Appliance of science that turned Royal Birkdale dream into the real thing

Published on Sunday 13 July 2008 21:48

WHO could match Jack Nicklaus's ultimate course? No-one, says Christopher Cairns, but there was still a winner

THERE isn't a golfer who hasn't at one time or another dreamed of creating his or her own "perfect" 18-hole course.

For Jack Nicklaus (a man who, despite the efforts to date of one Tiger Woods, remains the greatest golfer who ever lived), the chance to actually build such a course has come many times over. Not only a peerless winner of golf's greatest prizes, he is also one of the world's most respected golf course architects – and he has 400 of them either completed or under construction.

But for all the opportunities Nicklaus has had to literally move the earth and shape new courses from the land, he could never fulfil the dream of creating the ultimate, fantasy links from the best that Britain's classic coastline courses have to offer.

Until now. In conjunction with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Scotsman.com first of all asked Nicklaus to select the best 18 holes from the 162 available on the nine courses on the current British Open rota, then offered everyone the chance to match it.

Today, we reveal Nicklaus's selection and the winning entry that will take one competitor down to Royal Birkdale for the final day of this year's Open, followed by the chance to walk in the professionals' footsteps by playing the course the very next day.

A dream come true for one lucky golfer, then – but no less of one, it seems, for the great man himself.

"We were delighted with his enthus-iasm for the game," says Debbie Cowe of the RBS Group communications team. "Jack spent a lot of time carefullly considering all the courses and choosing his winning holes through a combination of personal choice and science."

Chris Long, her colleague at RBS, adds: "Golf course design is such a big part of Jack's life now and he tackled this almost as if he were doing it for real. It wasn't something we asked him to do, but he's written down his selection on a large sheet of paper, explaining why he's picked every hole – even including notes on how the holes should be played.

"He's signed that sheet and we will be giving that to the winner as well."

Not just a unique online game then, but an opportunity for both compet-itors and the great Jack Nicklaus himself to make their Dream 18 come true.

There are two ways of describing how and why Jack Nicklaus stands head and shoulders above anyone else in the history of golf. If you have the time, you can tell the story of this son of a pharmacist from Columbus, Ohio, who was born in 1940, just ten years after Bobby Jones's almost mythical grand slam of US Open, US Amateur and British Open titles in one year.

He grew up in the 1950s while Ben Hogan was winning his nine major titles – then promptly went on to eclipse the achievements of both these previous all-time greats.

Or you could simply sit down and read the statistics – the astonishing collection of records and titles that remains second to none.

Now a much-loved icon of the game, Nicklaus was not always so popular. They call him the "Golden Bear" now, but when he first started out on the tour, this chubby college kid was known as "Fat Jack". And it wasn't just his waistline that attracted criticism. It was the fact that he had the temerity to take on – and then beat – golf's first global superstar.

For all the achievements of Jones and Hogan, not to mention Sam Snead and Byron Nelson, their golf was played at a time when the sport was little more than a minority interest – still seen as an elitist pursuit in Britain and nowhere near as popular as baseball and Amer-ican football in the US.

Golf's first dashing cavalier changed all that. Arnold Palmer was the first golfing star of the television age. Credited with reviving American interest in the Open when he came over to play on British links in the early 1960s, he was adored by fans on either side of the Atlantic as much for his risk-taking, aggressive style as for the trophies it won him.

It was Palmer, therefore, who was supposed to be the next greatest ever. But just as he was reaching his peak, along came Nicklaus – and talk about arriving with a bang! Nicklaus turned pro in 1962, took part in that year's US Open, and won it after a thrilling 18-hole play-off against Palmer.

It was to be the first of 18 major titles – twice as many as all but one other golfer. Over a 43-year professional career, Nicklaus won a total of 83 tour and senior tour events. But, quite rightly, the game's historians concentrate on his record in the ones that really count – the majors (the US and British opens, the Masters and the US PGA).

Not only has Nicklaus won more majors than anyone else, he finished second 19 times and third nine times – a remarkable record of sustained excellence. And once the sporting public got over the shock of this upstart from Ohio (albeit one with a superb amateur record) beating Arnold "The King" Palmer, they took him to their hearts.

