Pro Golf Now
Fansided

Tiger Woods’ First U.S. Course Is ‘Progressing Nicely’

By Billy Dowling

facebooktwitterreddit

For someone who hasn’t played a competitive round of golf since February, it’s been a very busy week for Tiger Woods.  It started with him dropping out of the World Golf Rankings top 100 for the first time since 1996.  Then he took a super-secret trip to Augusta National for a practice round, and now he’s made some more news.  No it’s not about his status for The Masters which still remains up in the air, but instead it’s about the progress and opening of his first designed golf course in America.

More from Golf News

Bluejack National is located near Houston and this week’s Shell Houston Open.  In a message and a video on his website, Tiger announced that the course is ‘progressing nicely’ and is expected to open in October of 2015.  Holes 1,2,3,5,6 and 7 are now fully sodded and crews are now working on the irrigation on holes on the back nine.  For Tiger he couldn’t be happier to see how the course is starting to take shape.

"“This is going to be my first golf course in the United States,” Tiger said.  “I’ve played all around the world, a lot of different golf courses, played a lot of different grasses.  I’m just so excited to be here and see all these different types of land forms that we have to work with”"

Tiger is just one of the many tour pros of have dipped their hands into course design.  The king of golf architecture may be Jack Nicklaus, the guy Tiger’s been chasing for most of his professional life.  According to the Golden Bear’s website his company has designed over 375 courses worldwide and there are currently 45 in development.  Tying Jack’s record of eighteen majors has proved to be a tough enough as it is and Tiger still may have a shot at that, but when it comes to course design good luck.

The thing I’m most interested in seeing when it comes to Woods’s first American course is the design itself.  Tiger has played and won on so many courses that he knows what a great one looks like.  When it comes to Bluejack National, expect to see a little bit of St. Andrews tucked away in the three linde pines of Texas.

"“One of the features unfortunately we’ve gone away from is what I see in links golf, they always have the front of the green open, the ability to use the ground as a friend.  I’ve enjoyed the options of hitting anywhere between 4-iron around the greens to a putter, and anything in between.  That to me is a lot of fun”"

For Tiger, this is one of the few positive stories that have come out of his camp in months.  Of course not a lot of us will be able to play Bluejack National but that is beside the point.  The fact that it is on the back nine of its completion is exciting news.  You know what will be even more exciting?  If Tiger tees it up at Augusta next week, but we’re still waiting to hear about that one.

Credit Tigerwoods.com for the quotes.

Next: Michelle Wie's Fortune Cookie

More from Pro Golf Now

Home/Golf News