argentina Don’t Cry for Jack Nicklaus

These days the associates at Jack Nicklaus’ design firm are spending plenty of time in Argentina, where they have two active projects.

Under construction is a 27-hole complex planned to be the centerpiece of Valle del Golf, an 875-acre community in suburban Cordoba, the nation’s second-largest city. Valle del Golf, which will include 1,685 houses, is being developed by ECIPSA Group, a firm led by Jaime Garbarsky. The first nine of the golf complex, created by North Palm Beach, Florida-based Nicklaus Design, has been grassed, and the second nine is under construction.

In addition, next year construction is expected to begin on an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Legacy course -– a course to be co-designed by Nicklaus and his son Jack -– at a wine-focused community in Mendoza. The as-yet unnamed community (the working title is Malbec Village) is expected to include houses and vineyards, along with wine-making facilities.

The wines being produced in greater Mendoza, the largest wine-producing region of Latin America, are said to be on a par with those coming from Napa Valley, Tuscany, and Bordeaux.