Woods to Turn His Hand to Golf Course Design

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Woods to Turn His Hand to Golf Course Design
December 11, 2006

When you are the world's best and most popular golfer, your name carries an emphasis that is beyond comprehension. Such is the case for the incomparable Tiger Woods, who will turn his attention in the years ahead to golf course design.

It easy to see why Woods would seek to develop a golf course, not the least of which is the money that would be associated with such a project. At the same time, it is easy to see why any entrepreneur would want to have Woods do a course design. After all, nothing could be a greater draw for a new course than to have its name forever linked with the game's best player.

But in perhaps a bit of a surprise, the first such marriage between Woods and a golf course development entrepreneur will occur in the city of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Tiger Woods Dubai, set for completion by late 2009, will be comprised of a 7,700-yard, par-72 course and a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse. In addition, the design for the new facility will include a golf academy, 320 high end villas and a hotel to feature 80 suites.

Dubai is an oil-rich city that currently plays host to two European Tour golf events. The city features eight golf courses already including the well-known Emirates Golf Club where the annual Dubai Desert Classic is held. Of course, the Desert Classic on that same Emirates course, originally designed by Jeremy Pern and Karl Litten and recently redesigned in 2006 by Nick Faldo, featured non other than Tiger Woods as the champion earlier this year, topping Ernie Els in a playoff.

Woods joins Els (The Dunes), Thomas Bjorn (Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club), Colin Montgomerie (The Montgomerie Dubai), and Ian Baker-Finch (Arabian Ranches Golf Club) as golfers either currently designing, building or having built courses in Dubai. Woods will be working with Tatweer of the government-affiliated Dubai Holding to create his course, one he hopes will set a new standard for golf courses, much as the game's best player has set the standard for play in recent years.

Tatweer was launched in December of 2005 as the strategic and operational driver of a selected group of Dubai Holding entities. The company features a focus on the development of new markets to foster further development in Dubai. The company motto contains many references to world-class performance and the sustaining of business excellence.

Saeed al-Muntafiq, the CEO of Tatweer, indicated that his group never looked beyond Woods as a designer and colleague. According to the CEO, the company wanted the very best it could muster to create the new course. Woods in turn, stated he was excited by the opportunity and the challenge of turning desert terrain into a world-class golf facility.

The association is likely to be one of many for Woods as he moves from his competitive career into an even more lucrative field financially. It is a move that has many wondering if he will be able to continue his dominance as a player if he begins to focus energy on other aspects of the game.

2:23 AM