Michael Jordan's New Golf Course Is Designed To Give Him Huge Advantage When Playing For Money Against Pros

Michael Jordan's exclusive new golf club has been designed specifically to make it harder for professionals to win against him.

According to American golf pro Rickie Fowler, The Grove XXIII, in Florida, is designed so that it puts visitors at a disadvantage.

Speaking to Golf.com, Fowler said Jordan had set up the fairways so long hitters hit their drives into the narrower fairways. It also means that shorter hitters, like him, drive into wider sections.

PA

It means that the advantage is taken away from Jordan's professional guests, as they have to hit the ball short or risk being in the rough.

Fowler, who says pros call the course 'Slaughterhouse XXIII', explained to the golfing site's podcast about why it's such a tough course.

He said: "The shorter you hit it, the wider it is. He can basically hit driver on all the par 4, par 5s. And if I want to hit driver, I have to kind of put it into a bit of a tighter spot.

"I can obviously play back if I want, but that becomes a little bit of a disadvantage, especially if it's a hole where he's getting a stroke on."

NBWW Architects

He added: "The tees and pins are done every day, so the golf course can play as long as you want, but they set the back tees at roughly 7,000 or 7,100 yards, and MJ just plays the back tees."

And it's not just Fowler who struggles. Fellow pro Phil Mickelson also attends the club, but Jordan still has the advantage of the professionals.

Fowler added: "If I'm giving him a shot, I can't then play from the same spot he is when he's laying zero.

"I'm not sure the last time it broke 70, but he can shoot anywhere from 71 to 74.

"If he's shooting 77 and he's got a double in there, I got to shoot 65 to get to 18!"

NBWW Architects

The club opened in late 2019, with Fowler one of just around 100 members who play there. The club's membership was kept small on purpose to make sure it's exclusive.

NBWW, the designers behind the clubhouse, said: "We wanted the precision and flow of the golf swing as well as Michael's athleticism and corporate finesse to inspire the contemporary form and detailing of the clubhouse architecture."

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events. Soon realising you can't pay your bills with guestlist, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward