LOS CABOS, Mexico — Tiger Woods doesn’t do many firsts these days in professional golf but he has this week as this marks the first time that a PGA Tour event will be held on one of Woods’ designs (with senior design associate Beau Welling).
With dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean and natural arroyos, mature vegetation and native dunes, El Cardonal at Diamante, which ranks T-33 on Golfweek’s Best Mexico, Caribbean, Atlantic Islands and Central America list and hosts this week’s World Wide Technology Championship, is a par-72 course measuring 7,363 yards and will rank as one of the tougher walks on Tour.
The wind is the course’s main defense. Tiger emphasized shot-making and strategic decision-making. The course’s variety of hole angles, including the par-5 14th, which offers the rare alternate fairway, challenging green complexes and diverse shot values provide a testing ground that requires players to think critically about their approach. It’s a course that invites players to showcase their versatility and creativity, in line with Tiger’s approach to the game and what made him one of the best to ever peg it up.
“I set up the golf strategy to make golfers think and make choices,” Woods said on the course website. “There are going to be different ways to play every hole. Angles of approach are going to be very important and will dictate the type of shots you should consider. I love this kind of golf.”
The course boasts a magnificent panorama of dunes, fairways, and ocean views that blend with the surrounding natural vegetation. Here’s what the pros have to say about Tiger’s first completed design and first course to host the PGA Tour.
Thoughts on TW design course El Cardonal at Diamanté:
-I’m not a massive course design junkie like Zac Blair and others so this is a pretty basic breakdown lol.
-I always find it funny that famous players that became course designers end up designing courses that fit their… pic.twitter.com/GKpm09c5Pa— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) November 1, 2023