Tiger Woods’ Name Weighs on North Carolina Golf Course
The tabloids might be obsessed with Tiger Woods’ marriage, but we’re more interested in his real-estate dealings.Golf-resort developer Jim Anthony seemed to have pulled off a major coup by signing Mr. Woods to design the superstar’s first U.S. course at a 3,200-acre community in the high meadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina.That’s all changed with the storm of coverage of Mr. Woods’s alleged marital infidelities. Now the development is facing the same dilemma faced by dozens of companies that paid Mr. Woods enormous amounts to endorse their products: maintain the ties with the Tiger brand or cut him loose.So far, the Cliffs at High Carolina, located near Asheville, is standing by Mr. Woods even as sponsors including Accenture Ltd. and AT&T Inc. have distanced themselves from the golfer.“We’re as committed as ever to High Carolina and the Tiger Woods golf course,” Mr. Anthony said in a recent interview. “The reasons we chose Tiger are still true: his dedication to golf and he is the greatest golfer in the world.”A video of Mr. Woods touting his course that could debut next year remains on the development’s Web site despite certain parts that are rich with irony. “With a wife and two kids, your perspective in life changes…. I want to come up here as often as I possibly can,” says the father of two young children. Mr. Woods also remains on advertising billboards for the development. Mr. Woods’s design company couldn’t be reached to comment.But Tiger’s just one issue for the Cliffs. The recession has dried up demand for luxe homes on golf courses. Sales of lots priced from the high-$400,000 range to $3 million have been slow since the development’s introduction in August 2007. County records show 39 property transfers as of Jan. 26. Five more are under contract. The Cliffs plan envisions 1,200 homes by the end of the decade.Mr. Anthony acknowledged the weak economy has posed a big hurdle. “Our timing could not have been worse,” he said. “It’s been a tough year and a half, but we can see the marketplace beginning to turn.”And when the high-end market returns, Mr. Anthony hopes its location will help set this development apart from other golf-course projects.
via Tiger Woods’ Name Weighs on North Carolina Golf Course – Developments – WSJ.