What became a vocation for Jack Nicklaus began as an avocation. After playing numerous tournaments and exhibitions throughout the early 1960s on courses designed by the head golf professional or superintendent at those clubs, Jack developed an eye and an interest in what was good in golf course design. Then, in the mid-1960s, course architect Pete Dye invited Jack to The Golf Club in Jack's hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Dye was designing the course and asked Jack to look at what he was doing and offer his suggestions. A hobby and budding passion were born.

A few years later, Jack and Dye teamed to design Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Since that collaboration opened in 1969, Nicklaus courses have continued to blanket the globe, and Nicklaus Design, a team of the world's most accomplished golf course design associates, agronomists, industry consultants, and experts in golf course construction and marketing, has soared to the forefront of the industry. 

The result of dedication and ingenuity is a firm recognized throughout the world as the industry leader, with a résumé of more than 390 spectacular courses in 41 countries and 39 states. 

The firm's exacting standards of quality associated with the construction and maintenance of golf courses have been recognized for ushering in a new era of golf course design and forever changing the face of golf course architecture.