The developers behind the links have reportedly hired Tiger Woods and his TGR Design company…

Northern Ireland is about to get its first new championship links for more than 100 years.

Plans for the course – which will be built near the village of Bellarena in County Londonderry, around 20 miles around the Causeway Coast from Open Championship venue Royal Portrush – were revealed last year by the developers Galgorm Collection, which owns and operates a number of luxury resorts in the country.

Now, it seems, Tiger Woods is on board after a local councillor told The Journal that he had “received a briefing” in which it was confirmed the 15-time major champion “has been signed up to design the course”.

If confirmed, it would not only be Woods’ first golf course in the UK, but in Europe. So far, his TGR Design company has put its name to 13 courses – eight in the United States, three in Mexico, and one each in Vietnam and the Bahamas.

At the time of writing, the course – which is has been listed as a “new, championship standard 18-hole links” – is still in the planning application stage, with a clubhouse, bar, restaurant, practice areas, driving range, short course, putting greens and eight accommodation lodges all included in the process.

A Galgorm Collection spokesperson told The Journal: “We are progressing plans for a proposed championship course at Bellarena, on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast. We look forward to confirming a design appointment in due course.”

The publication also notes that the project has provisional been titled “Last Man’s Club” which, it says, “recalls a pact made by Bellarena veterans who acquired bottle of liquor and pledged that the last man alive from the group would drink it in honour of the others”.

If on schedule, the course is expected to open in 2029.

Golf courses by Tiger Woods and TGR Design
Bluejack National (Montgomery, Texas)

Bluejack Ranch (Fort Worth, Texas)

Payne’s Valley (Ridgedale, Missouri)

Trout National (Vineland, New Jersey)

Marcella Club (Park City, Utah)

Tributer Resort (Mineral, Virginia)

The Hay (Pebble Beach, California)

Cobbs Creek Short Course (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

El Cardonal at Diamante (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

The Legacy Club at Diamante (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

The Oasis at Diamante (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico)

The Sunset Course at Green Paradise (Can Gio, Vietnam)

Jack’s Bay (Rock Sound, Bahamas)