PORT ST. LUCIE — Jack Nicklaus will lead the redesign of The Shores of North River Golf Club to be used as a first of its kind First Tee facility.
Nicklaus was a special guest April 2 at the home of Rick Horrow, where The Ben Horrow Project was unveiled, including the acquisition and renovation of the 70-acre property located in Stuart. Nicklaus will be joined by his son, Jackie, and his grandson, Stevie, in the redesign.
Horrow, a First Tee National Trustee, Treasure Coast, said, “it is a generational investment in youth development, community access and the future of the game.”
The support from Horrow is a tribute to his late father and reflects a lifetime of work in sports, business and community impact inspired by his father’s legacy. The Ben Horrow Project also will involve a national thought leadership series. Participants will include key industry executives focusing on youth development, financial literacy, mentorship and economic responsibility.
“I thought it was a very noble thing he would do that for his father,” said Nicklaus, who is a trustee and honorary chairman for First Tee. “I really liked the idea of doing something for the First Tee.”
Rick Horrow elaborated on the plans, which have a projected budget of $19 million and will be funded through donations. Nicklaus, who has donated his design fee, will oversee the layout of the course. Other improvements include expanding the driving range, renovating irrigation and drainage and renovating the clubhouse and maintenance facility.
Nicklaus said the golf course will be re-designed with the youthful golfers of First Tee in mind.
“What we can do is create a golf course first for kids, seniors, beginners,” he said. “This is also about kids’ health. Kids playing golf is a very healthy thing.”
Rick Horrow gets to work alongside Jack Nicklaus, his ‘lifelong hero’
Horrow said the project allows him to work alongside his “lifelong hero” and extend a relationship that goes back to the start of Golden Bear Sports Management. He also noted the project is about more than golf.
“Financial literacy, economic protection, mentorship, youth development are all critical to me,” he said, “whether it’s golf, mainstream sports, academics, or a new national sports debate program I am coordinating through the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues.”
The renovated golf course will serve as a full-access First Tee – Treasure Coast programming hub, offering:
As for Horrow’s memories of Nicklaus, the 18-time Majors champion, they go back to 1965 when he was 10 years old.
“I vividly remember Jack Nicklaus winning his second Masters while watching with my dad,” Rick Horrow said. “Golf became a passion because that was dad’s passion. As was sports. In March 1966, I saw him for the last time. We talked about the new expansion Miami Dolphins, and he handed me tickets and said we were going to the first game and every other after that. We also looked forward to the Masters the next month, and the chances of Jack winning back to back (he did). My dad died of melanoma a month before that Masters, but his legacy lives on.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Shores of North River Golf Club to be redesigned by Jack Nicklaus
Reporting by Nick Pugliese, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
