Tiger Woods will tee it up next week in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, but in addition to practicing his golf game, the former World No. 1 took a recent detour to Utah for his other job as golf course architect.
Woods, along with design consultant Beau Welling (who runs a successful design firm of his own), recently visited Marcella Club near Park City. Woods’ TGR Design firm is building an 18-hole layout there that is scheduled to open in 2025. Plans for the mile-high-plus course, Woods’ first mountain layout, have it stretching beyond 8,000 yards.
Woods has designed three full-size courses that are open: Bluejack National in Texas, Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar in Missouri and El Cardonal at Diamante in Mexico. He also is building a course for baseball player Mike Trout in New Jersey to be named Trout National.
“I was completely blown away by everything about Marcella,” Woods said in a media release discussing his site visit. “The amenities, the commitment to excellence, not to mention maybe the best views I have ever seen on a golf course. I told the team that this is the perfect canvas, and we just need to make sure we live up to the challenge.”
The private course will be situated in the Marcella Jordanelle Ridge, part of a masterplanned community that is a partnership between Marcella at Deer Valley and Marcella Jordanelle Ridge. The club, which will include private skiing, plans to cap its membership at 500.
In all, the club will offer membership amenities in three locations: Marcella at Deer Valley, Marcella Jordanelle Ridge and Marcella on Main. The club is a collaboration between Reef Capital Partners, Raintree Investment Corporation and Cross Lake Partners.
During is recent site visit, Woods and his team previewed the layout of all 18 holes, signing off on seven of them and discussing the others, as noted in the media release.
“Despite a snowy winter, we have made substantial progress on the championship course,” Beth Armstrong, managing director of Marcella, said in the media release. “The walkthrough allowed us to fine-tune the layout and features to ensure a challenging and enjoyable experience for all golfers.”
Plans for Marcella include a second 18-hole course by a designer yet to be named, a short course designed by Woods and a ski-in-ski-out lodge at Deer Valley Resort.
