Tiger Woods and TGR Design have been signed to design a new £30 million (about $40 million) championship links at Bellarena on Northern Ireland’s north coast, the Derry Journal, a regional newspaper, reported. A Causeway Coast and Glens councillor told the outlet that Woods’ involvement was confirmed during a briefing.
“We received a briefing and it was confirmed to us that Tiger Woods has been signed up to design the course at Bellarena,” the councillor said.
Neither Galgorm Collection, the developer behind the project, nor TGR Design has officially confirmed the appointment. “We are progressing plans for a proposed championship course at Bellarena, on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast,” a Galgorm spokesperson said.
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If finalized, Bellarena would be TGR Design’s first course in Europe. Galgorm is billing it as the first new championship links built in Northern Ireland in more than 100 years.
Galgorm announced the project in July 2025. The luxury hospitality group already owns Galgorm Castle in Ballymena, host of the 2020 Irish Open, and Roe Park Resort in Limavady. Managing director Colin Johnston called the course “a once-in-generation opportunity to drive a new era of golfing and tourism success” when the plans were unveiled.
The group has projected more than £65 million in total investment for the 18-hole course and surrounding development, with £30 million earmarked for the golf course itself. A Proposal of Application Notice, the first formal step in Northern Ireland’s planning process for major developments, was filed in August. The project remains subject to final approvals, with a targeted opening in 2029.
Bellarena sits beneath Binevenagh on the Magilligan side of the north coast, along Lough Foyle. The proposed layout crosses the railway line between Coleraine and Derry. Castlerock, Portstewart and Royal Portrush, which hosted the Open in 2019 and 2025, are all within a half-hour drive.
Galgorm also plans to restore buildings from Camp Bellarena. A U.S. Army field artillery battalion was stationed there during World War II.
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Woods founded TGR Design in 2006. Its full-length courses include Bluejack National in Texas, Payne’s Valley at Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri and El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas. Marcella Club outside Park City, Utah, and Trout National in Millville, New Jersey, both opened recently.
The firm has also designed short courses at Cobbs Creek, Pebble Beach (The Hay), Diamante (Oasis) and Jack’s Bay in the Bahamas (The Playground). Woods, 50, has not played competitively in 2026.
TGR’s design work currently spans four countries: the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas and Vietnam.
