Jack Nicklaus is Asia Pacific Hall of Famer

The fourth annual Asia Pacific Golf Summit was held last October in Bangkok, Thailand, where Jack Nicklaus was inducted into the inaugural class of the Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame. The only American inducted, the Golden Bear shared the honor with Lu Liang Huan, the Taiwanese golf legend who lost out to Lee Trevino in the 1971 British Open by a solitary stroke, and Boonchu Ruangkit, Thailand's top senior golfer and the current leader of the European Champions Tour Order of Merit.

Jack Nicklaus' legacy of award-winning golf course designs includes 350 courses currently open for play, 90 of which are on Tour. Located at top travel destinations around the globe, Jack Nicklaus Signature and Nicklaus Design courses are always shaped to work with and compliment the course site's natural surroundings, offering golfers a true taste of what a destination has to offer.

The Golden Bear has been at the forefront of golf development in Asia, as Nicklaus Design opened its first course there 37 years ago in Japan, and now has no fewer than 80 spread throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim, including 16 courses in the vibrant golf market of China.

"It is an honor and privilege to join the others in this first class, and I look at this as not only an acknowledgment of what I accomplished playing the game, but more important, what I have tried to do outside the ropes in growing the game in this great continent," Jack Nicklaus said. "The Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame is representative of how far the game - has really grown in the region and I would hope it has a major impact on how Asian golf is viewed by the rest of the world. Needless to say, I am proud to be a part of it.

"I think I spend more time in Asia now than I do in the United States, working on golf courses, and I must say that I'm really enjoying it - great sites, great golf courses, and great clients. The game has just grown beyond belief and it is both fun and satisfying to be a part of its continued growth."

Nicklaus Design's first course in China was Chung Shan Hot Spring Golf Club in Zhongshan City, Guangdong, which opened in 1993. Jack's ground-breaking design of the World Cup Course at Mission Hills followed in 1994. The World Cup course was named in 2008 by LINKS Magazine as one of the 10 Most Influential Designs in Golf History, as it set the bar for golf in China and sparked a boom at Mission Hills, which now boasts a world-record 12 courses at the facility. Additional Nicklaus Design courses in Asia include the Palm Island Golf Club in Huiyang City and Indonesia's acclaimed Taman Dayu Club.

The 2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit will be held in Bangkok from October 17th through 19th.

Explore more Nicklaus Design courses and global golf travel destinations at NicklausTravel.com.