Grand opening of El Cardonal at Diamante – In December 2014, Tiger and TGR Design celebrated the completion of its first golf course. Tiger hit an inaugural tee shot with a Mariachi band leading the celebration. The design was inspired by the classic Golden Age courses of the West Coast that Tiger played growing up. It’s a course that brings back strategy, with several options to navigate each hole that reward solid strategic decisions.Â
The Playgrounds – In March 2016, TGR Design’s first short course opened. The inviting short course is quickly becoming a hallmark of TGR Design’s philosophy of fun, approachable golf. This 10-hole par-3 course provides a unique, unstructured golf experience ideal for casual fun with friends and family or for high-quality short game practice. Demonstrating The Playgrounds accessibility and fun, 11-year-old Taylor Crozier hit a hole-in-one during the grand-opening celebration.Â
Bluejack National – From the first time Tiger visited the Bluejack National site, he knew the property was going to be special. And he was right. TGR Design’s first American course has quickly earned a mighty reputation in its first year. Named “Best New Private Golf Course” by both Golf Magazine/Sports Illustrated and Golf Digest, the gentle, rolling land features a classic course designed for fun, playable rounds. With no rough, the firm and fast course places a premium on ball position and strategic angles to the green.Â
As we mark the 10th year of TGR Design, I’ve spent some time thinking about where we’ve been and where we are headed. Back in 2006, I worked for Tiger’s foundation leading operations, including the design of the 14-acre golf facility at the TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim, California. Once I transitioned to TGR Design, I spent time with the world’s leading architects to understand as much as I could about their craft.Â
After numerous conversations with some of the great designers of the day, I came back to Tiger with two simple questions:
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Why do you want to create a golf course design firm? Â
“I want to be a part of creating things that will be around long after I’m gone to help shape golf and influence how the game is played,” Tiger replied.Â
I thought ‘Wow, this isn’t just another business venture. This is about his legacy.’
Then I asked him, what will make this design firm different?
“Modern golf has become too hard. I want to design fun, playable courses that bring people together and bring golfers back to the game,” Tiger replied, and the design company was born.
Bringing our vision to life
We approach all our projects with the same mindset: We are selective about our partners and exacting in our execution of course designs. We always prioritize quality over quantity. This is true of both our partners and the proposed course sites. This means we say ‘no’ more than we say ‘yes.’Â
Our approach to course design is formative and inclusive. We approach our projects as a true partner. Our goal is to make the entire project successful, not just the golf course. We spend many months and sometimes years working with the developer and their team to create the best possible plan.
One of the most important elements of all of our courses is a playable experience that brings people together and makes the game fun. To us, this means wide landing areas which make it difficult to lose golf balls, open-green fronts so players have the ability to run the ball up, and no rough around the greens leaving lots of options for recovery shots.
Given the reputation our existing courses have earned in a short time and the excitement our future plans have sparked throughout the international golf community, we are very excited about the future. Our vision is that TGR Design courses will continue to shape golf and how golf is played for a long time to come.Â
