The Bears Club

The Bear's Club opened on the final day of 1999, the realization of Jack and Barbara Nicklaus's dream to build a world-class course in their own South Florida backyard near Jupiter. It is Nicklaus's personal club, and the design marked a turning point in his architectural outlook: still strategic and analytical, but for the first time approached more holistically, with aesthetics weighted as heavily as tactics. The par-72 championship layout stretches past 7,000 yards through woods, lakes and natural preserves, featuring a memorable par-3 played to an island green. Nicklaus even imported special sand from Ohio for its high-banked bunkers so they would not wash out in Florida's downpours. Ultra-private and understated, it has become one of the most exclusive clubs in American golf.