PRESIDENT’S LETTER 

Dear Members and Guests,

At ClubCorp, we start with the premise that we are in the “repeat business” business. We want our Members and Guests, our Employee Partners, and our Financial Partners to remain members, to visit us again (and again), or to do business with us over the long term. Thus, we emphasize the word “partner.”

This issue, I’m proud to introduce one of our partners, although he is someone who needs no introduction — Jack Nicklaus, the legendary golfer, golf course designer, and businessman.

In the summer of 1998, ClubCorp and Golden Bear International formed a joint venture to build, own, and operate dozens of Jack Nicklaus Signature Courses worldwide. Two projects got under way shortly after the announcement. The Nicklaus Golf Club at Birch River, which is under construction in Dahlonega, Georgia, near Atlanta, is gearing up for opening in the fall of 2000. The Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kansas, near Kansas City, is scheduled to open in late summer 2001.

More recently, we announced the initial Atlanta and Las Vegas locations for the “Bear’s Best,” a series of public-access courses that will feature replications of Nicklaus-designed golf holes. Each Bear’s Best course will consist of a different 18-hole selection from among the 170-plus courses designed worldwide by Nicklaus Design.

These courses will be open for individual play, but their marketing efforts will focus on attracting corporate, association, convention, and charity tournament groups — both large and small. A further explanation of the Bear’s Best concept accompanies the cover interview of Jack and Barbara Nicklaus on page 26. And you’ll see, from the lengthy list of Nicklaus-designed courses associated with ClubCorp (see page 30), that this partnership began long before the formal joint venture.

The Nicklaus/ClubCorp ventures illustrate the best of what I believe is meant by the word “partner.” We are working together toward a common goal. We are looking for ways to increase the success for both entities. The people from Golden Bear International and Nicklaus Design — from the design associates working on the courses to those at Nicklaus Apparel — go out of their way to work with us and to make the joint venture a true “partnership.” It is obvious that Jack has surrounded himself with a top-notch staff.

It’s been said that you are judged by the company you keep. I hope that’s true. 

Robert H. Dedman Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
ClubCorp