Tiger Woods’ Once-Failed Project Becomes a $19M Nightmare for the Entire Golf World

Tiger Woods’ love for golf surely knows no bounds. Apart from being a skilled pro golfer in his ongoing career spanning almost three decades, his love for designing golf courses is another way he has expressed his interest over the years. Despite having designed nine glorious courses, Woods arguably lives in regret. Why? Because of Buncombe County in North Carolina, which he once saw as a perfect spot to start TGR Designs! But that was all it was: a dream. One that started in 2007 but ended on a cliffhanger…

What would a Tiger Woods-designed golf course at The Cliffs at High Carolina have looked like? Well, we’ll never know because of a number of reasons. But now, 17 years later, only one number matters. $19 million. That is all one needs now to own Woods’ dream location for one of his courses. As per recent reports, the owners are looking for spendthrift buyers to take ownership of 550 acres of the property. While this alone may not be troublesome for golf fans (considering someone could have still bought and built a course there), the sellers’ ask is.

They are looking for “either a family compound or a collection of families coming together to build very private houses,” as Collin O’Berry, a co-listing agent for the location, revealed. “We’re counting on somebody liking the location and wanting the privacy.” Who would’ve thought this would become this land’s fate back in 2007 when the project was North Carolina’s biggest golf story? It begs the question: What led to the demise of this golf dream?

It started with Tiger Woods joking, “You really can’t mess this up, okay? Even an idiot can’t mess this up,” and ended with a fall from grace, among other reasons. Between those two events, work started on the golf course, with Woods even visiting the site in November 2009. But then came the Great Recession and the real estate market’s ups and downs. As for Woods, the timing of these coincided with his public and messy divorce with Elin Nordegren. That was one of the last straws to pull the plug on the project.

After being listed at $24 million in 2016, the 800-acre land was sold to a South Carolina investor group for $15.3 million. Reflecting on the Asheville-based golf course being called off, Golf USA owner Robert Green shared his thoughts in 2017. He said, “Whether it be Tiger’s scandal or the Great Recession, that’s understandable. But it’s a shame it never happened.” Seven years later, that failed golf dream has returned to the limelight. While golf fans still held out hope, could this be the final nail in the coffin?

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From what Collin O’Berry had to say, the future of the land seems to be leaning towards a family-friendly spot or even a privacy-focused location. However, as golf fans might be thinking about bidding adieu to the last hopes of a TGR-designed course, could there still be something saving them from the nightmare?

Buncombe County could still be a golf prospect, with or without Tiger Woods

Since Tiger Woods visited the site in Fairview in 2007, it has seen two owners. One was David Strauss, and now, it’s New Fort LLC. In 2019, when Strauss sold the 800 acres, he revealed steps were being taken to make the course. “At that point, the house we had on it had been torn down to make way for the golf course,” he told Citizen Times. Although there has been no involvement from Woods in recent years, there’s still hope for a golf course.

Per Citizen Times, “The listing notes that ‘past development and golf course plans’ are still on file.” Since The Cliffs at High Carolina project started, prominent names like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have designed courses on Cliffs properties. Who’s to say one of them couldn’t carry forward what once could’ve been TGR Designs’ first-ever course?

While The Cliffs at High Caroline could’ve been the first US-based Tiger Woods-designed course, that distinction now belongs to Bluejack National in Texas. But considering TGR Designs’ success and the fact that the site is up for sale with plans to carry forward that original golf dream likely, could Tiger Woods give it a second chance? What do you think?

Read More: Top 5 Golf Courses Designed by Tiger Woods