Jack Nicklaus’s gem at Gleneagles a fitting test for the best

There are blank canvases and, then, there are blank canvases. Jack Nicklaus has put his signature to courses around the globe, from mountains to lakeside, from forested terrain to old farmland, but when he first set his eyes on the landscape at Gleneagles, he proclaimed it "the finest parcel of land I have ever been given to work with".

Nicklaus’s handprint was not the first to be left here in Perthshire, for James Braid – one of the originals of the species when it came to course design – designed The King’s and The Queen’s courses which opened for play in 1919.

It was many decades later when Nicklaus was asked to turn his attention to a piece of land that would captivate him. In 1993, The Monarch course, designed by the Golden Bear, was opened and it has undergone a number of tweaks in the intervening years – including a name change to the PGA Centenary Course – before now playing host to the Ryder Cup.

The course starts in the lee of the Ochil Hills and sweeps past Glendevon, the Grampians, Ben Vorlich and the mountains above the Trossachs to offer a wonderfully panoramic course.

“To have Gleneagles, the first course I have designed in Scotland, host the Ryder Cup for the first time in Scotland in 40 years is something that’s very special to me . . . it has a little bit of an American look to it, it is a really good test of golf.

Difficult course

“I think the players will enjoy the golf course. I don’t think it is the most difficult course in the world but it wasn’t meant to be, it’s a resort golf course . . . there will be a lot of birdies, and I think that’s good for this type of match.”

The vision to build a hotel and golf resort in the Perthshire hills came from Daniel Matheson, who headed the Caledonian Railway Company. His proposal to construct the development was first made in October 1912 but would be interrupted by the outbreak of the first World War before finally reaching fruition and a grand opening in 1919. The course would over time attract tournaments including the old Dunlop Tournament, the Curtis Cup, the Scottish Open and McDonald’s WPGA Championship.

Braid was suitably enthralled by the land, which consisted of sand and gravel deposited when the last ice sheet had melted. In appointing Braid, Matheson had a vision for his courses to play host to big professional tournaments and, indeed, the course hosted an international challenge match on the King’s course between British and Americans professionals in 1921 before any thought of the Ryder Cup was ever formed.

It would be 1927 before the inaugural Ryder Cup was played at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts and, in the early 1970s, Ian Marchbank – the head pro at Gleneagles – first promoted the view that the match could be played on his course. That vision of Marchbank’s didn’t gather steam until a new course - designed by Nicklaus – was added to the golfing portfolio.

Nicklaus signed a contract in 1988 to build a course to complement the existing two layouts but one capable of testing modern professionals. Of his initial design meeting at Gleneagles, Nicklaus remarked that it offered “great terrain, nice rolling turf, a lot of terrific places . . . and beautiful views”.

Since 1999, the Nicklaus-designed third course on the 850-acre estate has played host to a European Tour event – the Johnnie Walker Championship.

Major work to transform the course was undertaken during the winter of 2011-12 with changes made to 12 holes, in addition to the bunkers on all holes being remodelled. The most significant work was conducted on the ninth and the 18th holes, both risk and reward Par 5s. The green on the 18th was lowered to create an amphitheatre effect that should be seen in all its glory later this week.