Bellarena Golf Links: Tiger Woods linked to £30m project, but architect remains unconfirmed

Bellarena links proposal draws a high-profile design rumour

A potential new championship links on Northern Ireland's north coast is back in the spotlight. A report published by the Limavady Chronicle on 23 October 2026 quoted an unnamed Causeway Coast and Glens councillor who said a briefing had identified Tiger Woods as the designer of Bellarena Golf Links. That is a report about what the councillor was told, not a confirmed appointment. The developer, Galgorm Collection, has not publicly named an architect, while Woods' TGR Design had not responded to the newspaper by publication time. Galgorm said its proposal was progressing and a design appointment would be announced in due course.

What the developer has actually announced

On 16 July 2025, Galgorm Collection unveiled plans to invest more than £30 million in a new 18-hole championship links at Bellarena. The hospitality group already operates golf facilities at Galgorm Castle in Ballymena and Roe Valley in Limavady. Its stated ambition is to complement Northern Ireland's established coastal golf destinations. Galgorm has described the scheme as the region's first new championship links in over a century; that is the developer's characterisation, rather than a finding independently certified by a heritage authority.

Location: Bellarena, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, between Coleraine and Limavady, near the River Roe estuary and Lough Foyle. Reporting based on preliminary planning papers locates the proposed development on farmland and woodland west of Bellarena House and north of the River Roe, across land adjoining the Coleraine–Derry railway. No operational clubhouse address has been published.

How the proposed facility might work

The local paper reports that a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) was submitted in August 2026. Its outline describes an 18-hole links supported by a clubhouse with bar and restaurant, a driving range, a short course, putting greens and other practice facilities. It also includes eight golf lodges that could accommodate visiting players. Another element would reconstruct historic buildings associated with Camp Bellarena, used by US military personnel during the Second World War. Some preliminary drawings refer to the scheme as Last Man's Club. None of these details should be confused with a fully approved final design: they come from a preliminary planning stage and could change.

The significance of a possible TGR Design role

Woods' firm has contributed to several prominent golf projects outside Europe. A Northern Irish commission would therefore be a notable addition to its work. But neither a signed Woods design contract nor his personal role in the routing has been independently confirmed. GOLFTWITT is reporting the rumour alongside the confirmed existence of the Bellarena proposal, not treating it as an announced deal.

Opening target and visitor access

In July 2025, Galgorm said it hoped to welcome its first guests in 2029, subject to planning consent. That was an initial target, not an independently reconfirmed opening date as of 25 October 2026. A PAN is an early procedural step; it is not building permission. The course has no bookable tee times, published visitor-green-fee schedule or confirmed construction commencement date. Readers should wait for an official planning decision and details from Galgorm before planning a trip.

Sources: Galgorm Collection's official announcement, 16 July 2025; local report with the developer's response, 23 October 2026.

Image: authentic 2017 archival countryside photograph at Bellarena/Ballycarton by Kenneth Allen, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bellarena_-Ballycarton-geograph.org.uk-_5387590.jpg, CC BY-SA 2.0. Not a photograph of the proposed course.