PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Justin Thomas is a long way from golf course design becoming the focus in his life above playing golf.
But the two-time major winner from Tequesta is curious about the business, and when offered the opportunity to work with a Hall of Fame designer and golfer, he had to accept.
That is how Thomas and Jack Nicklaus became co-designers at Panther National, an 18-hole championship course. The project, which opens to members Monday, is Palm Beach County’s first new private golf community in 20 years.
“I would love to design at some point, but I’m a long way away from doing that solo,” Thomas told The Palm Beach Post on Friday. “It’s a great introduction for me.”
The course accompanies Panther National’s Signature Estate Homes and Custom Estate Homesites, a project that will max out at 218 residences ranging from $5 million to $50 million.
And if you can afford to live on the course, you can afford the $400,000 membership. But act quickly because that price increases to $500,000 on Jan. 1.
Founder is former Swiss ski racer
The project is headed by founder and President Dominik Senn, a former Swiss ski racer who started a sports management agency in 1995 that now is headquartered in Jupiter. Senn has thought about getting into the golf course business and finally was convinced after settling in Palm Beach Gardens. He found everything in the area “dated.”
That included properties owned by Donald Trump.
“Some of the stuff they did in Dubai, or what Trump did, is too fancy and the players think looks too fake,” he said. “You could see they wanted to create the highest point, they wanted to create this. That was not the case here. We still want it to look as natural as possible.
“No Mickey Mouse.”
When Nicklaus was asked what makes Panther National different, his answer was: “Did you look around?”
“Just looking at it, it immediately looks different,” Thomas said about the course with steep elevation changes up to 48 feet. “It’s open, it has a links-like look and feel. You have elevation change. You have zero elevation change anywhere in South Florida.”
Senn had other properties under contract before settling on the approximately 450 acres about 15 miles from the coast.
“He wanted to do a golf course and told us where it was,” Nicklaus said. “I said, ‘You got to be kidding, that’s in the middle of nowhere.’
“When I saw the growth in this area, it’s a natural progression of what’s going on.”
Nicklaus sees a lot of himself in J.T.
Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas for new course Panther National in Florida (Courtesy of Panther National)
For the 83-year-old Nicklaus, it was an opportunity to continue what he loves doing most at this stage in his life, and also mentor one of his favorite players.
Nicklaus sees a lot of himself in the 30-year-old Thomas. When Jack was young and curious about golf course design, he latched onto Pete Dye.
“First time I was with Pete Dye in Harbour Town, I went around and observed,” Nicklaus said. “I wanted to learn. That’s what J.T. wanted to do here.
“Pete listened to me in places and I listened to J.T. in places.”
Nicklaus constantly asked Thomas what he thought and took any suggestions. Thomas’ input led to a change on the par-5 11th hole. Thomas did not like how all the balls would end up in the same spot on the second shot. He wanted to spread out the hole and eliminate the slopes that fed into those spots.
“He wants to learn and learn for a while,” Nicklaus said. “I would be delighted to take J.T. into any other golf course and work with him.”
Thomas, who is listed as a partner, plans to be involved in more projects, but not at the expense of his day job. A former world No. 1 who currently is No. 26, Thomas envisions Panther National becoming his go-to course to practice. He currently does most of his practicing at Michael Jordan’s Grove XXXII.
“There’s nothing like this in Florida,” Thomas said. “These characteristics aren’t really a thing here and Jack said: ‘We can do it, it’s going to be tough. But if that’s what you want that’s what we can do.’ That’s what the team did.”
After the ceremonial ribbon-cutting on Friday, Thomas played a nine-hole exhibition along with Rickie Fowler and course brand ambassadors Xander Schauffele, Lexi Thompson, Morgan Hoffmann and Erik van Rooyen.
“Being a West Coast guy, it’s nice to see some hills,” said Schauffele, who recently moved to Jupiter. “I know those mounds weren’t there before. There was a lot of work done to create what feels like rolling hills and mounds and blind shots.”
Senn’s objective was to create “a fun golf course for the everyday golfer but a really tough test if you really want to test yourself.”
And you can make this a test. The course can play as short as 4,500 yards and up to 8,000 yards, which is why one-day championship events could be held at Panther National.
Senn envisions holding high amateur and college events before “something bigger later,” like a PGA Tour event. But that will be up to the membership. He does not want to take away one or two weeks from the members, especially those who may not be in the area year-round.
“From the start, the vision was clear, to create a golf experience unlike any other found in South Florida,” Nicklaus said. “Every opportunity to design a golf course brings challenges, but in the case of Panther National, uniqueness triumphs. You won’t find any golf course remotely close to it in South Florida.”