South Korea is becoming a golfing powerhouse, producing some of the world’s best golfers in the LPGA and the PGA. Inbee Park is currently trying to complete the Grand Slam of golf by winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open, her 4th consecutive major. Y.E. Yang broke through in 2011 by winning the PGA Championship in the final round against Tiger Woods and K.J. Choi has always been a presence on Tour. In 2011, K.J. Choi, K.T. Kim and Y.E. Yang competed in The Presidents Cup, marking the first time more than one South Korean qualified for the International Team in event history. Younger golfers such as Seung Yul Noh are also starting to make a name for themselves, having recently been signed to Team Nike golf alongside Rory McIlroy. We can really see the love for the game the country has – Fila Korea even bought one of the biggest and most iconic brands in golf, Titleist, last year and offers many Titleist brand stores around the country and in Japan as well. The Titleist Performance Center in Seoul is also state of the art and provides first class service and club fitting to a golf-crazed nation.
It’s not wonder that South Korea has been chosen to host the 2015 President’s Cup. It will be held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in the Songdo International Business District (IBD), Incheon, Korea. The Presidents Cup, a biannual match play event that pits the United States against an International team of golfers, will be held in Asia for the first time. However, since it’s opening in September 2010, the Champions Tour’s first official money/official victory event was held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea as well as the Songdo Championship in 2010 and 2011 and the 2012 Korea Women’s Open on the KLPGA Tour. At tournament length, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is a par-72, 7,413 yard golf course – hear from the Golden Bear himself in the video below! The 2013 President’s Cup will also be held this year at another Jack Nicklaus design – Muirfield Village on October 3 – 6, so stay tuned for more on that!
In addition to the golf, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea also boasts one of the most beautiful clubhouses in all of golf. The 60,000 square foot clubhouse was named to Golf Course Architecture’s list of the Best Golf Clubhouse Architecture and was one of only 15 designs to make the annual list. The clubhouse is as chic as golf gets – it is fitted with curved zinc roofs, the pavilions sit on neutral-color stone plinths and feature pilasters made from local Merbau wood that minimize glare and heat gain. Inside, the floors are all marble with bead-blasted stainless-steel columns and limestone wall panels all while featuring 360 degree views of the ocean and a tranquil nature preserve bordered by the New Songdo City skyline in the distance.
Source: Jack Nicklaus Designs, The President’s Cup
