Tiger To Start Investing (!?) And Designing In China

At least according to Paul Tharp in the New York Post...

Golf megastar Tiger Woods is going to invest some of his $200 million fortune in building golf courses - mostly for China's new country club set.

The sports world's highest paid player yesterday said he's launching Tiger Woods Design to build high-end links across the globe.

"I've had the luxury of playing golf around the world," said Woods. "I'd like to share my experiences and the lessons I've learned, and hopefully create some amazing, fun courses."

Woods is expected to follow in the footsteps of golf's best-known course builders - Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer - and tackle projects in China for his first three or four layouts.

"China says it needs 2,000 golf courses in the next several years, and Nicklaus and Palmer are already there working on it," said Michael E. Gleason, a leading golf architect and consultant.

"Tiger's following them because that's where the demand is. It's booming. His name is going to draw a lot of investors - and he can name his own price."

It takes upwards of $50 million to open a 36-hole golf course, depending on the location. Gleason is currently completing a new course on a mountaintop outside Seoul Korea for $36 million.

"China isn't going to give up agricultural land, and will probably be building them on mountaintops or even remediated brown fields," Gleason said.