Illustrious Foursome to Design New Course at Greenbrier


Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino are collaborating for the first time on the design of a new golf course. Overlooking the historic Oakhurst Links it will be the centerpiece of Oakhurst, a new neighborhood planned for The Greenbrier Sporting Club.

Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier, brought together the icons to jointly design a championship course with a future goal of hosting a major championship, perhaps even a U.S. Open. The project, which is anticipated to include a modest private ski facility, will break ground in the next month, with the course opening in fall 2016.

"We've been friends and competitors for a long time, but most of all, we have all loved the game for a long time and I think that's what's important," said Nicklaus, who redesigned the resort's Greenbrier Course in 1977. "So our goal is to create something unique at Oakhurst. I think having all of our ideas of how the game should be played combined into one golf course positioned right next to Oakhurst Links, where the game has its origins in our country, will be something very special and we will have fun doing it."

"Jack, Arnold, Lee and I have been competing around the world on Tour for more than 50 years, and to be collaborating on this design at this stage of our lives is very special and exciting," Player said. "We all visited the beautiful site recently, and I have no doubt that together we will fulfill Jim Justice's lofty goals for this project on not only the golf course but in creating jobs and supporting charities as well."

"I have a particular soft spot in my heart for The Greenbrier - I was invited to play in the Sam Snead Festival, an unofficial pro-am at the resort, in 1955 which was my first year on Tour," Palmer said. "Now, I'm looking forward to spending whatever time it takes to do a job for Jim Justice and The Greenbrier that will be an enduring and memorable contribution to golf. Jim wants the course to be a U.S. Open venue by 2023 and that's our goal, too."

"No four guys with those credentials have ever built a golf course together," said Trevino, The Greenbrier's pro emeritus. "It'll be a unique challenge, but we'll get it done. I'm OK with it, because all of my holes are going to be short par 3s, dogleg right. All joking aside, there's no question in my mind that with this new golf course, The Greenbrier Sporting Club will be the greatest Sporting Club on earth."

In addition to the 7,500-yard layout, other amenities planned for the Oakhurst neighborhood include a clubhouse; dining facilities; a pro shop; outdoor pool; ski and snowboard facilities; and fishing, hiking and biking areas.

The existing nine-hole Oakhurst Links - the oldest golf club in America - will be incorporated into the new neighborhood as part of The Greenbrier Sporting Club. Built in 1884 and purchased by the resort in 2012, the 30-acre Oakhurst Links features a museum and clubhouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located just a few miles north of The Greenbrier. Golfers often dress in period golf attire, use hickory-shafted clubs and hit gutta-percha balls off tees fashioned from sand and water, the way golf was played more than 130 years ago.

"It's not often you are truly in the midst of history being made," said Justice. "The collaboration of the four icons - Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino - is, without question, an incredible event to be happening in our great state of West Virginia. Additionally, bringing leaders of business from around the globe and an array of celebrities will bring added attention to our great state, along with business opportunities that result in jobs for our people."

For more about The Greenbrier Sporting Club, visit www.greenbriersportingclub.com.