RICK JACOBSON OPENS NEW VISTA LINKS COURSE IN BUENA VISTA, VIRGINIA

LIBERTYVILLE, Illinois (October 27, 2004) – Nationally prominent golf course architect Rick Jacobson is receiving high praise for his recently opened Vista Links golf course, an original 18-hole design located in the city of Buena Vista in west central Virginia’s historic Shenandoah Valley.

“I expect it to be ranked in the top five in the state within two years,” said Ed Armentrout, Vista Links’ general manager and head golf professional, who organized the facility’s grand opening on August 26. “It’s that good. Jacobson designed a heck of a golf course.”

So far, the proof is in the greens fees – and especially in the repeat business. Armentrout said the number of rounds played in the first seven weeks of operation have far exceeded his expectations. And, he said, the course has been popular with both local residents and golfers who live an hour’s drive from the course.

“It is a huge success already,” Armentrout said. “We have a tremendous following locally and from Roanoke - which is 50 miles away. When they see it, they say, ‘We’ll be back.’ And they bring their friends. That’s what a public golf course needs to succeed.”

Armentrout said the quality of the course is such that it could host high level golf events, such as college tournaments, Virginia PGA events, state opens, and USGA events. “We want to host events like that in the future,” he said.

Located on the western slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains 50 miles northeast of Roanoke and six miles east of Lexington, Virginia, the 18-hole city-owned facility is a combination mountain and links course, featuring many elevation changes, panoramic views and visually stimulating rock outcroppings.

“We are very proud of how The Vista Links turned out,” Jacobson said. “It has dramatic vistas and incredible natural attributes. The Vista Links has the potential to be recognized as one of the best new golf courses in the country.”

The course is a par 72 with five sets of tees that provide golfers with the flexibility to play the course anywhere from 4,941 to 6,935 yards in length, depending on the level of challenged desired. In addition to dramatic elevation changes, the course features Alister Mackenzie-style bunkering, with many of the bunkers sloping dramatically down from the greens and featuring sand flashed high on the slopes with fingers of turf bleeding down into the bunkers. The bunkers are lined with tall fescue grasses, giving the course a strong visual element while helping to reduce maintenance costs.

The course’s mountain elevation enabled Jacobson to use cool-temperature bent grasses for the greens, tees and fairways. Typically, courses in Virginia require hot-weather Bermuda grasses for the playing surfaces.

Despite the challenging nature of the course, Armentrout said, rounds are averaging four hours and 10 minutes. Greens fees for non-residents during peak demand on weekend mornings are $27. Walking is permitted and pull carts are allowed, he added. A motorized cart costs $12.

The Vista Links also has a world-class practice facility, including driving range, putting green and chipping area. The clubhouse, scheduled to open next year, will be set on the highest point of the property and will offer views of the golf course and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Vista Links is a key new component within Glen Maury Park, a 600-acre master planned park system in Buena Vista, which has a population of 6,500 and is part of an area of about 38,000. The course is the centerpiece of the city’s parks and recreation master plan, which also will include a new YMCA, new athletic fields, playgrounds, a boat launch, dog park, fishing pond and riverfront trail system, as well as potential commercial and residential developments.

“I am greatly encouraged by the business to date and I am pleased with the responses that I hear in the golfing and non-golfing communities,” said Buena Vista City Manager Scott Dadson. “Our whole concept has been to provide affordable access to a quality course. Vista Links has given the community a wonderful sense of pride.”

Dadson said the golf course is a key element in his city’s economic development plan.

“It is more than just a golf course,” Dadson said. “It is defining us in a different way economically and we are beginning to see economic benefits. It is helping us become part of Virginia’s tourism industry. It is providing a lifestyle choice for the growing retirement population in our area, which is driving the residential housing market. And it is a piece of infrastructure that pays for itself.”

Southern Virginia University, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), and Washington and Lee University are three of the universities located in the area. Armentrout anticipates a significant student play at Vista Links and is working to get the schools’ golf teams involved at the course.

The Vista Links is Jacobson’s third new original design to open in the last two years. Jacobson’s Patriot Hills GC in Stony Point, NY opened in 2003; his Makefield Highlands GC in suburban Philadelphia opened this summer. His top-to-bottom renovation of the Blackhawk Trace course at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois has proved extremely popular with Chicago-area golfers since it opened in 2003.

A protégé of Jack Nicklaus, Jacobson founded Jacobson Golf Course Design, Inc. in 1991 as a full-service golf design firm specializing in new course designs as well as master plan renovations and additions to existing facilities.

Jacobson’s first 18-hole project in North America – Augustine Golf Club in Stafford, Virginia – has been ranked among the nation’s Top 100 Public Golf Courses by Golf Magazine and was ranked among the best new upscale courses in 1996 by Golf Digest Magazine.

Golf Magazine ranked Jacobson’s Bull Run Country Club in Haymarket, Virginia - located approximately 35 miles west of Washington, D.C. - the top new public course in Virginia in 1999. Jacobson’s Bear Trap Dunes opened to rave reviews and the 27-hole complex was honored by Golf Inc. Magazine as Development of the Year for 2002.

In September 2004, Golf Magazine named Jacobson’s Spirit Hollow GC in Burlington, IA one its “Thrifty Fifty” – i.e. one of the nation’s top 50 courses costing less than $50 to play.

Jacobson has extensive experience in the renovation and restoration of many of the Midwest’s most renowned golf courses. Among Jacobson’s renovations are Bob O’Link GC in Highland Park, Ill. (Donald Ross); North Shore CC in Glenview, Ill. (H.S. Colt, C.H. Alison), and Glen Oak CC in Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Tom Bendelow). In addition to his renovation work in the Chicago area, Jacobson also received high praise when he renovated Pete Dye’s Des Moines G&CC in preparation for the 1999 U.S. Senior Open.