Muirfield Village

Muirfield Village is an “upscale” golf-oriented community in the central United States, located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus.

Origins

Founded by Jack Nicklaus, it is named after Muirfield, Scotland, where he won the first of his three British Open titles in 1966 to complete the first of his three career grand slams. The village contains an eponymous golf course that hosts the Memorial Tournament, a PGA Tour event played each spring since its inception in 1976. A bronze sculpture of Nicklaus mentoring a young golfer, unveiled in 1999, is located in the wide median of Muirfield Drive.

Although the land for the Muirfield Village Golf Club was acquired in 1966, construction began six years later and the golf club officially opened in May 1974, the same year that homes began to be sold. Muirfield Village is one of the wealthiest and most notable neighborhoods in Central Ohio, and is home to many local CEOs and celebrities including Jack Hanna, Urban Meyer, Jason Day and several Columbus Blue Jackets players. The community master plan and site development was designed by Bassett Associates of Lima, Ohio.

Muirfield Village functions as its own taxing unit with power to raise money for street lights, landscaping, and other municipal-like functions, despite being within the city of Dublin. It has its own neighborhood council for residents to participate in.

Golf courses

Two golf courses are located within Muirfield Village: The Country Club at Muirfield, which also has tennis and swimming, and the signature Muirfield Village Golf Club, where the Memorial Tournament is held annually. MVGC has also hosted several national championships and international team competitions, including the 1992 U.S. Amateur, 1987 Ryder Cup, the 1998 Solheim Cup, the 1986 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2013 Presidents Cup. It and The Greenbrier in West Virginia are the only two US courses to have hosted both the Ryder and Solheim Cups. When asked whether he would be interested in captaining the U.S. squad in the matches on his home course, Jack Nicklaus responded that although he would enjoy it, he believes captains should be more "current" with the players on the team.

Muirfield Village is controlled by Nicklaus, and he has regularly made changes to the course in order to accommodate new technology, make the course more enjoyable for members and tournament spectators, or simply offer a tougher test for the pros. In the 2010's, changes included lengthening several holes, including the first, tenth, twelfth, and seventeenth, adding bunkers, particularly at the tenth and seventeenth, and rerouting a stream on the eighteenth hole. In 2013, the eighteenth hole was lengthened by 40 yards. He also made changes to the driving range, added several suites overlooking the 18th hole, and completely remodeled the clubhouse inside and out. In 2014, ''Golf Digest'' rated Muirfield Village as the number one golf course in Ohio, and 53rd in the first-ever world's 100 greatest golf courses. ''Golf Digest'' also ranked Muirfield Village 14th in the United States in 2018.

MVGC closed and underwent a large renovation after the 2020 Memorial Tournament. Every green complex was redone, bunkers were enlarged and deepened, and some positions of greens were moved. The biggest changes were made on the fifth and fifteenth holes, and there were no changes made to the twelfth and fourteenth holes. Nicklaus called this renovation "his final bite at the apple", implying this would be the final major renovation in his lifetime.

Membership in MVGC is concentrated in Columbus and Ohio generally, however there is a substantial national and international membership as well. The club has sleeping quarters on the property for member use.

Scorecard

References

External links

Muirfield Village Golf ClubNicklaus.com
– Muirfield Village Golf Club
The Memorial TournamentThe Country Club at Muirfield Village

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Golf clubs and courses in Ohio
Ryder Cup venues
Solheim Cup venues
Golf clubs and courses designed by Jack Nicklaus
Sports in Dublin, Ohio
Presidents Cup venues
Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Ohio
Sports venues completed in 1974
1974 establishments in Ohio