Tiger Woods Reportedly Tapped to Design Course in Northern Ireland

A new links course planned for the north coast of Northern Ireland is reportedly set to be designed by Tiger Woods, according to the Derry Journal. The course, to be built in Bellarena between Coleraine and Limavady, would be the first new links layout built in the area in a century.

Developer Galgorm Collection, which already runs parkland courses in Ballymena and Limavady, is leading the roughly £30 million project. A Causeway Coast and Glens councillor said the council received a briefing confirming "Tiger Woods has been signed up to design the course at Bellarena."

Would this be Woods' first European design?

Yes, if the report holds up. Woods' design company, TGR Design, has built courses only in North America to date: Bluejack Ranch and Bluejack National in Texas, Payne's Valley in Missouri, and The Hay at Pebble Beach in California, plus El Cardonal at Diamante in Mexico, which hosts the PGA Tour's World Wide Technology Championship. A Bellarena project would mark TGR Design's first commission in Europe and Woods' first in Northern Ireland.

What's the timeline for construction?

No construction schedule has been confirmed. A Proposal of Application Notice, the planning step that precedes a formal planning application in Northern Ireland, was filed for the site in August.