Two of the most memorable moments in modern major golf history are associated with Nicklaus. The most thrilling head-to-head battle there's ever been in golf came in 1977 when the baked fairways of Turnberry were the stage for Nicklaus and Tom Watson going toe-to-toe for the Open title. Watson eventually triumphed by a single shot in what became known as the "Duel in the Sun".

Nine years later, Nicklaus – riled by a newspaper columnist describing him as a washed out has-been – became the oldest winner of the Masters in history at the age of 46. At the end of his career, Nicklaus had not only won more honours than anyone else, he'd done it with a thrilling, power-based game, with sportsmanship, dignity and modesty."I think I fail just a bit less than everyone else," he said.

His dominance on the course has transferred easily to almost the same level of achievement off it. In 2005, Golf Digest calculated there were almost 32,000 golf courses in the world. And, astonishingly, roughly 1 per cent of them had been designed by Jack Nicklaus. There are Nicklaus-designed courses in 30 US states and 25 countries around the world.

He knows a thing or two, then, about assembling a challenging 18 holes – but could anyone else get inside the mind of Nicklaus and match his imagination?

That was the primary challenge of Scotsman.com's Dream 18. Almost 7,000 golfing enthusiasts from all over the globe visited the Dream 18 website. Entries came from the UK, of course, but also from Canada and the US, France, Spain and South Africa, from China, Indonesia, Egypt, Israel and Brazil – in all 50 countries around the world.

And the winner? Well, he comes from Peterhead. But John Gatt, a 56-year-old oil supply worker – and 18-handicapper – did not match Nicklaus's 18.

In what turned out to be a highly personal selection, Nicklaus didn't just look at the likes of Carnoustie, St Andrews and Hoylake and choose what he thought were the best holes. He chose the holes that meant the most to him, the ones with special memories, and – typical of such a consummate course designer – the ones which, when assembled in the correct order, would make the best ever links course – the Dream 18.

Take Nicklaus's selection for the third hole – the 17th at Turnberry. "It's a good place for a par five on the course after two strong opening par fours – now you have a chance to make a birdie and get ahead of the golf course," says Nicklaus. "It's a hole that could have won me the British Open at if I'd made a putt there. So it's played a part in my career."

In fact, Nicklaus repeatedly doesn't shirk from putting in holes that have cost him dear. Apart from the 17th at Turnberry, he employs the 17th at Royal Lytham and the 6th at Carnoustie – both of which have seen championship challenges founder, while the 14th at St Andrews has the infamous Hell Bunker. "I managed to spend a lot of time in there one day," he says.

But it's not all old adversaries – he also has space for the par three 6th hole at Royal St Georges. Why? Because he made a hole in one there!

So, no wonder that being able to match the selection of a man with so much expertise and so many memories of these courses proved impossible. But John Gatt can be proud that he managed to match 13 of them (along with one other entrant with the winner drawn from a hat) and come out on top.

Revealed at last, it's Jack's dream 18

A rare opportunity to discover the highs and lows of a career, as experienced through the holes that delivered, and stole, Jack Nicklaus his championships

MUIRFIELD, HOLE 10 (PAR 4]

Just as the outward half at Muirfield begins with a puzzle, so the inward half unfolds by asking an awkward question. It's the crosswinds which make this hole so challenging. Bunkers to the right of the fairway as well as cross-bunkers 100 yards or so from the green add to the intrigue.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"I started with the 10th hole at Muirfield. It's one which I have always liked. It's bunkered nicely on the right side, open in front of the green. It's a medium long par 4, that's a good starting hole. It's always one of my favourites, I think it's a good hole."

HOYLAKE, HOLE 12 'DEE' (PAR 4]

This dogleg par 4 at Hoylake has a fairway which slopes from left to right. As well as three bunkers on the right, there's a hidden trap on the left. A new tee has added 35 yards in length and the second shot to a green is tricky, complicated by grassy hollows. In 2006, this was Hoylake's hardest hole with a stroke average of 4.35.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The second hole I put in is a difficult par 4, dogleg left. The 12th at Hoylake played the most difficult last year. It was the hole Tiger made 2 on. They have lengthened the hole since I played there, but it is still a very, very strong hole and played the most difficult of the par 4s at Hoylake a couple of years ago."

