Some of the Nicklaus criticism here is a little ridiculous.
First off, since when did gca's standard for greatness become magazine rankings? The answer: when it is convenient. Last I checked, most on here find the magazine rankings to be poor representations of the world's best courses. I don't agree, but you just can't have it both ways.
Second, Nicklaus has shown an ability to adapt and change his style in recent years. Beyond Sebonac, courses such as May River and Dismal River have proven that. It sounds like the land for the proposed course is somewhat flat and boring - very similar to May River. Personally, I found that course quite good. I understand the Nicklaus course at Colleton River (presumably on similar, low-country land) is also solid. So, it seems to me, Nicklaus may be an excellent choice for this project.
I've played about 20 Nicklaus courses, and can't say a single one wasn't pretty good, and a couple are among my all-time favorites. It's ok to like courses designed by folks other than Doak or C&C.
Forget the magazines: look at the GCA unofficial rankings from 2009. With a few notable exceptions, Jack's courses are almost nowhere to be seen. Just like the golf magazines, GCA collectively does not rank Jack's courses among the world's elite. (Again with an exception or two.) Btw, Jack spent vastly more time on those exceptions than he has his other courses (which is usually only a day or two on site). Which suggests to me that he could produce more top-ranked courses, if he put the time into them. But that is not his business model.
His model is more like a golf course factory, that churns out large numbers of real good courses, but very few inspired ones. Most of his inspired courses were mostly designed by others. At Sebonac, e.g., Tom did the routing and most of the greens. Does Jack really merit co-credit on that design?
Cabo del Sol sounds fantastic. I wish Jack would create more exceptional courses like that. Looks like his team has the ability to do so. Will take more than two days of his time on the ground to achieve that, though.
I also wish Jack would route some courses. Until he does that, he is not IMO a golf course architect.
PS: as I was posting this, I saw Brian's latest post. I think owners pick Jack number one for marketing reasons. Number two he has produced high-quality courses. Both excellent reasons. Jack will not be remembered as one of the world's great golf course architects, though, where I bet Tom and C&C will.