PRIME PROPERTY
Members encounter a ‘bear’ of a course at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate.
Perhaps the association has been conditioned by the wry ruminations of author/humorist Calvin Trillin, but it’s difficult to contemplate Kansas City, be it the Kansas or Missouri side, without thinking about barbecue.
Succulent, tummy-tickling barbecue. Chopped, sliced, and diced. Or, as many connoisseurs prefer, burnt end. Available at such noted red-meat emporiums in the Kansas City area as Arthur Bryant’s, Gates Bar-B-Q, Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbeque (formerly the Smoke Stack), or 135th Street Bar-B-Que.
But besides being an obvious answer to the lingering question — Where’s the Beef? — Kansas City possesses a golf dimension not to be overlooked or ignored while reaching for condiments or extra sauce.
The Kansas City area’s credentials as a golf hub (the area produced eight-time major winner Tom Watson and features an array of outstanding golf courses, both private and public) received another significant boost last fall with the opening of the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate.
The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course is located in suburban Overland Park, Kansas, roughly 10 miles southwest of downtown Kansas City. It’s one of the first two Nicklaus Golf Club development projects in a joint venture between Dallas-based ClubCorp and the Nicklaus companies based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Nicklaus Golf Club at Birch River in Dahlonega, Georgia, also opened last year, and more Nicklaus Golf Club courses are expected to be developed as the branding strategy takes shape. (Nicklaus Design and ClubCorp also have teamed on the ballyhooed “Bear’s Best” layouts in Las Vegas, which opened earlier this year, and Atlanta, which is scheduled to open this summer.)
At LionsGate, Jack Nicklaus and his design team placed a premium on precision. “I think you are talking about a true shotmaker’s course,” Nicklaus has remarked about the course. “It is one of those courses that forces the golfer to use almost every club in his or her bag. Many of the holes feature a variety of options on how to play the hole and be successful, while other holes demand that a certain type of shot be played.”
The prime requisite at the par-72 layout, which measures 7,251 yards from the championship tees (other sets are 6,689 yards, 6,343 yards, and 5,267 yards) is accuracy with approach shots.
“We have a tremendous second-shot golf course, one of the best I’ve seen,” says Jay Biggs, director of golf at LionsGate. “That’s because of the way the holes are set up. The greens are small and well-protected, either by deep bunkers or water.”
According to Biggs, the front nine at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate might be a shade more difficult, while the back nine might have a slight edge in overall visual appeal. But each side stands proudly on its own merits.
For sheer beauty, there’s the par-4 11th hole. Generally believed to be the highest point in Johnson County, the elevated tee affords a panoramic view of the downtown Kansas City skyline. For sheer challenge, there are tough back-to-back tee shots at the second and third holes. The 211-yard, par-3 second hole, which is a forced carry over water to a three-tiered green, is followed by the 467-yard, par-4 third, where drives must fly 230 to 240 yards to carry the drink.
On the short end of the spectrum, there’s the strategic par-4 seventh. The hole measures only 364 yards from the championship tees (246 yards from the forward box), but the green is so small and well-bunkered that approach shots must be laser-like. On the long end, there’s the demanding 447-yard dogleg left par-4 16th. The hole has a waste bunker extending down the left side of the fairway that catches overly ambitious — or outright errant — drives. Because the 16th heads into the prevailing wind and plays uphill, its effective yardage is longer than advertised. Even after a booming tee shot, members will have plenty of meat left on the bone.
Nicklaus may have saved his best for last at LionsGate. The final four holes are, well, a bear. Each poses a formidable challenge and the aforementioned 16th ranks as the course’s No. 1 handicap hole. The 18th, which features a green that angles left to right away from the fairway, provides a rousing finish to a memorable round.
Several elements add to the degree of difficulty at LionsGate. For starters, there’s the terrain. The land has more natural movement than the tabletop topography found in western Kansas, where you don’t have to be Roger Daltrey or Pete Townshend to see for miles and miles. Nicklaus also enhanced the natural contour, making elevation change a critical consideration in virtually every club selection.
“The shaper told me they moved enough dirt around to fill up Arrowhead Stadium,” says Biggs, referring to the 79,000-plus capacity Kansas City sports landmark.
Then there’s the omnipresent Kansas wind, every bit as much a part of the state’s lore as Dorothy, Toto, and Auntie Em. Kansas City area golfers either learn to hit punches and knockdown shots below the breeze or seek alternative leisure pursuits. No doubt Tom Watson drew upon his prowess at hitting shots with a low trajectory — mandated by playing conditions in his hometown — to notch five British Open titles.
Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate features zoysia fairways, bentgrass greens, and a total of 82 bunkers filled with sand scooped from the Kansas River. Certified golf course superintendent Jeff Eldridge and his crew strive to keep putting surfaces at a sporty 9.5 to 10 on the stimpmeter.
The golf course isn’t the only conversation piece at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate. So is a superb practice facility, as well as the clubhouse, which features several dining venues, a fully stocked pro shop, and conference and banquet facilities.
Members responded quickly to the siren song of a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course coming to the Kansas City area by filling the membership roll while the project was still under construction.
Now, what LionsGate members enjoy — thanks to the Golden Bear and his design team — is a golf course they can really sink their teeth into.
Texan Russ Pate, no stranger to rib shacks and barbecue pits, claims to be partial to the “Low Country” barbecue served in South Carolina.
NICKLAUS GOLF CLUB AT LIONSGATE
Location: 14225 Dearborn Ave., Overland Park, Kansas.
Club manager: Steve Salzman.
Membership director: Lynette Neidert.
Director of golf: Jay Biggs.
Amenities: An 18-hole, par-72 Jack Nicklaus-designed golf
course with state-of-the-art practice facilities; pro shop, pool, business
meeting and private events room; formal and informal dining areas; outdoor
covered terrace overlooking golf course.
Web site: www.lionsgateclub.com.