WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Usually, when Chris Cochran is given the task of re-designing a golf course, he focuses on the problem areas. What needs to be improved?
However, when he was asked two years ago by The Club at Ibis to renovate the Heritage Course, originally designed by Jack Nicklaus II in 1991, Cochran instead focused on preserving everything that was popular on the 34-year-old design.
“This was the members’ favorite course,” Cochran said, sitting outside his Nicklaus Design office. “So, digging into that, why was it their favorite course? Why did they enjoy playing it so much? They wanted to embrace what was good about it but fix the troublesome areas.”
Cochran had minimal involvement with the original project – he was moving to Hong Kong soon after he was hired by Nicklaus Design – but had a chance to see Jack II’s design and site notes. Cochran was fortunate the president of Nicklaus Design, Paul Stringer, lives at The Club at Ibis, so that gave him an insider’s perspective. Cochran knew he would have to make some fundamental changes while dealing with the updates every golf course needs every generation or two.
This would not be a quick fix.
“They had some really tough force-carries over water and bunkers, and they wanted to change that,” Cochran said. “They had some real agronomic issues with the shaping and just some wet conditions they needed to fix. The shortest set of tees was like 5,300 yards. They wanted another set of forward tees, as well as introducing a par-3 golf course inside the course.”
That’s quite the to-do list. The force-carry holes he softened were the second, fifth, 17th and 18th holes, all par-4s. Cochran didn’t move mountains of dirt – although he dug a lake on the second hole and used the dirt to place the green 40 feet above the fairway to create an early risk-reward hole– but the re-design was extensive.
Every hole was changed, especially the 18th, where the green was moved to the left so golfers aren’t going directly over water with their approach shots.
“It’s completely different,” Cochran said. “We still tried to keep a lot of what the original design intended for golf holes were, so there’s a lot of similarities. But every golf hole is a new golf hole.”
That opinion was shared by the man in charge of taking care of the three courses at The Club at Ibis – Director of Agronomy Clay DuBose.
“Every hole has a different look, different strategy needed, completely different shot value off the tee and around the greens,” DuBose said. “There’s nothing that’s remotely similar hole to hole.”
Golfers will notice the changes as soon as they reach the first tee. There are no elevated tee boxes on The Heritage; each is smoothly cut the same height as the fairway adding to the aesthetics.
“Our tee boxes just flow into the fairway,” said Robin Boretti, Ibis’ Director of Golf, who has worked at the club for 32 years.
But it’s what the golfers face at the end of each hole – the greens – that were altered the most during the re-design. Cochran added subtle bumps and ridges to the greens to give them more character.
“The Heritage is going to be the tougher putting course of the three,” said Alan Morin, a PGA Assistant Professional at Ibis who has been chosen the South Florida PGA’s Player of the Year a dozen times. “The greens are more undulating than the Legends and the Tradition. It will require more imagination and creativity. The course is definitely more playable for the membership, because you don’t have as many force-carries.”
The residents take their golf seriously at The Club at Ibis. It’s the only private club in the world with three golf courses designed by the Nicklaus family. (Jack designed The Legends in 1991 and son Steve did The Tradition in 2001.)
About 105,000 rounds are played a year on the three courses, with members hitting 80,000 Callaway balls a day on the TopTracer-infused range (Ibis was the first private club in Florida to add TopTracer). The courses are so interchangeable, residents request a tee time – not a course time – and they are assigned a course.
Cochran used Augusta National – where his boss won a record six Masters – as a template for two of Heritage’s greens. The par-5 fourth hole was inspired by the “punchbowl” eighth at Augusta, and the par-4 fifth hole is modeled after Augusta’s large, undulating 14th green.
“Those holes are kind of tributes to the Masters,” Cochran said.
Cochran had two thoughts in mind with the re-design: Versatility and enjoyment. He didn’t want players hitting driver, wedge, repeat.
“I think it’s important to hit every club in your bag,” Cochran said.
The best way to produce a variety of shots is with multiple sets of tees. The Heritage features six sets of tees on each hole. It plays 7,350 yards from the tips and 2,170 from the most-forward tees. The yardage of the par-3 course is 2,060 yards.
“The members love the par-3 course because they can come in and play it late afternoon,” Boretti said. “Some of our members play the par-3 course and the regular course at the same time.”
Cochran’s other objective was to make the Heritage provide a different test of golf than the Legend and the Tradition. No member wants to play three similar courses over and over.
“We wanted to create three distinctive looks,” said Cochran, who will re-design the Tradition course in 2027. “The Legend Course is a very traditional Jack Nicklaus tournament-type golf course. We have more of an organic, parkland-type golf course on the Heritage course. And we’ll do a completely different look with the Tradition.
“We wanted to make the Heritage a fun course to play, and I believe we did that. That’s what every golfer wants is to have fun on the golf course.”
About The Club at Ibis
Nestled on the quiet edge of northern West Palm Beach, Ibis is a secure, gated community of 33 uniquely charming neighborhoods—just minutes from the heart of the city, yet worlds away. Adjacent to the pristine, 12,000-acre Grassy Waters Nature Preserve, Ibis offers a daily connection to South Florida’s native beauty, from exotic wildlife to lush tropical landscapes.
At the heart of the community is a vibrant, modern Clubhouse featuring three distinctive dining venues and elegant banquet spaces. The CORE offers state-of-the-art fitness facilities, resort-style pools, a serene spa, and poolside dining Amici Ristorante.
Tennis and pickleball enthusiasts thrive at our 22-court center, home to spirited tournaments and weekly group play. And for golfers, there’s no better stage—54 holes of championship golf across three Nicklaus family-designed courses.
Call 561.625.8500 or visit www.clubatibis.com
