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Bring in the best - Red Ledges taps Nicklaus
Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune
June 19, 2007
HEBER CITY - In the quarter century since he designed Park Meadows golf course, Jack Nicklaus has developed an affinity for Utah. So when his old friend and PGA Tour sponsor M. Anthony Burns (longtime CEO of Ryder Systems) said he had purchased property outside Heber City real estate and wanted Nicklaus to integrate one of his golf courses into the rolling landscape, the golf legend quickly signed on.
"I got involved because of Tony Burns. When he does something, he does it right," Nicklaus said Monday after ceremonially breaking ground with Burns and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on a red-rock outcrop that eventually will be the ninth-hole tee box in the upscale Red Ledges development. As envisioned by Burns and co-owner Nolan Archibald, the Ogden-born president and chief executive of Black & Decker, Red Ledges will be a 2,000-acre gated community with 1,200 homes situated around 27 holes of golf and other amenities bearing high-profile names.
For instance, besides the 18-hole, championship-caliber Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course and a separate nine-hole Nicklaus Design short course, Red Ledges also will feature a Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy, a high service club established by the South African tennis star of the 1960s and early '70s. Burns said Red Ledges also has retained Jim McLean, listed by Golf Digest magazine as the country's top instructor, to develop practice and instructional facilities. The property was annexed into Heber City in March, when the City Council also approved its master plan.
Burns said the build out will take five to eight years. The overall development cost was not disclosed. Heber City Mayor Dave Phillips said all of Wasatch County will benefit from the development of Red Ledges, not just because of the tax base it provides but also for the kind of people it will attract to the fast-growing valley.
"I know that a lot will be second homes for some pretty good people who will move in, people who will support the community and have experienced backgrounds," Phillips said, adding, "we can't stop the growth but we're trying to go about it" in an orderly fashion. Huntsman, whose business family is well acquainted with the Burns family, said Red Ledges is the kind of "destination facility" that underscores Utah's claim to be "the state of sports."
"In a state that is the fourth- or fifth-fastest growing in the country, and with travel and tourism evolving so rapidly, this [golf-oriented development] is one of the ways we put our face on the map and display the quality represented by what you're doing here," Huntsman said.
Burns noted that his ties to Utah run deep. Wife Joyce Jordan Burns is a fourth-generation native of the Heber Valley. Half of the 2,000 acres that will become Red Ledges was purchased from her sister, Phyllis Jordan Christensen.
"This has been a dream of our family for many years," said Burns, insisting that his wife and her sister participate in the groundbreaking ceremony. Nicklaus said he knew about the property a decade ago, so when Burns called and said he had purchased it for a golf course, he knew it was prime countryside.
"It's a beautiful place to play golf," said Nicklaus, whose course-designing company has 60 courses under construction and another 150 on contract. Most of his work these days, he said, is in Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.
The man nicknamed the Golden Bear said he would design a course that shows respect for the existing landscape, with the real estate development determined after the fairways and greens are plotted. Although Nicklaus said he would undoubtedly incorporate a few "gorilla tees" to challenge really big hitters and the occasional pros who pass through, most tee boxes will be designed to have "a lot more playability features for the members who live here."
He predicted that the course will take advantage of ravines that give the terrain character and that he plans to add water in several places. "I can design as much water as [Burns] has money for in his bank account," Nicklaus said. "But I don't want there to be a hazard every time you turn around. I want balance. That makes good sense for golfers."
The 2,000-acre development east of Heber City is designed to have:
- 1,200 homes within a gated community, with 50 percent open space
- 27 holes of golf and a tennis academy
- An equestrian center with indoor and outdoor facilities
- A private ski-in, ski-out club at Deer Valley
- Private club boats at Jordanelle Reservoir
- A spa and fitness center and an elaborate clubhouse
- Fine dining
- Hiking, biking, horseback riding and snowshoeing trails
