Bear's Best
a top draw in Atlanta
By Derek Duncan,
Senior Writer
SUWANEE, Ga. (June 5, 2003) -- If it's true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, is self-replication the severest type of self-idolatry?
If so, the notion of a golf course comprised of 18 replica holes of a single architect's work might seem the ultimate expression of hubris. But when the architect in question is Jack Nicklaus it isn't so much a matter of self-interest but good business -- Nicklaus' name on any golf course development usually means big bucks for all involved and virtually assures the public will be interested.
There is certainly no shortage of interest in Bear's Best Atlanta, a deluxe 18-hole layout roughly 40 minutes northeast of downtown. At both Bear's Best Las Vegas and its sister course in Atlanta, opened September 2002, the designs are comprised of holes taken from original international Nicklaus designs that mirror the given topography of the site. Where the desert of Las Vegas was best suited for Nicklaus' western courses, the hilly and forested Atlanta property features holes from as far away as Great Britain and Ireland.
If anyone has earned the right to be canonized in a golf course it's
Nicklaus, and at least in the case of the Bear's Best designs he got to do
the tribute himself. But lionization was not the original intent.
Owner ClubCorp's initial concept, hatched in the booming mid-1990s, was to cater to large corporate outings by building upscale public courses designed to accommodate 144 players at a time in both morning and afternoon flights. As the economy, and subsequently high-rolling corporate entertainment, softened the goal shifted toward simply attracting a wide variety of golfers by highlighting examples of Nicklaus' work (Nicklaus is a partner in the Bear's Best ventures), although corporate accommodation is still a specialty.
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Using computer blueprints of nearly every Nicklaus course ever built matched against topography maps, the architects were able to eliminate thousands of holes that didn't fit the terrain and cull a more workable number that could be tested in the field. Equally helpful as the computer, however, was Nicklaus' own mind.
"With Jack, he did so much of it off pure memory recall," says Bear's Best Operation Manager Jeff Whitt. "He could look at the site and immediately say a hole from Cornwall or Gleneagles would be perfect here. Then with the CAD blueprints they could assure that the hole would fit to the correct scale. He made sure that if they were going to do it they were going to do it perfect, 100-percent to the inch compared to the original design."
The layout -- several years and an additional 3 million cubic yards of
earth moved in the making -- is comprised of holes from notable courses
such as Gleneagles, Mount Juliet, Muirfield Village, Old Works, PGA
"Championship" Course, TPC of Michigan, and Sherwood Country Club.
Beginning at number one, an elegant and simple downhill par-4 from St.
Mellion in England, and continuing through number five, the routing rides
the terrain out to a lower sector of the property where the next six holes
run out and back over the flatlands along the Chattahoochee River. Holes 12
through 18 wander through the hills back toward the clubhouse, culminating
in a monstrous par-4, the 18th at Castle Pines in Denver.
One remarkable aspect of Bear's Best Atlanta is that in spite of its
necessarily disparate parts the course plays amazingly complete, gracefully
even. While there are different bunker styles and varying green sizes and
shapes from green to tee there's nary a flinch of reaction -- it's just one
solid hole after another. Against the notoriously rugged North Atlanta
countryside the routing remains gentle and overall the course is rather
forgiving; even from the championship tees Bear's Best plays quite shorter
than its 6,857 yards.
Already one of the top draws in the market, Bear's Best Atlanta is successful not really because it's a compendium of far-flung Nicklaus' designs but rather because at the core it's scenic and exciting golf with lavish maintenance. It doesn't truly matter that it's a replica course-after all, how many players have witnessed firsthand Elk Ridge Club, Governors Club, The Club at Nevillewood, The Golf Club of Purchase, or Spring Creek Ranch? That then begs the question, is it really a replica course if no one knows what's being replicated?
Still, this is a design of replica holes, and so in that respect it's
critique-proof. That's the neat trick with replica courses: they're
innocent of intrinsic criticism since they're simply otherworldly twins of
some faraway original and can only succeed or fail in their ability to
duplicate. In that sense they're mere doppelgangers, or in the face of
scrutiny, Corsican Brothers -- don't like the green at the par-4 15th at
Bear's Best? Fine, but it's really the first hole at Sherwood Country Club
that's taking the heat.
So the golf is great, but why not just let Nicklaus lay out a course with similar holes that aren't replicas? Is the Bear's Best brand (there are plans to open several more throughout the country) golf's ultimate embodiment of creativity, capitalism, and conceit?
"In our commodified industry, where the tendency is for everybody to do the
same thing, it's hard to differentiate properties." Whitt says. "You want
to stand out, and to create a unique brand we had to be different." It's
working, too. With a progressive caddie program that keeps foursomes moving
lockstep at four-hour rounds and full tee-sheets since opening, Bear's Best
Atlanta seems to be just what the market wanted.
"Jack said when he was at The Masters (in April) he had more people commenting and complimenting him on the Bear's Best courses than any he's ever designed," Whitt says.
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Who Is It For?
Despite laying claim to one the highest green fees in the Atlanta metro area, Bear's Best seems to be attracting just about everyone. Nicklaus aficionados, corporate entertainers, and players seeking one of the most complete golf experiences in the area will want to visit Bear's Best.
Rates
$75 Monday-Thursday, $95 Friday-Sunday. Rates include caddie for the group, tips not included (recommended tip is $20 per bag and up, depending on service).
