Nicklaus & Doak To Collaborate On New York Course

Sebonack Golf Club, a new private club that will occupy some 300 waterfront acres between Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and the National Golf Links of America, recently announced it paired Jack Nicklaus and architect Tom Doak to design the course. This first-ever design collaboration of Nicklaus, whose firm counts over 270 courses worldwide to its credit, and Doak, whose heralded work at Pacific Dunes in Bandon Dunes, Ore., and other recent properties has brought him much recognition, is a unique alliance of experience and talent.

"We are extremely excited to have Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak working as a team on our project," said Michael Pascucci, who spoke on behalf of the Pascucci family which owns the course. "We have an extraordinary piece of property that is located between two of the finest golf courses in this country. It has been our intent that the Sebonack Golf Club would provide golfers with a strategic layout featuring the very best shot-making characteristics.

"Equally important to us is the knowledgeable experience in the latest design and construction techniques that are required to sensitively craft a course on a premier waterfront property in a high-profile location. In the unprecedented collaboration of Nicklaus and Doak, we have all of this and more."

"I'm excited about this project," said Nicklaus. "Tom is a bright young talent in the design business, and I look forward to working closely with him. We have an opportunity to do something special here with Sebonack because of a spectacular piece of property located in an area already rich in golf history."

Tom Doak is equally enthusiastic about the scope of the Sebonack project. "It's hard to imagine a project bigger than this one," Doak commented. "We're starting with the kind of property every architect dreams about, with perfect sandy soil and a lot of frontage along the bay. Creating a great golf course is the first and only priority.

"It is an honor to be working alongside Jack Nicklaus, and I'm sure I will learn a lot from picking the brain of the greatest golfer ever. And if we're ever short of inspiration, we can peek across the fence at two of the best golf courses ever built. I can't wait to get started!"