Bears Paw
Naples, Florida

Restoration and Renovation

Bears Paw, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course located in Naples Florida, was built in 1979 and is considered one of the oldest Signature Courses in the Jack Nicklaus Portfolio. The Club hired Landirr Inc. in January 2015, under direction of David Savic of Nicklaus Design to restore the Green Complexes. During the restoration, the goal was to bring the greens back to their original shape and contours per the USGA Specifications.

The original greens were redone in 1992 and regrassed in 2000. Landirr’s renovation included the restoration the new greens back to the approximate elevation of the 1992 green cavities with the 1979 and 1980 original design. The sizes of the greens were 97,000 sq. ft., after the construction the new green sizes are 120,000 sq. ft. with the green surrounds measuring 90,000 sq. ft.

The bunker restoration took place early in the construction phase, Landirr Inc. performed the bunker restoration this along with the addition of out fall drainage, earthwork, shaping, and finish work. Tifeagle was planted on the greens at 30 bu per 1000 sq. ft. The Club regrassed with celebration bermuda grass and performed replacements of the irrigation system and pump station. At the grand opening Jack Nicklaus praised the work and was thrilled that this very original signature course was restored back to the original look.