The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An Eleuthera-based resort community’s principal developer yesterday hailed its “world first” in being able to offer two golf courses separately designed and branded by some of the sport’s biggest names.

Sir Franklyn Wilson, Jack’s Bay’s chairman, told Tribune Business that it had “never happened before” where a mixed-use resort featured golf courses created by Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus plus their respective design companies.

Speaking after the $20m, 18-hole course to be created by Nicklaus Design was unveiled at a ceremony featuring Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and several Cabinet ministers, Sir Franklyn asserted that the project - which will also see Jack’s Bay’s real estate branded as a Nicklaus Community - will have an impact “for the whole country” that stretches beyond Eleuthera.

Other new partners include IMI Worldwide Properties, a real estate broker specialising in sales at new high-end resort communities. Sir Franklyn told this newspaper that, since its involvement, IMI had taken seven deposits for Jack’s Bay’s ‘founders’ real estate programme in just five days.

“In answer to your question, in my humble view this is a major, major initiative. Very substantial. Very substantial. That is the theme of the conversation,” he said of the partnership with Nicklaus Design and its wider group of companies for both the golf course and real estate branding/naming rights.

“These are the best in the business. It’s never happened before where you have a golf course with Tiger Woods and one with Jack Nicklaus. Where is that anywhere in the world? Look at the people who are with us. IMI Worldwide Properties. You go through the list and see the investors that have joined with us as partners in the financing component. It’s huge.

“IMI, in five days, they got seven new deposits for founders. They are the best in the business. This is for the whole country. This is not Jack’s Bay. By definition, this is the whole country. This has never happened before. It was a wonderful day for the country. In my humble view this is a major, major, major opportunity for the country. It has never happened before.”

Jack’s Bay, in a statement, said the new course - which is to be completed by 2025 - will be the first Nicklaus Heritage course in the world. The deal will also see Jack’s Bay secure Nicklaus real estate branding rights as a Nicklaus Community, which it described as “a distinction afforded to only a very select collection of developments around the world and the very first in the Caribbean”.

The Nicklaus Heritage course will co-exist alongside the existing 10-hole playground designed by Tiger Woods and TGR Design, which was completed in March 2020. “Completion of the Nicklaus Heritage championship course is scheduled for 2025, making Jack’s Bay the first property in the world to feature an 18-hole golf course by Nicklaus Design coupled with a Tiger Woods and TGR Design,” Jack’s Bay added.

Jack’s Bay’s founders programme will include 24 beachfront and ocean view homesites ranging in price from $1m to $3m. Other amenities planned for the 1,200-acre Jack’s Bay include a beach club, spa village, fitness and wellness programme, and family-friendly sports pavilion complex. Among the amenities already in place are beaches, tennis, a marina and multiple dining venues.

Howard Milstein, executive chairman of the Nicklaus Companies, said: “The principals of Jack’s Bay Resort Development have a remarkable vision to make their community the destination of choice for the most discerning golfer in The Bahamas and throughout the Caribbean. From my very first meeting, I committed all of our Nicklaus, IMI and 8AM Golf assets to ensure the greatest golf experience imaginable.

“With the history of the island, stunning ocean views for golf and real estate, and access to world-class fishing and other amenities, Jack’s Bay rivals any destination in The Bahamas. Nicklaus Design is proud to have been selected to create a world-class golf course on this property.”

Chad Goetz, senior design associate at Nicklaus Design, who will lead the Jack’s Bay project, added: “It’s going to be spectacular. A number of holes stretch directly along the ocean and even the land off the ocean has remarkable topography, featuring a rolling terrain of elevation changes, lakes, deep water ‘blue holes’ to the ocean, and caves. What Mother Nature has provided us is rare, and we plan to preserve the natural integrity and enhance the beauty of the island.”

Not to be left out, Tiger Woods said: “Jack’s Bay is destined to become the next great family destination and draw people from all over the world to Eleuthera. The future is bright for Jack’s Bay.” Jack’s Bay has a large number of Bahamian shareholders in its immediate holding company, Eleuthera Properties.

While Sir Franklyn’s Sunshine Holdings group is the largest shareholder, its other investors include the likes of Colina, BAF Financial, the John Bull Group of Companies and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Besides the corporate investors, the Anglican Church has been “gifted” shares in Eleuthera Properties Ltd, while the estates of the late John Morley and Billy Lowe were also among the shareholders.

Eleuthera links to the investors are through the estates of the late Albert Sands and Whitfield Kemp. Another Eleuthera shareholder is businessman Lawrence Griffin from Governor’s Harbour, while Sir Orville Turnquest, the former governor-general, and his family - long-time investment and business partners of Sir Franklyn - are also invested. Tommy Turnquest, Sir Orville’s son and the former MP and Cabinet minister, is Jack’s Bay’s deputy chairman and chief executive.