Jim
LIPE Golf Impacting the World of
BY BYRON MAY
If
you threw out the name Jim Lipe at most family gatherings, you may get a blank stare. But if you mentioned his name at hundreds of top-rated golf courses around the world you would get either admiration for the amazing courses that members enjoy, or occasional anger for how challenging these courses can be. You see, Jim Lipe is a landscape architect and golf course designer and is considered one of the best in that industry. He has designed and managed the construction of elite golf properties throughout the U.S. and in several countries. For most of his career he has worked with Jack Nicklaus and his design group.
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JUNE 2022
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I’ve known Jim for close to 30 years. We were in the same weekend golf group at Southern Trace for over a decade. He’s been a really good player all his adult life. I knew Jim was involved in Golf Course design, but it wasn’t until the Spring of 1990 that I learned firsthand what a force he was in that industry. Jim invited our group to North and South Carolina to play the elite courses he and Nicklaus Design had either designed and built or renovated. Jim had become a big deal in the Nicklaus Design and Renovation business and a close friend and right-hand man of Jack Nicklaus. That week we played 6 of the most prestigious golf courses in the country including historic Pinehurst Number 2. We even stayed at the owner of Pinehurst National Golf Club’s house in North Carolina overlooking the 18th green as well as one of Jack’s homes on Pawleys Plantation Golf Club in South Carolina. For a golf nut like me, it was a trip that was as good
