Bear sightings in Loudoun County have become less of a rarity in recent years, but a unique and wonderful opportunity arose late last month to gaze upon that rarest member of family ursidae, ursus aureus.

Jack Nicklaus, the Golden Bear himself, was spotted prowling the rolling countryside of northern Virginia late last month, in town on September 30 to kick the tires on his latest gem, the golf course at Creighton Farms.

Nicklaus spent several hours walking the course, reviewing its layout and taking note of the few small details that could be refined the tiniest bit to improve the experience for Creighton Farms' members. Following his tour, he took time to speak with members, the media and junior golfers from the First Tee Program of Prince William County.

"I'm hands on," Nicklaus said. "I'm always hands on when it's a signature course. I was probably in here 10, 12 times [during construction]."

He's not a micromanager, however, by any means.

"I don't really think I need to get into all the plumbing, as I call it, the irrigation, the drainage and so forth and so on. I'm not going to tell them what kind of pipe to put in. They have engineers that tell them that, and other people who are far more qualified than I am."

Nicklaus' role is clearly that of course visionary, visiting a property and looking for what lies below the surface, just as a master sculptor may gaze for days, if not weeks, at a piece of stone, waiting for the shape within to make itself known before ever lifting a hammer and chisel.

"What I do is I come in and ….we get the routing. We get to know how we're going to clear it, how we're going to do this, how we're going to do that. ....[The the product you see out here is essentially mine."

Nobody familiar with Nicklaus' background should be surprised by his personal involvement in the golf courses his firm designs, and Creighton Farms was no different.

"The golf course, as many of you know, received a lot of accolades when it first opened. It's a good golf course, a strong golf course. Somebody who enjoys golf will enjoy playing here because not only will it be fair and fun, it will also test your mettle."

The attention to detail given to course's design even included the "motion" of the ground throughout the course, its sweeps and undulations. When asked if that motion was intentional, or simply a factor of the property, Nicklaus posed a question of his own before continuing.

"Have you ever seen water standing on this golf course?"

The predictable "No" brought a smile to Nicklaus' lips before he continued.

"That's why we did that. You want a 2-3 degree pitch in all sorts of areas in your fairway so the water will move off. We do have a little movement through the fairways…. It's not really a Scottish golf course; it's not a links golf course. But it's got a little bit of a rustic flavor and that movement of the fairways is with that."

In addition to the course itself, Nicklaus took time to discuss golf as a whole, where the game finds itself today and what it needs to do better as it moves into the future.

A longtime proponent of checking the perpetual "arms-race" as has defined golf in recent years, Nicklaus again took the opportunity to encourage a rethinking of the game's pace, it's equipment and even its land-use.

"It's very difficult today with golf equipment. The game was slow enough when the ball only went 230 or 240 yards; when the ball goes 340 yards it's pretty difficult to say how you go that extra 100 yards faster. If the golf ball went back to going 230 or 240 yards, the golf courses don't have to be as long. You don't need as much land; you can get around it much faster. But until they do that, the golf's going to be a longer game and I think that's wrong.

"The whole idea is to try to get a game where everybody [pro and amateur] can play it together. That's what we've been trying to do. Arnold Palmer's been on the same bandwagon; Gary [Player] is on the same bandwagon. And Tiger's in that same position."

Nicklaus' advice to up-and-coming junior golfers?

Play.

And watch.

"Get as much exposure to watching people as you can, watch what they do. Watch how people chip. Watch how people play bunker shots. Watch how Gary plays bunker shots; he's magnificent. Watch Ben Crenshaw putt; he's terrific. Watch Tiger recover; there ain't nobody better at that! But you go follow these guys. Learn what they do. Learn how they do it. Try to figure it out. You'll get better."

The afternoon also marked the official unveiling of course's new Clubhouse, set for permitting and building "as soon as possible" according to David Southworth, President and CEO of Southworth Development LLC.

Plans include a living room, library, billiards room, dining area with bar/lounge area and outdoor space for al fresco dining or lounging. There will be a pro shop offering far more than just golf clothing and equipment; it will also serve as an old fashioned haberdashery where members can get custom men's suits and ladies jackets.

Add in the men's and ladies' locker rooms, a fitness center, spa/treatment rooms - and nine club rooms available for overnight stays - and it's apparent that Creighton Farms is eager to position itself as a one-of-a-kind in the Capital region, if not the entire mid-Atlantic.