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♪ ♪ PROFESSIONAL OR AMATEUR
THERE IS NOTHING MORE
EXHILARATING FOR A GOLFER THAN
TEEING IT UP ON A WORLD CLASS
GOLF COURSE DESIGNED BY A
GOLFING LEGEND. YET, WHAT MAKES
THIS JACK NICKLAUS SIGNATURE
GOLF COURSE LOCATED IN ANACONDA
MONTANA SUCH A DELIGHTFUL PLACE
TO PLAY GOES WELL BEYOND THE
OBVIOUS. .. WELL I THINK FROM A
PLAYERS STANDPOINT WHAT MAKES
THIS A GOOD EXPERIENCE IS THE
ENTIRE PACKAGE. THE GOLF COURSE
IS A HISTORY BOOK TO THE AREA,
AH, IT'S THE FIRST COURSE THAT'S
EVER BEEN BUILT ON A EPA
SUPER-FUND SITE. AHM, PEOPLE
HAVE HEARD ABOUT IT, NOT ONLY
THE UNIQUENESS OF THE GOLF
COURSE, THE FACT THAT NICHOLAS
DESIGNED IT, BUT ALSO BECAUSE
THE COMMUNITY HAS STRUCTURED IT
TO BE VERY AFFORDABLE. AND SO I
THINK THAT WHOLE PACKAGE MAKES
IT A LOT OF FUN FOR ALL PLAYERS.
OPENED IN 1997 ... THE HISTORY
THAT IS CONVEYED THROUGH THE
DESIGN OF THE PUBLIC GOLF COURSE
THEY CALL "OLD WORKS" STRETCHES
BACK OVER A CENTURY TO THE
1880'S WHEN DEER LODGE VALLEY
AND THE TOWN OF ANACONDA WOULD
BECOME HOME TO ONE OF THE
LARGEST MINING AND SMELTING
OPERATIONS IN THE COUNTRY. TO
KEEP PACE WITH ORE COMING FROM
BUTTE, MONTANA. THREE HUGE
SMELTERS WERE BUILT IN ANACONDA
BETWEEN 1884 AND 1919 .. THE
FIRST TWO SMELTERS, CALLED UPPER
AND LOWER WORKS, WERE BUILT ON
THE CURRENT SITE OF THE GOLF
COURSE. THEY WERE THEN REPLACED
BY THE MORE MODERN WASHOE
SMELTER BUILT ACROSS THE VALLEY.
. FEATURING THE TALLEST
SMOKESTAKE IN THE WORLD WHEN IT
OPENED, THE WASHOE WOULD HAVE A
PROFOUND IMPACT, BOTH
ECONOMICALLY AND ENVIROMENTALLY,
ON ANACONDA AND THE ENTIRE
REGION. .. A FACT THAT WOULD
COME INTO SHARP FOCUS IN 1980,
WHEN, AFTER 61 YEARS OF SERVICE,
THE WASHOE SMELTER CEASED
OPERATION. ... BACK IN THE EARLY
80'S, AH, CONGRESS AND THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CREATED THIS
SUPER-FUND LEGISLATION. AND THEY
DESIGNATED ABOUT15 TO 20 SITES
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY THAT WERE
HEAVILY CONTAMINATED THAT NEEDED
TO BE CLEANED UP. AH, THIS SITE
IN THE ANACONDA-DEER LODGE
VALLEY, WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST
SITES IN THE COUNTRY. ON THE
PARTICULAR SITE OF OLD WORKS,
THE CONCEPT OF A GOLF COURSE WAS
FLOATED, AND AFTER SOME
DISCUSSION AND SOME FEASIBILITY
STUDIES, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT
IT WOULD WORK. SO, IN THIS
PARTICULAR INSTANCE, THEY CAPPED
THE SITE WITH FRESH TOP SOIL, AH
DEPENDING ON WHERE IT WAS,
ANYWHERE FROM 6 INCHES TO 24
INCHES DEEP, AND THEN NICHOLAS
WENT TO WORK ON DESIGNING THE
GOLF COURSE. THE CHOICE OF JACK
NICKLAUS AS THE COURSE DESIGNER
WAS BASED ON TWO REASONS. ..
NAME RECOGNITION AND HIS
EXPERIENCE IN DESIGING QUALITY
GOLF COARSES AROUND THE WORLD.
FOR NICKLAUS, WHAT MADE THIS
PROJECT SO APPEALING AND
DIFFICULT, WAS COMING UP WITH A
DESIGN THAT WOULD NOT ONLY
INCORPORATE BOTH THE HISTORICAL
ELEMENTS AND NATURAL BEAUTY OF
THE SITE BUT ONE THAT WOULD ALSO
WORK WITHIN SPECIFIC GUIDELINES
UNIQUE TO ITS LOCATION. BECAUSE
OF SOME OF THE EPA REQUIREMENTS,
THERE WAS A LOT OF ADDITIONAL
ENGINEERING THAT WENT INTO THE
SITE. THE BUNKERS ON THE GOLF
COURSE HAVE A LINER UNDERNEATH
THEM AS WELL AS THE GREENS, AND
THERE'S A VERY SIGNIFICANT
PIPING SYSTEM THAT TAKES ALL OF
THAT WATER FROM IRRIGATION AND
FUNNELS IT INTO A SERIES OF
PIPING THAT ACTUALLY RETURNS
BACK INTO OUR IRRIGATION PONDS.
