Equipped with a story, a video and a proposition, ºüÀêÊÓƵ native Tom O’Toole Jr. sat down for lunch with Jack Nicklaus last November at The Bears Club in Florida.
The vision he presented was for the Normandie Golf Club, which has faced an uncertain future for years, including one attempt to turn the 117 acres on St. Charles Rock Road into townhouses.
O’Toole, a local attorney and former president of the United States Golf Association, was asking a lot. He not only wanted Nicklaus and his company to redesign the 120-year-old course, but for the legendary golfer to throw his backing into fundraising for the project.
“I had an iPad with a video, and I flipped it open after he said he liked it,†O’Toole said. “He said, ‘Tommy, you don’t need to show it to me.’â€
Nicklaus was on board to donate his time to a project several years in the works. His involvement, announced last week, makes the project instantly viable with the hope that Normandie will become a completed Jack Nicklaus signature course by spring or summer of 2023.
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O’Toole convinced Nicklaus not only with the vision of giving new life to the course in Bel-Nor, but of providing a socio-economic boost for the community.
“The story is about more than renovating a golf course,†O’Toole said “It’s a community asset that’s under-utilized and deteriorating, and we retain that asset. It takes a golf course and uses it as a catalyst in the community for progress and social change.â€
Normandie is a public course and will remain that way. O’Toole envisions many methods for involving youth in the area, starting with a caddie program that already is in the works, and branching out to every area of the operation as well as introducing children in the community to the game.
Nicklaus also is involved in a couple of events associated with the Ascension Charity Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club in September, lending his name and effort to an event that will raise money for youth organizations in the area.
“The appeal of this project to me was to be involved in an effort that could serve as a catalyst to change needed in our country today, beginning with parts of ºüÀêÊÓƵ County,†Nicklaus said in a statement. “Restoring Normandie for a community in need will have a long-lasting positive impact on the lives of youth in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
Normandie will remain open this summer as efforts begin toward raising money and a projected start on work by the end of this year. The course has been operated by Walters Golf Management for about 15 years, and Walters chairman Jeff Smith said a major overhaul has been long overdue.
“I don’t know if I’d say it’s on life support, but it’s relatively ill,†he said. “This is to last another 100 years. The fact that Jack’s team is donating their services spells how important he thinks the project is.â€
The redesign not only involves the course but new putting greens, irrigation for retention and detention of water, new grass, a clubhouse and a maintenance facility, among other things. O’Toole said the course has not had tree work done in about 50 years and likely needs a couple hundred thousand dollars for that alone.
O’Toole got to know Nicklaus during his years as president of the USGA. That is also the period when he was approached about doing something at Normandie, which is in the process of being purchased from the University of Missouri-ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The deal with Nicklaus includes involvement of the Metropolitan Golf Association and Beyond Housing, a community development organization that addresses challenges in the communities of the Normandy School District.
Nicklaus Design has been involved in the creation or renovation of hundreds of golf courses around the world. However, as a public course, Normandie will not carry the type of fees associated with many of those courses. And he is expected to be directly involved in much of the work.
“There are all kinds of requirements to put his name on it,†O’Toole said. “He’ll sign off on all of the course design. He’ll come here and work with the lead designer before the final product. He’s the brain of the operation. He has the final call on everything.â€
O’Toole was approached about renovating Normandie several years ago when he was with the USGA. The discussions and negotiations went through many phases of ups and downs until things solidified early last year.
The pandemic, however, disrupted things until O’Toole realized a significant name was needed to get behind the effort. He had been involved with several projects involving Nicklaus during his tenure with the USGA, including dedicating the Nicklaus wing of the USGA museum.
The friendship they developed opened a door for something big.
“A lot of people have professions and jobs and families, and most want to have some inherent idea to give something back,†O’Toole said. “It will be part of the Nicklaus legacy.â€