Reports in the Middle East suggest that work on ‘Al Ruwaya’, the Tiger Woods Dubai golf course, has been scrapped and that the development, part of ‘Dubailand’ – once the region’s largest tourism and leisure project – has been officially cancelled.
Development at the luxury development, first announced in 2006 and scheduled to open in 2009, was suspended in January 2010 ‘pending a decision when to restart the project’.
It now appears that the golf course and luxury residential units will never be completed.
“The Tiger Woods – Dubai” was planned as an exclusive golf community that would include ‘Al Ruwaya’, the first course to be designed by Tiger Woods, professionally- staffed golf academy; a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse with the latest amenities and comforts; an 80-suite boutique hotel for VIP guests; 300 luxury villas; 20 mansions and a community retail area.
‘Al Ruwaya‘ was a 7,700 yards, par 72 championship-quality course with dramatic elevation changes, lush landscaping, stunning water features and an overall design to ‘challenge and entertain’ golfers of all playing abilities.
“Why Dubai? Because I am excited about the challenge of transforming a desert terrain into a world-class golf course,” said Tiger Woods at the time. “I have a vision of creating something that is uniquely mine — from the detailed layout of each hole to the Mediterranean architecture to the top-line gym equipment in the clubhouse — unlike anything else. And through my partnership with Tatweer, I want to realize this vision in Dubai.”
Woods, who launched Tiger Woods Design in early November 2006, was reportedly paid a fee of $55 million. The total project cost is thought to have been set at £1.1 billion.
Tiger Woods Design has been involved with four full-size course projects, as well as a practice facility at Jupiter in Florida, of which the most recent is the Diamante Cabo San Lucas Golf Resort in Mexico.
Tiger Woods Design www.tigerwoodsdesign.com