight of the Fairways” has compiled an exceptional record of 163 worldwide victories, including the coveted Grand Slam.  During his playing career, Player consulted on dozens of golf course design projects as a “Player consultant” before establishing is own company in the early ‘80s, Gary Player Design.  His vast experience traveling the world coupled with an unparalleled international career as a touring professional have afforded Gary Player a unique understanding of the needs of the average golfer, the objectives of the developer and the concerns of the environment.

To date the organization lays claim to over 300 projects in 34 countries, many of which have received multiple awards & rankings, as well as served as host venues for several PGA Tour sanctioned events.  Player has also received multiple personal recognitions as a designer on several continents.

The Cliffs’ seventh championship private golf course, the Gary Player Signature design at Mountain Park takes advantage of panoramic mountain elevations with no less than 14 of the 18 holes incorporating the pristine North Saluda River that runs through this community. Construction on the Mountain Park course is on an aggressive timeline, with designs well underway and completion slated for 2009.

With nine PGA Tour major championships, nine Champions Tour majors and almost 15 million air miles under his belt, Player has been trademarked The World’s Most Traveled Athlete™ and also represents the World Golf Hall of Fame as the “International Ambassador of Golf.”  As a leader in the golf course design industry worldwide, his success as an entrepreneur has undoubtedly mirrored his playing career.

The fundamental philosophy behind Gary Player’s approach to golf course design is to create courses playable by all levels, with unwavering sensitivity to the environment.  From a young age, Player was (and still is) influenced by his older brother Dr Ian Player, a renowned conservationist credited with saving the White Rhino from extinction.  Gary Player has approached every project with utmost regard for the natural vegetation, wetlands and habitats, in each case striving to create “a gift to nature.”  The result is a list of Gary Player-designed golf courses that have been certified by the National Audubon Society, a USA-based organization whose mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems.

As he plays less competitive golf each year, Gary Player’s schedule is as busy as ever with golf course design & real estate business.  He prides himself on taking his design experience to emerging markets to help develop the game of golf globally and enjoys undertaking diverse conditions, sites and cultures.  Player works closely with a technical team to implement his design philosophies and directs his staff to be selective about the projects they accept. 

Today the company is thriving with over 50 active projects in Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, many of which are scheduled to open in 2008.  For additional information on the Gary Player Design, including philosophy and a list of projects & awards, visit http://www.garyplayerdesign.com.

 

Jack Nicklaus

If Jack Nicklaus' mark on the 20th century was his golf game, his legacy in the 21st century will be his golf course design.

For more than 30 years, Nicklaus courses have blanketed the country and the globe, establishing Jack as one of the world's premier golf course designers. His stature as a designer is on par with his place in golf history as a player. In 1999, Golf Digest ranked Jack as the world's leading active golf course designer. And he has shown no signs of slowing down - whether it be in his passion for design or his flair for the creative.

Today, Jack and his successful firm, Nicklaus Design, have established themselves as industry leaders. Nicklaus Design enters the new millennium with well over 240 golf course designs. Of those Jack has been involved in 207 of them, and at least 35 of those courses have been ranked in various national and international Top 100 lists over the years. Also, close to a third of Jack's famous golf courses have hosted a professional tournament or amateur championship.

The Nicklaus Signature design at Walnut Cove is but another reminder of the excellence attached to the Nicklaus name.  The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, completed in April 2005, is the first course in the history of the PGA TOUR to debut in conjunction with a PGA-sanctioned event, The BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs.  The Cliffs and Nicklaus Design recently completed the second Nicklaus Signature course at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, making The Cliffs Communities the only private club in America to feature two Nicklaus Signature golf courses and two Fazio Signature courses."

 

Tom Fazio

Throughout his 35 years as a golf course designer, Tom Fazio and his staff of talented designers have been recognized for creating award-winning courses throughout the United States. No living golf course designer has more credits on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses and Golfweek's collection of America's Best. The Golf Digest poll for Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect was discontinued after Tom claimed the award three consecutive times, and he has also received The Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Tom Fazio Design completed The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards course in 2000, subsequently voted among America's Best New Private Courses by Golf Digest. The Cliffs and Fazio Design Team have opened the second Fazio course at The Cliffs at Keowee Springs, which makes The Cliffs Communities the only private club in America to feature two Nicklaus Signature golf courses and two Fazio Signature courses. 

Fazio attributes this success to maintaining a team concept in design shared by the ten senior associates on his staff, all of whom have worked with Tom for anywhere from 15 to 32 years. This visionary group, with a diverse base of knowledge and united love for the game of golf, enable Fazio Golf Course Designers to continue to create courses that are noted throughout the industry for their excellence.

Fazio emphasizes the premise that "golf courses should reflect the natural beauty of their environments." Maintaining that principle, Fazio Golf Course Designers strives to follow design priorities that include creating harmonious transitions from existing topographical conditions, developing courses that offer golfers of varying skill a challenging yet enjoyable experience, and providing each client with optimum use of the property.

In addition to designing famous golf courses, Tom Fazio and his wife Sue have six children and reside in Hendersonville, North Carolina. They are active in the community and support many local charities, art and theatre associations as well as educational institutions. Tom and Sue founded the Boys and Girls Club of Hendersonville in 1993 and the Boys and Girls Club of East Flat Rock in 1998. Tom also supports various children's causes throughout the nation with the Tom Fazio Children's Charity Fund, which benefits from fundraising endeavors such as Tom's book Golf Course Designs.

 

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson has been actively designing and building golf courses since 1965.  Prior to starting his own firm in 1971, he had worked for two of the country's leading golf course architects, Robert Trent Jones and George Cobb.

During the past 33 years, he has been involved with well over 100 golf course projects, the majority being located in the Southeast.  These projects include private and semi-private courses, resort courses and public courses, of which seven have been done for various government agencies.

Jackson Golf, Inc.'s designs set the precedence as a standard for quality and playability and have been bringing creativity to the golf course industry since 1965.  Imaginative layouts continue to challenge and provide enjoyment for golfers of all levels.

The Cliffs at Glassy’s golf course, designed by architect Tom Jackson, opened in 1992. That year, Golf Digest named the course "Fourth Most Beautiful In The Nation" after only Cypress Point, Pebble Beach and Augusta National.  Located atop a 3,000-foot plateau, views from the famous golf course are as breathtaking as the impeccably manicured bent grass tees, greens and fairways.

 

Ben Wright

Ben Wright is a name widely known in the world of sports. An Emmy- and Peabody-award winning announcer for golf and many other sports broadcasts for CBS TV for 23 years, Ben Wright, though a native of England, resides in Flat Rock, North Carolina, a short distance from the course he designed: The Cliffs Valley located in Travelers Rest, SC.

Wright, who has attended major golf events since 1954 and has announced the world’s best matches, including the Ryder Cup and the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Ben Wright designed and built the Cliffs Valley golf course, which opened for play in 1994. Wright can be seen regularly visiting and playing at the Valley in his off time.

A prolific writer, Wright is a published author of two books: his autobiography Good Bounces and Bad Lies and Speak Wright. He served as Editor-at-Large for Links magazine and remains a contributing editor with his column “There I Was.” Wright was awarded the MacGregor golf writing contest in both 1982 and 1989. He was also featured in Kevin Costner’s successful golf film Tin Cup.

Since leaving CBS in November 1999, Wright continues to regularly contribute to Canadian Television, write, commentate, and appear on various programs, prime time specials, and panel discussions.