Nicklaus joins Woods with new courses at Bahamas resort

Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods will soon have golf courses on the same site at a new exclusive resort in the Bahamas.

The two golfing legends, with a combined 33 major championship wins, have designed courses for the first time on the same site, a new exclusive resort club and residential community named Jack’s Bay.

Set on 1,200 acres along the southern shore of the Eleuthera Island, Tiger’s design is a 10-hole, par-3 layout named ‘The Playground’ which was completed in 2020.

Jack’s ‘Nicklaus Heritage Course’ – the first he has created with this classification – will be an 18-hole championship-level layout expected to open in 2025.

Tiger’s short par-30 course, designed with his firm TGR Design, plays entirely along the ocean with holes ranging from 71 to 163 yards. Jack’s design, from his firm Nicklaus Design, will include sea view holes with five played directly by the coast.

The neighbouring golf courses will form the centerpiece of the new private residential resort set on nearly four miles of beachfront. Jack also holds branding rights over the real estate project as a ‘Nicklaus community’. The resort comprises Beachfront and Ocean View Homesites as well as Atlantic Cottages and Town Homes.

There’s a 20-acre lake and marina and the first-class amenities include a private beach club, clubhouse, restaurants, wellness centre, sports pavilion and tennis and padel courts.

New designs from Jack and Tiger

Jack Nicklaus is now revered as much for his work off the course as he was on it. Nicklaus Design, the global company he founded, has designed over 400 courses in 39 countries. Over 150 of them have provided the venue for more than 1,000 professional golf tournaments worldwide.

His designs include the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles, host of the 2014 Ryder Cup and the 2019 Solheim Cup, and Muirfield Village, host of the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour.

Jack and two-time major winner Justin Thomas recently joined forces to design Panther National, a new golf club now open in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. 

In 2021, Tiger’s firm TGR Design unveiled The Hay, a 670-yard 9-hole course at famed California golf resort Pebble Beach, and the company is now building a huge 18-hole championship mountain course in Utah which will include a par 5 over 700 yards.