Tiger Woods and his TGR Design team have inked a deal to create Marcella Club, a private championship course in the Rocky Mountain resort town of Park City, Utah.
Eyebrows rose when the rendering was revealed, showing the par-72 layout would measure 8,064 yards from the back tees. However, given Park City’s elevation of 7,000 feet, the course won’t play nearly that long.
In a statement on the TGR website, Woods notes that the course will be a stern test for low handicap golfers, yet also present a fun, family-friendly experience to allow individuals of all skill levels to come together and enjoy the course.
"I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Marcella Club to design and create a new championship golf course just outside Park City," Woods said. "Utah is an incredible place, with favorable year-round weather that offers opportunities to be active outdoors throughout all four seasons — golfing, skiing, biking and fishing — the list goes on and on. I’m thrilled to be designing a course in such a special location. This new course is uniquely beautiful and will offer engaging play for every ability."
Marcella Club is a private club with amenities located on the slopes of Deer Valley, Historic Main Street Park City and Jordanelle Ridge, which will be the site of the new TGR Design golf facility.
The championship course will feature generous landing areas, helping players keep the ball in play while still challenging players with strategic choices and angles off the tee for the best opportunities to score. The greens will vary in size and contouring will reinforce the tee shot strategy, but with green surrounds mowed tight, players missing the green will be able to use their creativity to make interesting recoveries.
The initial rendering shows a routing that sports two par 3s and two par 5s on the front nine and three par 3s and three par 5s on the back nine. The shortest par 5 measures 607 yards, the longest, hole No. 10, tips out at 702 yards. The par-3 third checks in at a mere 150 yards, while the back nine sports the 275-yard 13th and the 292-yard 15th as the layout’s final par 3s. Eventually there will be a second 18-hole course for the club, with the architect to be determined. Woods' course is expected to begin construction in summer 2024, with completion slated for 2025.
GOING SOCIAL
A friend sent us these pics of the site that @OCMGolf has been hired to turn into Arm End, 30 minutes south-east of Hobart. Impressive landforms down to the clifftops & those views don’t hurt! Imagine telling a Tasmanian golfer 20 years ago what was coming in their state… pic.twitter.com/E5ig0MX4Jg
— Australian Golf Passport Podcast (@AusGolfPassport) January 15, 2023
BIG PLANS FOR FORT WAYNE MUNI
Steve Forrest and Shawn Smith of Hills-Forrest-Smith Golf Course Architects have concluded their work on a master plan for venerable Indiana muni Foster Park Golf Course.
Following survey input from residents and a public meeting on November 3, 2022, Forrest and Smith finalized the plan in December. The master plan is intended to offer many benefits to the 95-year-old course.
Owned and operated by the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department, Foster Park is a par-71, 6,434-yard spread with nine holes that date to 1928. Nine more holes were added in the late 1930s. Forrest and Smith plan to create several new holes and reorient others from north-south to east-west configurations, leading to a par-72, 6,855-yard course.
The impetus for the significant routing changes was to mitigate course closures due to flooding from the St. Marys River. The new routing and the creation of several new lakes for stormwater retention will alleviate the issues.
A new small detention pond near the current ninth green will assist as well, along with the creation of a larger lake between the new 14th and 18th holes. The revised routing will feature holes along Hartman Road that will head in the opposite direction from their predecessors, in order to keep sliced shots from finding the road. A new full-length driving range, short-game area and 23,000-square-foot putting course will complement the golf course changes.
Fundraising for the proposed improvements has commenced, with the goal of completion in the spring of 2028. “We have really enjoyed working with the knowledgeable team from the Parks Department,” Forrest said. “They have understood and supported our vision for the reimagined golf course and its new amenities every step of the way. We look forward to the remaining planning, permitting and implementation phases as we strive to have everything in place for a fantastic 100th anniversary celebration.”
WAYNESVILLE GETS DOUBLE DOSE
Bobby Weed Golf Design has completed a transformation of the Waynesville Inn & Golf Club’s 27 holes, that was both restoration and redesign. In the process he reduced the overall number of holes to 18.
Located in the picturesque mountains of western North Carolina, Waynesville debuted its original nine in 1926, designed by Donald Ross. Known as the Carolina 9, it was eventually joined by nine more holes, followed by a third nine, designed by Tom Jackson, in 1989.
Weed restored the original Carolina nine, which has become the front nine of the newly imagined layout. Henceforth, it will be known as the Ross nine. The other two nines, the Dogwood and the Blue Ridge, have been converted into the new Weed nine and will play as holes 10 through 18.
"Our goal was to consider a most appropriate 18-hole route that could incorporate new amenities as well as development opportunities for higher value uses," said Weed, who began the project in 2021. The Ross nine is a compact collection of flattish holes that wind through the valley floor. The Weed nine rolls over tumbling terrain.
“The new nine’s unique conversion from the two former nines allowed us to build a more distinctive, eye-catching series of mountainous holes with panoramic views,” said Weed. “Trees have been removed to reveal views of the surrounding Great Smoky Mountains. All streams have been exposed on both sides to better integrate the strategy of each hole.”
The metamorphosis intends to make maintenance easier by having diminished manicured acreage, a new single pump station with state-of-the-art irrigation and a new display of turf grasses, including fine fescues beyond the playable areas.
A new short course, practice range, putting greens and a 27,000-square-foot putting course are also among the offerings. MacCurrach Golf Construction carried out the construction work. Design associate Joey Graziani and shaper Kevin Millsaps were instrumental in bringing the job to fruition. Expected opening for the new Ross-Weed 18-hole layout at Waynesville Inn & Golf Club will be the summer of 2023.