TURNBERRY, HOLE 17 'LANG WHANG' (PAR 5]

Once a plentiful source of eagles and birdies, the introduction of a new back tee for the 17th on the Ailsa stretches a previously soft par 5 to a meaty 558 yards. It was here Nick Price in 1994 holed a monster of a putt to set up victory over Jesper Parnevik.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"At the third hole I put a par 5, the 17th at Turnberry. It's a hole on the part of the course where all of a sudden you've got two pretty good strong holes and now you've got a chance to make a birdie and get ahead of the golf course. It's a hole that could have won me that British Open if only I had made the putt there. It played a part in my career of not allowing me to win that particular Open."

ROYAL ST. GEORGE'S, HOLE 6 (PAR 3]

A test of precision, this terrific par 3 sits in a bowl, which makes club selection awkward when it's breezy. Surrounded by bunkers, the green is on two tiers. Not particularly intimidating but awkward enough to force a stroke average of 3.28 in 2003.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The reason I put in the 6th hole at Royal St Georges, a par 3, is that I made a hole-in-one there. I made a hole-in-one also at the 5th at Lytham. It's a medium length par 3."

OLD COURSE, HOLE 12 'HEATHERY (IN)' (PAR 4]

None of the troublesome bunkers scattered around the fairway are visible from the tee, so consequently this subtle hole is more a test of strategy rather than power. The green is flanked by bushes and the entrance is narrow. In spite of little wind and lack of distance, this was the tenth toughest hole at the 2005 Open.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"I went with the short 12th at St Andrews, a par 4, it's pretty straight. It's a hole with a good lay up, a place to get aggressive and try to drive the green."

ROYAL LYTHAM, HOLE 17 (PAR 4]

If the 16th at Lytham is bound up with the legend of Seve Ballesteros, the 17th is best known for the mashie shot played to the green by Bobby Jones in 1926. The American had pulled his tee shot into a sandy lie in the rough but executed a magnificent recovery.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"Then I decided to include the 17th hole at Lytham. I went with it because it is a hole that Bobby Jones made famous and it's also a hole that cost me dear from winning the British Open, when I hit it through the green and it took me 3 to get down."

CARNOUSTIE, HOLE 6 'HOGAN'S ALLEY' (PAR 5]

Few holes are more closely linked with the feats of one player in Open folklore than the sixth at Carnoustie. It was on this testing par 5 in 1953 that Ben Hogan chose to hit four consecutive drives into the gap between the out of bounds fence on the left and the bunkers on the right. This formidable par 5 was cut from the same cloth as Hogan himself. A plaque dedicated to Hogan's memory at Carnoustie quotes the American as saying: "I don't like the glamour. I just like the game."

JACK'S COMMENTS

"For my 7th hole, I put the 6th at Carnoustie, that's where I hit the ball out of bounds in the last round in 1975. I lost by a shot. I think it's a great hole, I think it's a strong hole. It's one that cost me, it's a hole that played a part in my Open Championship career."

TROON, HOLE 8 'POSTAGE STAMP' (PAR 3]

By far the most famous par 3 on the Open rota, it was here that Gene Sarazen at the age of 71 in 1973, with Colin Montgomerie among the onlookers, relished a hole-in-one with a 5 iron. By way of contrast, Herman Tissies, a German amateur, ran up 15 in 1973. The difficulty of a tee shot to a narrow green surrounded by bunkers is inevitably complicated by the wind and the threat of landing on a downslope.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The 8th is the hole which is pretty well known as the Postage Stamp at Troon. How could anyone not pick the Postage Stamp at Troon as one of their favourite holes? It's just the most wonderful little short par 3."

TURNBERRY, HOLE 5 'FIN' ME OOT' (PAR 4]

With the fairway guarded by bunkers on the left and rough on the right, the angle of the second shot to a green cleverly protected by traps on both sides is crucial. During the Duel in the Sun, Tom Watson made an exquisite birdie here while Jack Nicklaus did well to hole an awkward putt for par.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"As my 9th hole, I used the 5th at Turnberry which is a beautiful dogleg left. I always just liked the hole, I thought it was a really nice golf hole."

