Tiger Woods is to design an 18-hole golf course in Missouri, USA, that will be named after the late Payne Stewart, who used to live in the mid-Western state before dying in a plane crash in 1999.
The 79-time PGA Tour winner is collaborating with the founder of Bass Pro Shops, Johnny Morris, to create the first-ever public access course designed by Woods’ golf course design company, TGR Design.
Called Payne’s Valley, the new championship course will be on the site of Murder Rock Golf Club, a John Daly course that closed when Morris bought the land in October 2013. It is scheduled to open in 2019, while Woods’ has also been commissioned to design a par-three course at the nearby Big Cedar Lodge Resort.
Woods said he was attracted to the project because of his long friendship with Morris and a desire to honour Stewart. “I’ve travelled and played all around the world, but when it comes down to it, it’s about working with the people you want to work with,” Woods said. “Johnny and I go way back, and I like spending time around people I like.”
The new course will be located adjacent to a new 13-hole short course designed by Gary Player – opening in 2017 – and Ozarks National, an 18-hole championship course designed by Coore & Crenshaw, which has an opening date of 2018. The courses will join Big Cedar Lodge’s existing golf offerings, the 9-hole par-3 course designed by Jack Nicklaus, Top of the Rock, a 16-hole practice facility by the late Arnold Palmer, a 6,000-square-foot Tom Watson putting complex, and the 18-hole championship course, Buffalo Ridge Springs, designed by Tom Fazio.
When combined with both future Tiger Woods courses, Big Cedar Lodge will offer guests access to world-class golf, cementing its reputation as one of the premier golf and outdoor recreation destinations in the United States. Big Cedar Lodge is located on the shores of majestic Table Rock Lake.
To further honour Stewart’s legacy, Morris, with the help of Coore and Crenshaw, is also creating the Payne Stewart Learning Facility, a golf academy that will contain a tribute museum displaying Stewart’s personal trophies, scorecards, apparel, equipment and photos.
Woods has become increasingly involved in his design business following the back injuries that have interrupted his playing career. TGR Design has four courses open worldwide and several others are currently in various stages of construction.
