Michael Jordan is sick of not being able to play through at Jack Nicklaus’ The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., so he’s thinking of doing what any other billionaire would do — build his own course.
Jordan has a reputation for being a lightning-fast golfer, even leaving his playing partners in the dust of his sick North Carolina-emblazoned golf cart.
“He just steps up, hits, chews your ear off with smack talk and off he goes,” a source told Josh Sens of Golf.com. “If he knows the guys he’s with, he will not even wait. He’ll drive up to the green as you’re back in the fairway hitting. And if it’s up to him, his foursome will finish in two hours and 40 minutes.”
The Bear’s Club reportedly charges a $90,000 initiation fee and hosts just a few hundred distinguished members, including Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els and Michelle Wie. The club’s exclusivity led His Airness to build a $12.4 million mansion in 2010 on the club’s private grounds, but the slow play of his fellow members apparently has MJ feeling some buyer’s remorse. Ironically, Jordan’s neighbors never wanted him to move in in the first place.
“Michael likes to play fast and he can’t stand it when people won’t let him through,” said a golf-industry insider who knows Jordan and who has spoken with several Bear’s Club members. “That happens enough out there that he’s gotten fed up.”
Jordan is reportedly eyeing a plot of land in nearby Hobe Sound, and he plans to hire a top-notch designer to build the course. Architect Tom Doak is rumored to be Jordan’s front runner.
Another added benefit of owning your own golf course — MJ won’t have to worry about a dress code. Members will be hand-picked by Jordan so you can bet he’s been keeping a close log of those who have slowed him down in the past. Here’s looking at you, Camilo Villegas, also a member of the Bear’s Club.