MUIRFIELD, HOLE 5 (PAR 5]

Like most par 5s in the modern era, Muirfield's first par 5 offered plenty of birdies and a few eagles in 2002. No one, however, came close to matching Johnny Miller's albatross 2 in 1980.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"For the 10th, I used the 5th at Muirfield. It's not a long par 5, but it's a good par 5, one that I think that you have to play in order to play good golf. A little dogleg right, I just like the whole set up and I love the tee shot and the second shot on that hole. We used the same concept for the green at Sebonack on the 18th hole."

ROYAL LYTHAM, HOLE 15 (PAR 4]

One of the best, as well as one of the most difficult, holes at Lytham. The stroke average here was 4.44 in 2001 when new bunkering on both sides of the fairway made it trickier for players to cut the corner off the tee. The second shot into a blind green is usually against the prevailing wind.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The 15th at Lytham I used for the 11th hole. The 15th I think has always been one of the great par 4s in the British Open rota. A big strong par 4 that I've just always liked, it's a very difficult golf hole."

ROYAL TROON, HOLE 11 'THE RAILWAY' (PAR 4]

One of the toughest par 4s on any Open links, the tee was moved back 27 yards in 2004 and, inevitably, the hole was ranked the most difficult at Troon with a stroke average of 4.41. What with the out of bounds, the railway line and the gorse bushes, there's enough going on here to confound even the best players in the world. Playing as a par 5 in 1962, Arnold Palmer made two birdies and an eagle.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"I managed to play the 11th at Troon in 10 and 7 in the first two rounds of my first British Open. It's just a very difficult hole, it's called the Railway hole. It's a slight dogleg right."

MUIRFIELD, HOLE 13 (PAR 3]

The best shot of the 2002 Open was played by the eventual champion, Ernie Els, from a cavernous bunker on this fantastic short hole. Up against the face of the trap, just getting the ball out of the sand was a huge challenge. David Park took eight to get out earlier in the day.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"After the two strong par 4s, I put a shortish par 3 – the 13th at Muirfield. I always loved the hole, I thought it was a beautiful little hole played into a hillside that just pushed the top of the hill back and created some deep bunkers. Just beautifully dangerous, and very accessible.

OLD COURSE, HOLE 14 'LONG' (PAR 5]

Rarely was a hole better named than this one. A new championship tee was built for the last Open, but in relatively calm conditions the players were able to concoct 168 birdies over the four days of action. For mere mortals, finding the gap between the out of bounds on the right and the beardies on the left is always challenging.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The 14th at St Andrews, a big long par 5, with the long Elysian Fields, the beardies, and hell bunker, which played a significant part in my career. I managed to spend a lot of time there one day."

ROYAL BIRKDALE, HOLE 18 (PAR 4]

Jack Nicklaus conceded a four foot putt to Tony Jacklin here ensuring the 1969 Ryder Cup match was tied; Tom Watson struck a magnificent 2 iron to seal victory in the 1983 Open and 17-year-old Justin Rose chipped in to finish fourth in 1998. A great hole.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The 18th at Birkdale is a pretty straightforward par 4. It's longish as I recall. I might have played it as a par 5, I'm not sure. That's where I played my first Ryder Cup matches and I gave Tony Jacklin his putt so it's very memorable in my mind."

ROYAL LYTHAM, HOLE 12 (PAR 3]

The most challenging of the short holes at Lytham, this par 3 plays into the prevailing wind and can confound even the most gifted. From the tee, the breeze whistles from the left. Any shot pushed right risks flirting with the out of bounds, which runs right and behind the green. The sloping putting surface is raised and guarded by half-a-dozen bunkers fore and aft. When the BBC listed the Open's greatest holes in 2005, this was Lytham's sole entry.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"The 12th at Lytham is actually probably my favourite of all the par 3s in the British rotation. I loved the false front and the way the ball fed in to the bunker on the right side of the green. It's a really difficult green to play to, it's about 212 yards if I recall correctly. However, it's always been one of my favourite holes and I've used the concept of it many times myself when designing my own golf courses. I think it's a wonderful golf hole."

OLD COURSE, HOLE 17 'ROAD' (PAR 4]

One of the most famous holes in golf – the tee shot must fly the corner of the hotel grounds on the right – as well as arguably the most challenging. Seve Ballesteros calls it the finest par 4 in the world. Leading the Open in 1885, Davie Ayton took 11 here. Tom Watson's 2 iron over the road at the back of the green in 1984 ended a magical run in the championship. When Tommy Nakajima was bunkered here in 1978 and ran up 9, he was asked if he'd lost concentration. "No," he replied. "I lose count."

