May 05, 2014

Signature golf club tees off in Prince William County

By Kathy Stewart
WTOP-FM Radio

The crowd watches Army veteran Nick McCormick take his first swing at the new Potomac Shores Golf Club. (WTOP/Kathy Stewart)

WASHINGTON — Hacker or pro now everyone in the area can play on a course designed by one of the world’s all-time greatest golfers, Jack Nicklaus.

On Monday, it was a historic day for golfing in Prince William County. Patrick Boucher, club operations director at Potomac Shores Golf Club, made it official.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you for the first day, our grand opening.”

And with that a crowd followed Army veteran Nick McCormick from D.C., who did a tour in Iraq, to the first tee. McCormick took the first swing to begin the inaugural round of golf at the Potomac Shores Golf course which is along the Potomac River.

David McGregor is the superintendent of the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Potomac Shores. According to him, being a signature golf course, it was designed by Nicklaus himself.

McGregor makes sure all of the specifications set by Nicklaus for the tournament standard golf course are met.

The 18-hole golf course was built in 2007 and was maintained until the May 5 opening.

The owner had fallen on hard times during the recession and had to give up the land. In 2009, SunCal, a large privately owned developer of mixed-use communities, bought the Potomac Shores property.

David Soyka, SunCal senior vice president of public affairs, says the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course is the crown jewel to the master plan of Potomac Shores which is 2,000 acres and will be home to more than 4,000 residents.

“It’s one component of a larger master plan that’s going to have a VRE station. It’s going to have a town center and a huge commercial space. It’s really going to be a destination.”

Eventually, Potomac Shores is expected to have a resort hotel.

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