Punta Brava Press Conference

I had the good fortune of attending the press conference today announcing Tiger Woods' new Mexico project, a Red McCombs-backed real estate and golf development that was originally set to be a Tom Fazio design.

Looking at the site photos, routing and descriptions, it appears Tiger held his ground and landed some truly stunning seaside holes. In fact, based on the awkward chuckling amongst Woods, McCombs and the principals over the decision to use seaside land for golf instead of lots, there surely were battles that Tiger ultimately won.  I can't think of any other architect who would have the clout to pull off such a feat (you'll see what I mean when you look at the routing). Certainly Tiger is the only player architect other than Ben Crenshaw who would put up such a fight. (Sorry Jack, but I've seen El Dorado!)

You can check out the site photos and all of the other over-the-top press stuff here (hit the Play link and then the Tiger Woods link in the upper right to see the video we saw today, which looks like a Ridley Scott film).

There is also this press release encapsulating all of the details, and this Christina Lewis interview in the Wall Street Journal.

The event itself was oddly tense, and not because it was poorly planned or executed. Quite the opposite. The Hotel Bel-Air was the site and the invitation list kept very strict (I know, that doesn't explain how I got in). Those in attendance knew almost nothing about the project before the booming video and suits took their seats.

But considering what's going on in the world markets and based on the paucity of the usual butt-kissing enthusiasm during the Q&A, I sensed the media present were not too excited to cheer on a high-end project being built for the kind of people who have just milked our system and will be retiring on their golden parachutes. Obviously bad luck timing-wise for the Punta Brava people.

That said, unlike Tiger's first two design projects which look like real-estate driven deals on weak sites, this is one I can't wait to see. It's also going to raise the stakes for Tiger, as the pressure to produce will be great on such a dramatic site.