Abandoned Golf Course Built by 'World’s Richest Man' Has Never Opened

An abandoned golf course built by the once richest man on earth has never opened to the public.

This week, golf takes centre stage as the Ryder Cup begins, with Team Europe locking horns against Team USA.

On Friday, the action will get underway, with Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas taking on Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.

Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler will then take to the course along with Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludwig Aberg.

The 2025 Ryder Cup will take place at the Bethpage Black Golf Course, which is situated on Long Island, New York.

Back in 2020, Bethpage Black was ranked as one of the toughest golf courses in the US.

While Bethpage Black gets all the attention, one golf course has not had the same fate.

Back in 2007, there were plans to build a tournament-grade golf course near the iconic Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland.

Gleneagles hosts three different courses, the most renowned one, 'The PGA Centenary Course', hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup and 2019 Solheim Cup.

At the time, land owner Mahdi Al Tajir wanted to build a new course in Blackford, which would've been around three miles away from Gleneagles.

Bahrain-Emirati businessman Al Tajir was named the richest man in Scotland back in 2013 by The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, The Sun claimed he was the self-described 'richest man in the world' in the 1970s.

With his estate in Blackford spanning 24,000 acres, Al Tajir wanted to build a golf course, 170 ultra-exclusive homes worth up to £3m each, and also a six-star hotel.

In addition, he wanted 'gWest', as it was planned to be known, to host major PGA Tour and championship tournaments.

Al Tajir drafted in designer David McLay Kidd to design his dream course, which was completed in 2009.

gWest. Scotlands ghost golf course. #IYKYK pic.twitter.com/VKnxKbBqmC

— Rrrobbeh (@LinksRobbie) July 8, 2023

However, gWest is yet to host any PGA Tour events.

Instead, as soon as you enter the course's website, you are presented with the following message: "gWest will offer homeowners and their families the opportunity to enjoy an exclusive new residential resort with an 18-hole golf course."

"gWest will comprise an exquisite golf course and clubhouse, an ultra-luxury hotel and concierge services, world-class dining, destination spa, leisure and entertainment facilities."

The 2008 financial crisis, Brexit and COVID-19 were all cited as reasons for not developing the project.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 in a 2020 interview, Al Tajir's son Mohsin said: "At the moment, we're sitting. Brexit's come along. Scotland's screaming for independence.

"You want to invest. The next phase of gWest is another fifty, sixty, maybe one hundred million pounds. And, as a family, we're not willing to put that sort of money in if we don't know what the future is.

"If Scotland got independence tomorrow and they decided to turn it into a tax haven like Monaco, we'd be the first there to put the money. In fact, we'd put in three or four courses and build another two hotels.

"But the way things are today, where it looks like taxation is going to go up, and the local councils and local villages are going to control everything around them, maybe it's not the place I need to put my money. Maybe there are better places to put it."