Panther Nationwide able to shine in Skins Sport on Black Friday – Golfweek

Panther Nationwide, designed by Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas, has shot up the course rankings because it opened in 2023 in Palm Seaside Gardens, Florida. The format, which required huge earthmoving to sculpt shocking elevation adjustments in an unsurprisingly flat part of the Sunshine State, ranks because the No. 3 private course in Florida and the No. 29 modern course in all the U.S.
All of the ups, all of the downs and all of the sand at Panther Nationwide will likely be on full show on Black Friday when the course hosts the Skins Game, a foolish season reboot after a 16-year hiatus. Xander Schauffele, Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry (filling in for Thomas after his recent back surgery) will likely be entrance and heart, however don’t be shocked if Panther Nationwide steals its share of the televised limelight Nov. 28. 
Nicklaus has designed greater than 400 programs all over the world, compiling a heady checklist that features Muirfield Village (tied for No. 7 amongst trendy U.S. programs) in Ohio and Sebonack (No. 11, co-designed with Tom Doak) in New York. Muirfield Village opened in 1974 and Sebonack in 2006, leaving Panther Nationwide because the highest-ranked course Nicklaus has designed in practically 20 years. Nicklaus’ Punta Espada at Cap Cana within the Dominican Republic additionally opened in 2006, and it ranks because the No. 3 course in the Caribbean and Mexico. However within the Golfweek’s Finest score system, Panther Nationwide slips previous even that esteemed seaside format with a mean 7.70 score in comparison with Punta Espada’s 7.69.  
A lot of Panther Nationwide’s attraction comes courtesy of heavy lifting. Practically 3 million cubic toes of earth was moved to create 48 toes of elevation adjustments in what had been a flat area – no one will confuse Panther Nationwide for a mountain course, however that is Florida we’re speaking about. All of the excavation left a number of lakes dotting the course, with water successfully in play on 12 holes, together with the closing six. 
“From the beginning, the imaginative and prescient was clear – to create a golf expertise in contrast to another present in South Florida,” Nicklaus stated the week the course opened. “Each alternative to design a golf course brings challenges, however within the case of Panther Nationwide, uniqueness triumphs. You gained’t discover any golf course remotely near it in South Florida.”
Panther Nationwide is considerably distinctive in different methods, too. Nicklaus was for many years considerably well-known for constructing tough, Tour-level programs. Panther Nationwide definitely may be powerful, as it may be stretched past 7,800 yards off the again tees. However for leisure golfers who select the correct tees for his or her video games, Panther Nationwide remains to be playable. 
Many greens are at the least considerably open and low at their fronts, permitting gamers to bounce balls onto the agency placing surfaces. Tour professionals, such because the foursome within the Skins Sport, are unlikely to take such a ground-game tack, as a substitute selecting to loft their approaches excessive into the air to drop and stick near flagsticks. However the possibility is there.
Fairways are often extensive the place novice gamers will almost definitely land their tee pictures, pinching solely at larger lengths to problem trendy touring professionals and their prodigious size. And although the course options expansive sandy waste areas, these are typically playable – it would nonetheless be arduous to hit a inexperienced from such sand, however it’s comparatively straightforward to discover a ball. Simply don’t stray too far offline and into the native-style scrubby tough, which often covers small islands inside the waste areas and the again sides of bunkers, and which might gobble a golf ball. 
Mix the choices of maximum size or playability, the sandscapes, the elevation adjustments and the stainless conditioning, and Panther Nationwide is about to shine within the Skins Sport. 
“There’s nothing like this in Florida,” stated Thomas, the two-time PGA Championship winner who made his design debut at Panther Nationwide, advised the Palm Seaside Submit at Panther Nationwide’s opening. “These traits aren’t actually a factor right here, and Jack stated, ‘We will do it, it may be powerful. But when that is what you need, that is what we are able to do.’ “
The Golfweek’s Finest course raters have, typically, raved concerning the course. A sampling of their feedback: 
It is all a part of a brand new and high-end neighborhood set tight to a 2,400-acre nature protect. There are plans for simply greater than 200 properties, the value of which can stretch nicely into the eight figures. The entire improvement has been pushed by founder and president Dominik Senn, a former Swiss ski racer who began a sports activities administration company in 1995 that’s headquartered in close by Jupiter, Florida.
The expansive clubhouse remains to be beneath building, and the golf choices embrace a coaching facility and among the best follow ranges discovered wherever, full with a goal fairway and loads of goal greens. Thomas was consulted extensively within the building of the follow facility, which is a dream come true for the ball-beating set of all talents – it’s widespread to see a number of touring professionals follow on that immaculate vary every day. 
When requested on the 2023 opening what makes the entire of Panther Nationwide completely different than different South Florida programs, Nicklaus was succinct in his reply to the Palm Seaside Submit: “Did you go searching?”

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