JACK'S COMMENTS

"Then of course, the 17th has to be the 17th at St Andrews, how could you not put in the 17th at St Andrews as the 17th? "

MUIRFIELD, HOLE 18 (PAR 4]

One of the most testing yet scrupulously fair par 4s. The bunkering is perfectly judged. Nick Faldo hit an exquisite 5 iron to the green in order to win the Open here in 1987 before repeating the feat for a second Claret Jug in 1992.

JACK'S COMMENTS

"Of course, I had to finish up with the 18th at Muirfield. It's obvious it has a great significance, not only do I like the hole, I love the hole, it's a little dogleg left, but it is also where I won my first Open Championship. "

A sporting legend and global ambassador

FOR the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, the rationale is quite simple: you associate your brand with the best – and, in sport, they don't come any better than Jack Nicklaus.

"It's about stature," says Chris Long of the RBS Group communications team. "And no-one has a higher stature in golf than Jack Nicklaus."

The relationship between Nicklaus and RBS is now five years old and counting – a relationship that is no simple sponsorship deal. After all, Nicklaus has not been playing competitively since 2005.

"He is one of our global ambassadors (along with the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart) and as such he is able to represent RBS in sporting and business environments all over the world," says Long.

"He's not just a sporting legend, he's a businessman and renowned golf course architect. He has associations throughout the world of golf and that is what we want for the RBS Group – to become part of the very fabric of the game worldwide."

One example of that has been Nicklaus's introduction of RBS to The First Tee, a US-based golf grassroots charity. A corporate partner and trustee of the programme, the RBS Group is now helping to introduce more than a million youngsters in the US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Singapore to golf and its values.

RBS is patron not only of the Open, but also the US Open and PGA Championship and is involved in numerous sports initiatives. For more information log on to www.rbs.com/sport

Swing when you're in winning form

JOHN Gatt would like to say he put as much effort into choosing his winning 18 holes as the great man himself did – but that, he admits, would be stretching the truth.

What he did do, however, was combine his natural instinct and experience of the game to come up with his winning entry.

While no-one was able to match Jack Nicklaus's Dream 18, John came closest with 13 correctly identified holes. Did he think when he'd finished that he would have a chance of winning?

"No, I was really just having some fun with it," says the 56-year-old from Peterhead (pictured right). "The only hole I was confident about was the Road Hole (the 17th at St Andrews), but for the others I was really just trying to think of them as a single golf course – you know, putting in the right number of par 5s and par 3s and in the right sort of order.

"Maybe I've got the knack for it," he jokes. "Golf course designing sounds like a good job!"

John, who is married to Rosalind and has a grown-up son, works in a local oil supply base. He is, of course, a golfer and he tries to get in as many games as he can at his local club, Longside, which is just outside Peterhead.

"I've been playing for 25 years, but I suppose like every other golfer I complain about not being able to play as much as I would like," he says.

Is he looking forward to the round at Royal Birkdale?

"Of all the courses in the compet-ition I've only ever played Carnoustie so, yes, a game at Birkdale will be fantastic. Mind you, my handicap's only 18 so it's probably not good enough – but I'll give it a go."

GATT'S DREAM 18

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 1

Carnoustie, hole 2

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 2

Hoylake, hole 12

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 3

Turnberry, hole 17

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 4

Royal St George's, hole 6

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 5

Old Course, hole 12

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 6

Royal Lytham, hole 17

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 7

Carnoustie, hole 6

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 8

Royal Troon, hole 8

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 9

Turnberry, hole 5

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 10

Muirfield, hole 5

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 11

Turnberry, hole 10

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 12

Old Course, hole 10

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 13

Muirfield, hole 13

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 14

Carnoustie, hole 14

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 15

Royal Birkdate, hole 18

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 16

Royal Lytham, hole 12

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 17

Old Course, hole 17

Gatt's Dream 18, hole 18

Carnoustie, hole 18

Colour Code: Selections shaded in black were a match with Jack's Dream 18, while those in blue weren't