Our Story · Champions Retreat · Design Prototype
Our Story

Born at the Masters Table.
Built by the Greatest Three.

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Hero uses the archival Big Three photograph at low opacity behind a heavy bottom gradient. The page opens in monochrome and gains color as the story reaches the present. Headline is retained from the current site per the copy deck.
Chapter One · 1999

The Dinner

Once a year, on the Tuesday of Masters week, the only men allowed at the table are those who have won a green jacket. It was there, at the 1999 Masters Champions Dinner, that Gary Player turned to Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer with an idea: three champions, three courses, one property, just down the road from Augusta National.

No trio in the game's history had ever done it. Between them, the Big Three held 13 green jackets, 34 major championships, and 159 professional victories.

They said yes.

Drop cap on the opening paragraph signals editorial, not brochure. "They said yes." breaks out as a serif line, the paragraph's own punchline given room.
Archival · The Big Three
Chapter Two · 2000–2005

The Deal of the Cards

The land was 365 acres of untouched Georgia timber along the Savannah River: an island framed by two rivers, a bluff of rolling pines, and a creek winding through wetlands and hardwoods. Three distinct properties for three distinct champions. But who would design what?

Island
Palmer Now the Palmer Nine Drew first, having played the most Masters
Bluff
Nicklaus Now the Nicklaus Nine Drew second, holding the most green jackets
Creek
Player Now the Player Nine The last card on the table belonged to the host

Turn the cards

Player wrote "Island," "Bluff," and "Creek" on the backs of three index cards. Palmer drew first and pulled the Island. Nicklaus drew next and took the Bluff. The Creek belonged to Player. Three of the most competitive men who ever lived settled it like gentlemen, with a deal of the cards.

By 2005, the courses were complete, and Champions Retreat opened as the only property in the world where Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player each built a course of his own. Today those nines carry the names of the men who made them.

The signature element. Cards show the handwritten original course names; turning them reveals the champion and the nine's current name, so the page teaches the Bluff→Nicklaus renaming through the story itself, once, per the style rule. Handwriting face is a placeholder; consider a custom lettering pass. If the CMS can't support the interaction, a single styled photograph of three cards on a table is the static fallback.

"There is not a better setting for golf in the South."

Arnold Palmer
Chapter Three · 2019

The Proving Ground

In 2018, Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley announced a new championship to elevate the women's amateur game, and Champions Retreat was chosen as its opening stage. Every spring since 2019, the Augusta National Women's Amateur has begun here, with the world's 72 finest women amateurs playing the first two rounds on the Palmer and Nicklaus nines before the top 30 advance to Augusta National.

Before the world knows their names, they play here first.

Color photography begins in this chapter; everything above it is monochrome. The section background warms very slightly (#121411) to make the shift legible even before imagery lands.
Photo to source
ANWA competition on the Palmer Nine
Full color begins here
2019Jennifer KupchoUnited States
2021Tsubasa KajitaniJapan
2022Anna DavisUnited States
2023Rose ZhangUnited States
2024Lottie WoadEngland
2025Carla Bernat EscuderSpain
2026María José MarínColombia · record score
Every champion earned her way through these fairways first
The honor roll replaces prose with a plaque. One row per champion, dotted leader like a trophy board. Adding the 2027 winner each spring is a one-row edit. Nationality column is a design suggestion; [VERIFY] before publishing or drop the column.
Chapter Four · 2023 onward

The Next Chapter

Photo to source
Three Kings interior
or range construction, golden hour

Champions Retreat joined the Arcis Golf family in 2023, beginning the most ambitious investment in the club's history. The first phase is complete: the Grille House reimagined as three distinct venues, crowned by Three Kings, a members-only speakeasy honoring Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player, reached by a hidden stairway. The next phase brings renovated bunkers across all 27 holes, a Trackman-equipped practice facility, new putting greens, and more.

The founders built a legacy. We're building on it.

Explore the Transformation
Image flips to the left column here to break the rhythm before the close. Single CTA on the whole page until the closing band; the story is the sell.

Some clubs rest on their legacy. Champions Retreat is busy building the next one.