SO, THE WATER DOESN'T INFILTRATE
DOWN THROUGH THAT CAP, INTO THE
GROUND WATER SYSTEM. AND THAT
WAS ONE OF THE REQUIREMENT THAT
EPA MADE SURE THAT WAS FOLLOWED
DURING CONSTRUCTION. . . AND WE
HAVE A MATERIAL, IT'S ACTUALLY
IN OUR BUNKERS, WHICH IS THE
BLACK SLAG MATERIAL. AND WHEN
NICHOLAS STARTED THE DESIGN
WORK, THEY DISCUSSED THE IDEA
ABOUT USING IT IN THE BUNKERS.
SO, THEY DID SOME TESTING AND
THEY FOUND THAT AH, IN ITS
PRESENT STATE IT WAS NOT IN ANY
SORT OF DANGER FROM A
CONTAMINATION STANDPOINT. SO
THEY USED IT IN ALL THE BUNKERS.
AND AH, IT CERTAINLY GIVES A
DIFFERENT FEEL TO THE GOLF
COURSE UNDER EPA SUPERVISION THE
"OLD WORKS" GOLF COARSE WOULD
TAKE THREE YEARS AND 41 MILLION
DOLLARS TO COMPLETE. ON A WARM
JULY AFTERNOON IN 1997, THE
COARSE WOULD BE OFFICIALLY
DEDICATED BY THE GOLDEN BEAR
HIMSELF. WE HAD A APPROXIMATELY
3,000 PEOPLE TURN OUT FROM
AROUND THE AREA, 45:30 WHICH WAS
PRETTY NEAT. (NICKOLAUS IT'S
DOWNHILL INTO THE WIND. 7 IRON?
(LAUGHTER) THAT WAS AT A TIME
WHEN NICHOLAS WAS SUFFERING FROM
A A BAD HIP, HE WAS ABOUT READY
TO HAVE A AH, A HIP TRANSPLANT,
BUT HE STILL GOT AROUND, AND
SIGNED ALL SORTS OF AUTOGRAPHS
AND PEOPLE JUST HAD A WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE. WHAT WAS TRUE ABOUT
THE GOLF COURSE ON DEDICATION
DAY STILL HOLDS FIRM TODAY. ..
"OLD WORKS" OFFERS PLAYERS FROM
AROUND THE COUNTRY A PLAYING
EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER. PEOPLE
ALWAYS ASKS, WHAT'S YOUR
SIGNATURE HOLE. AH, I THINK
WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF THEM OUT
THERE. AND IT REALLY STARTS AH,
ON THE FRONT 9 ON 3 AND GOES ALL
THE WAY THROUGH 7 AH WE GOT A
NUMBER OF ELEMENTS ON THOSE
HOLES WHERE HE HAS INCORPORATED
SO MANY OF THE ELEMENTS FROM THE
OLD SMELTER. FOR INSTANCE, ON
#3, WE HAVE SOME OLD FOUNDATION
STONES THAT LINE THE LEFT SIDE
OF THE FAIRWAY FROM SOME OF THE
AH, OLD BUILDINGS THAT WERE ON
SITE. AHM, #4 IS A PAR 3, THAT
HAS AS A BACKDROP, ONE OF THE
OLD FLUES THAT WAS ALSO ON SITE.
ON 6, IT'S A PAR 5 THAT PLAYS
THROUGH TO LARGE HEAPS OF BLACK
SLAG THAT WAS LEFT ON THE SITE.
AND THEN ON #7, YOU ACTUALLY TEE
OFF FROM A LARGE MOUND OF BLACK
SLAG, AND PLAY DOWN TO A GREEN
THAT'S SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES
BY THIS BLACK SLAG MATERIAL.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT
MAKES THE GOLF COURSE OLD WORKS
SO UNIQUE. WITH A LOOMING RELIC
FROM ITS PAST ON ONE SIDE AND A
FRESH, GREEN GOLF COARSE
REPRESENTING ITS FUTURE ON THE
OTHER, YOU GET A SENCE THAT
WHILE THE FULL RECOVERY OF
ANACONDA AND THE SURROUNDING
AREA IS STILL A WORK IN
PROGRESS. .. IT IS NEVERTHELESS
A COMMUNITY THAT HAS COME A LONG
WAY GIVEN THE DEPTH OF DESPAIR
IT FACED JUST 30 YEARS AGO. ..
WHEN THE SMELTER CLOSED DOWN IN
THE MID 80'S THERE WAS A LOT OF
CONCERN AMONG PEOPLE IN THE
COMMUNITY THAT THE TOWN MIGHT
AH, DRY UP AND BE A GHOST TOWN.
BUT THE COMMUNITY LEADERS SAW
THAT THERE WAS A LOT HERE TO
OFFER FROM A RECREATIONAL,
OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL STANDPOINT,
AND THEY TRIED TO BUILD ON THAT
WITH THE GOLF COURSE. AH, IT
CERTAINLY HAS NOT CREATED THE
BOOM THAT SOME PEOPLE EXPECTED.
BUT, WE'VE TRIED TO POSITION
OURSELVES IN THE MARKET AS A
GREAT VALUE. AND I THINK AH,
THAT IS WHAT WE WANT THE PLAYER
TO GO AWAY WITH. THAT HE'S HAD A
GREAT EXPERIENCE, AH, IT'S BEEN
AFFORDABLE, AND THAT HE WANTS TO
COME BACK AGAIN.