Many celebrity golf fans make enough money in their career to invest in a golf course.
Michael Jordan is probably the best example. He designed The Grove XIII in Florida to perfectly suit his golf game.
Another avid golf fan, Justin Timberlake, once decided to take the same plunge. In 2007 he learned that the Big Creek Golf Course in Millington, the course where he hit his first golf ball as a child, was slated for auction.
He and his family stepped in to buy the course before undergoing a multi-million-dollar transformation that made it the first of its kind in the US.
Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images
Why Justin Timberlake’s golf course was unique in the Americas
What sets this course apart isn’t the celebrity name that owns it, but its unprecedented environmental pedigree.
Reopened as Mirimichi, meaning a “place of happy retreat” in Cherokee, the course became the first golf course in the United States to receive the Audubon International Classic Sanctuary certification. This recognized the course’s dedication to environmental stewardship and conservation.
It was also the first course in the Americas to be certified by the Golf Environment Organization. Achieving this required a radical overhaul of traditional golf course management. Timberlake reportedly invested $16 million to turn the property into an ecologically friendly golf course.
Mirimichi utilized cutting-edge biofiltration systems and native grasslands, and by replacing nearly 100 acres of traditional turf with native plants and wildflower meadows, the course drastically reduced its need for fossil fuels and water.
Timberlake eventually sold the course in 2014 to focus on other ventures, but the legacy of Mirimichi as an environmentally friendly venue remains.
The impact of Mirimichi’s environmental renovation
Timberlake’s work at Mirimichi has carved a path for many other high-profile courses in America to follow.
Broken Sound Club in Florida was noted as the second golf course in the United States to achieve GEO Certification. It is widely recognized for its massive composting program and its efforts to reduce chemical dependency.
Old South Golf Links in South Carolina has maintained this status since 2016, and PGA National Resort, an incredibly high-profile venue, has held GEO status since 2015.
Timberlake’s impact is now felt across America’s golf courses.
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