Richard Humphreys travels to Tbilisi in Georgia for the opening of the third golf course in the country, a nine-hole design by Golfplan
I’ve lost count of the number of times I had to clarify that it was the nation, rather than US state, of Georgia I was visiting for golf. I shouldn’t have been surprised that people jumped to the wrong conclusion; the state has over 400 golf courses, while the nation, in Eastern Europe, has a grand total of three.
The nine-hole Ambasadori Kachreti Golf Resort, designed by Canadian architect Graham Cooke, opened in 2014 and is located just over 50 miles east of the capital, Tbilisi. Tbilisi Hills is the first, and still only, 18-hole course in the country. Designed by Finnish architect Lassi Pekka Tilander, it opened in 2017 on a rocky site south of the city centre.
While Ambasadori Kachreti and Tbilisi Hills established a foothold for golf in Georgia, the arrival of Paragraph Tabori marks a step-change in ambition, combining luxury hospitality with a course that caters for both locals and tourists. The nine-hole layout was designed by Kevin Ramsey of Golfplan and has been complete for some time – construction finished in late 2018. However, it has only just been revealed to the golfing public, following the completion of the associated hotel and a cable car that transports guests from the centre of Tbilisi to Mount Tabori, upon which the course sits.
The development has been spearheaded by the Georgian Tourism Development Fund. According to a recent report from the country’s leading news broadcaster, the cost of the development of course, hotel and cable car comes in at almost US$200 million.
The approach to the opening hole of the hilltop layout (Photo: Kevin Murray)
While the golf course was a relatively small portion of that total, its location meant this was not an easy build. “The site is a long ridgetop,” says Ramsey. “Generally, we knew where the hotel would be based. The challenges were finding enough topsoil and dealing with all the rock. It was difficult to cut the pine trees so we tried to minimise that impact as best we could. Finding water storage was also very difficult and required cutting into the rock. We wanted to play downhill with the starting holes, to get golfers off to a good start and initially wow them with the views, and finish downhill with the hotel in the background.”
The opening two holes do indeed provide that dramatic start, with the city in full view. But it’s not just the backdrop that makes those holes – or the entire course for that matter – an enjoyable playing experience. Rugged bunkers – an aesthetic that Ramsey felt was ideal for the site and would appeal to European guests – risk-reward opportunities, contoured greens and excellent conditioning all contribute. Ramsey realised early on that the pine trees were critical to the course’s character, framing holes and providing a maturity that complements the rocky landscape.
Rugged bunkering, seen here on the second hole, complements the woodland setting (Photo: Kevin Murray)
“We had to be as minimalistic as possible as construction was difficult and we needed to balance our earthworks, as hauling material off site was not realistic,” says Ramsey. “We saved many pine trees and to make up for those we did remove, planted new trees, mostly on the perimeter of the course as added protection to the road. We wanted the native pine trees and vast views to be the stars of the show.”
Ramsey visited regularly during construction, which was handled by Golf International Turkey’s Bora Yenigun and Mehmet Delice, and South African shaper Adam Kelland.
“I would say holes one and two, for the views, set the tone and then the final three provide a very dramatic finish,” says Ramsey.
Looking back from the elevated seventh green. Players will need to negotiate the valley located to the left of the fairway (Photo: Kevin Murray)
The par-four seventh, which can be played from 283-374 yards, provides golfers with two options: hit a daring tee shot over a valley to leave a wedge into the green, or choose a safer route right that leaves a longer approach. A short par three, which maxes out at 125 yards, follows. Bunkers (featuring EcoBunker’s EcoTec liner) defending the left side of the undulating green, while the front-right is open. The final hole, a right-to-left dogleg requires players to negotiate a fairway bunker in the landing area to leave a short iron to the green. The hole plays downhill to the approach before climbing back to a long green defended by sand on the left.
“Holes seven and eight were always there and fit the terrain well for dramatic and beautiful golf. If we could have, I probably would have cut a few more trees back to the left of eight to expand the view.”
The par-three eighth hole has Tbilisi as a backdrop (Photo: Kevin Murray)
When played twice to form an 18-hole round, the layout can play from approximately 5,000-6,500 yards. By modern standards that is not long, suiting golf tourists as well as local Georgians who may take up the game. It can still pose a challenge though, especially on the greens.
“Greens design is one of the most creative and fun aspects of what we do,” says Ramsey. “This was always going to be a resort course and therefore needed to be fun, exciting and beautiful. I believe green speeds are overrated and driven by televised golf and what they hear pros saying. Faster greens result in flatter greens (Augusta being the exception). To get some fun and strategic movement in the greens, they need to be large. We know there will always be green speed pressure, but we have learned over the years that developing golf countries are limited in their resources and expertise, so green health is more important than speed.”
The final hole plays back towards the new Paragraph hotel (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Creating a visually striking and playable course was only part of the challenge. Ensuring it could attract new golfers, and thrive in Georgia’s unique environment required experienced operational and agronomic support. In 2023, IMG was brought in to provide the resources and expertise required.
“Our main focus has been to ensure the course is as playable as possible for a wide range of golfers, particularly with golf being a newer sport in the country,” says Russell Hannah, vice president of IMG. “We expect this to be the first golf course that many people will step foot on, so it’s important that the fairways are wide; and with a variety of teeing options and angles to the greens to ensure everybody can enjoy the course.”
IMG is spearheading the marketing and promotion of the course to a nation where golf isn’t really on its radar. Georgia’s most popular sports are football and rugby, with basketball rising fast, so it will be interesting to see if IMG can help golf gain traction among the country’s near four million population.
This will be some challenge, given a starting point of just 244 registered golfers in the country (according to the European Golf Participation 2024 report). But IMG is working hard to set Paragraph Tabori up for success and leaning on its experience of managing operations at Dreamland Golf Club in Azerbaijan, another country not known for golf.
Kevin Ramsey has created large and contoured greens at Paragraph Tabori, as seen at the par-three third (Photo: Kevin Murray)
“Over the past two years we have overseen budgets, provided agronomical expertise and created a sales and marketing strategy,” says Hannah. The course is irrigated with Toro’s Lynx GDC field controller with FLEX sprinklers. “We have also employed and trained a full team to work across the golf club in a country where very few locals know about the sport.”
“The successful grand opening event was the culmination of a huge amount of preparation and teamwork. From developing initial business and commercial plans, design and fit-out of the clubhouse and golf academy, recruitment and staff training, procurement of equipment and supplies, membership planning and more – we have been there every step of the way alongside the committed on-ground project team. The foundations have been set for a successful, vibrant club that adds real value to the resort and wider tourism objectives and we couldn’t be prouder of what has been achieved.” James Somerside, marketing director at IMG, adds: “Tbilisi’s location is a great advantage, being easily accessible via direct flights from most European, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. Being part of the Paragraph group, Tabori has a huge advantage, with a world-class hotel on site, as well as the cable car linking guests directly into the city centre in a matter of minutes. We’ve already seen large amounts of interest from neighbouring countries about visiting Tabori.”
The course officially opened in late 2025, coinciding with the opening of the new hotel (Photo: Kevin Murray)
Guests may come from further afield too, particularly golfers in Western European nations that are wanting a change from their usual destinations, in countries like Spain and Portugal. As experienced in the wider travel industry, which has seen a surge in the number of people seeking something out of the ordinary, there is great appeal in making a new discovery. Tbilisi, with two courses close to the city and another just about in reach, could provide just that.