The Makaha Valley Resort is a project years in the making, but the partnership between Pacific Links International and Tiger Woods is a no-brainer according to Victor Zhang, Pacific Links vice president of business development.

“Tiger’s always been interested in designing courses and Mr. Du shares his highest standard for building golf courses. The vision was always aligned and Tiger was always a great promoter of golf all over the world,” Zhang said.

“At TGR Design, we focus on finding spectacular locations to design distinct and memorable golf courses. The Makaha Valley on the west coast of Oahu is truly one of these unique and special locations. The cathedral-like setting of the property is framed with big ocean views to the west and towering mountains to the east. We are designing a golf course that will take advantage of this spectacular setting yet still be fun and playable for golfers of all abilities,” Tiger Woods said in a press release about the project.

The Makaha Valley Resort will sit atop a 644-acre-mixed-use property. Two world-class golf courses will be the center piece of the resort. Tiger Wood’s TGR Design will create the Makaha North course and Gil Hanse, creator of the Olympic Course in Rio will design the Makaha South Course.

The Makaha South course will utilize the golf course currently closest to the Makaha Valley Country Club.

The project will also include land where the Makaha Resort Golf Club and Makaha Resort once were. The Makaha Resort was built in 1969. It closed its doors in 2011. The building was demolished in 2014.

Many in the golf community are eager to see this new project come to fruition.

“I think anytime the industry talks about Tiger Woods it’s always something very exciting… After many many years of not moving any dirt around, now we hear Tiger’s announcement and the re-partnership of Pacific Links. It’s pretty exciting for the golf industry to hear that news.”

Residents in Makaha have mixed reviews.

“Once this project comes through it’s going to have a huge impact on this side of the island I would think,” Vincent Perry said. Perry has lived in Makaha for six years.

Perry’s only concern is the traffic.

“I think it’s going to increase some problems traffic wisw in the area. As everybody knows, on the west side, there’s only one way in and one way out. I would say hopefully our council members here in Honolulu are taking some ideas on what this is going to do to traffic in an already busy area during the rush hours,” Perry said.

Zhang said they are still working on designing and Pacific Links International doesn’t plano on releasing any project layouts before they are completed.

They are hoping to complete the design process by late 2019 and begin breaking ground in early 2020.

Given the lush and picturesque landscape of Makaha Valley Zhang said they plan to incorporate the environment and utilize the existing ahupuaa as much as possible.