Tiger Woods' only U.S.-based course design is struggling
Back before Tiger Woods' image hit the skids, his course design company, Tiger Woods Design, was embarking on three ventures. One was in Dubai, another was in Mexico, and the third is here in the United States.
That U.S. course is The Cliffs at High Carolina, a 7,300-yard golf course that was projected to have views for 50 miles and was set to be the ultimate in golf communities. The initial goal for houses around the course Tiger wanted to be risk-reward on every hole? Around 1,200 homes.
How many have been sold so far? Less than 40 lots, the New York Times is reporting.
That is what happens when the economy and a huge cheating scandal go hand-in-hand around a business venture that starts up around the same time.
Woods, of course, did not cause the recession that has slowed the project. But the scandal that forced him off golf courses and into hiding did not help promote the high-end community, where his course is the main draw.
The struggles with lot sales have been obvious, but the work on the course continues to get pushed back. At first, Tiger's Cliffs, as some are calling it, was supposed to be opened in 2011. Now, they're thinking more like 2012. The people that developed the course are having to ask residents of Tiger's Cliffs and some accompanying communities for more than $100 million to help finish up some of the properties that were promised with the vision of the Cliffs.
No matter, the one thing we can always remember about the Cliffs, for years to come, is the suggestive headline in the above picture of Tiger pre-scandal. "See what inspired me." I'm sure we can come up with a few hundred jokes to answer that question.
Golf Course Designed by Tiger Woods Runs Into Problems of Its Own [NYT]
