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The K Club named Ireland's leading golf resort
October 26, 2009
Easier.com - Exclusive Irish golf and spa resort The K Club has retained its position as Ireland’s Leading Golf Resort, after receiving the award at the World Travel Awards 2009. This is the sixth time The K Club has won, making it the record-holder in this category.
The delighted management team celebrated its success at a red-carpet award ceremony in Portugal on 17th October.
Nominated by travel agents worldwide, the prestigious World Travel Awards acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence in all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry and have placed The K Club amongst the most celebrated destinations across the globe. The accolade is a welcome tribute for the Kildare hotel, which celebrates its 18th birthday this year.
Michael Davern, The K Club’s general manager commented, “We are incredibly proud and honoured to receive this award again, which is testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of our excellent team at The K Club. As we celebrate our 18th anniversary year, this award is a great reflection of our achievements.
“To be named as Ireland’s Leading Golf Resort for the sixth time demonstrates The K Club’s continued commitment to excellence; with world class golf facilities that have attracted all the greats of the game alongside impeccable standards of service and a friendly Irish welcome which ensures guests return time and again.
“It’s been an exciting year for us – not only with the birthday celebrations, but with the launch of our new offering of fractional ownership of luxury properties with Firstlight The K Club, which is certain to appeal to an international audience, with a choice of houses, apartments and duplex residences on offer.
“We would like to thank all those who have voted for The K Club and look forward to welcoming guests old and new during the forthcoming year.”
The luxurious five-star resort, set amidst 550 acres of breathtaking County Kildare countryside yet just half an hour’s drive from Dublin, boasts two championship golf courses designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer – the Palmer Ryder Cup Course and the Palmer Smurfit Course. It is globally renowned for hosting The Ryder Cup in 2006, as well as 13 European Opens, and all the world’s leading golfers have played here including Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomery, Phil Mickelson, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Justin Rose, to name a few.
Designed in the style of a French chateau and dating back to 1880, the magnificent hotel offers the highest standards of service with sixty superior, deluxe and river rooms and nine suites, all of which feature large marble bathrooms and elegant period furnishing. The K Club’s opulent surroundings and reputation for providing exceptional standards of service have ensured that celebrities including Bill Clinton, David and Victoria Beckham and Sean Connery have flocked to this charming retreat.
Keen golfers can enjoy the Ultimate Championship Golf Experience at The K Club from just £228 per person, which includes one or two nights in a luxurious superior room, accompanied by a full Irish breakfast each morning. The package also includes a round of golf on each of the resort’s championship courses and a gourmet dinner in the River Room restaurant.
For bookings visit kclub.com.
*Based on two adults sharing. (Based on rate of exchange at time of issue).
Posted: October 26, 2009 10:01 AM
Q-SCHOOL GOLFERS PLAY WELL ON PALMER COURSE
October 23, 2009
Ideal weather with light to nonexistent wind have made Arnold Palmer's normally challenging layout defenseless to a group of very good players on Thursday in Stage One PGA Tour Qualifying at Dayton Valley Golf & Country Club.
After 36 holes, nearly 80 percent of the players in the field (54 of 68) were under par on the 7,218-yard course and only eight players were over par at the halfway point.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE at the Reno-Gazette Journal.
Posted: October 23, 2009 03:37 PM
Bay Creek Resort & Club in Cape Charles, Virginia honored in GolfWorld
October 22, 2009
CAPE CHARLES, Va. -- Bay Creek Resort & Club - managed by Billy Casper Golf (BCG) - has been named the No. 12 Resort Course in the Untied States by GolfWorld in the magazine's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards.
At 7,250 yards, the accompanying Arnold Palmer Signature Course spoils golfers with a calming seaside feel, natural sand dunes, five sets of tees and perfectly manicured fairways and greens.
Opened along with the Bay Creek Palmer course in 2001, the practice facilities at Bay Creek provide a great setting for player development. Whether guided by experienced PGA-certified instructors or working individually, golfers of all skill levels will benefit from the state-of-the-art range with five target greens and short game area featuring a chipping and putting green with bunkers.
Posted: October 22, 2009 12:28 PM
PALMER UNVEILS BAY HILL COURSE RENOVATIONS DURING MEDIA DAY
October 01, 2009
ORLANDO, FL - Arnold Palmer hosted select national and local media at his Bay Hill home course Tuesday September 29th to unveil the course changes he and his design company recently completed. The par on the Bay Hill course is now 72 (7,400 yards), from 70 (7,162 yards), which should yield more birdies at the upcoming 2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
"We're going to go with four par 4s again, with the thinking that the galleries and the people enjoy seeing players make birdies. said Palmer. "We're going to give them an opportunity to make birdies."
The media day at Bay Hill started with breakfast followed by golf, lunch, Q&A and the property was open for tours, including the design office where Palmer's Bay Hill changes were meticulously planned.
Palmer treated 10 foursomes to play the newly-renovated course by setting up groups of three media members paired with a staff member from Bay Hill, Arnold Palmer Design Company, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy.
Palmer's staff included:
Bay Hill: Roy Saunders, Blake Terry, Brian Kennedy
Arnold Palmer Design Company: Eric Wiltse, Thad Layton, David Couch and Brandon Johnson
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard: Scott Wellington
Arnold Palmer Golf Academy: John O'Leary, Tom Garner
Quite a number of golf publications and local print media were in attendance including The Golf Channel and local Channel 6 Orlando and were able to engage directly on the course with Palmer's design company architects andBay Hill grounds crew Matt Beaver and John Anderson to discuss the renovation specifics in detail.
In 2008, Bay Hill was ranked No. 18 out of 54 for course difficulty on the PGA Tour. Changing holes 4 and 16 from par 4 holes to par 5 holes is not going to make the course play any easier.The shifted and reshaped fairway bunkers on these holes add a new dimension while increasing birdie opportunities.
Also benefiting from the increase in birdies will be the "Birdies for Babies" program which benefits one of the tournament's official charities, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies at the Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando.
Then there is Hole No. 17 which is already known as one of golf's most difficult par 3s. Palmer made it slightly more intimidating by reshaping and extending the beach bunker, increasing the number of pin locations along the perimeter of the green and reshaping bunkers that are closer to the green surface.
Bay Hill has recently been listed as one of the top 50 resorts in Golf World's second annual "Readers' Choice Awards." Golf World readers based their evaluation of the nation's golf facilities on 13 different performance criteria, such as quality of the course, course conditions, reputation/prestige and service. More than 46,000 individual facility ratings were received and the top 50 courses in each category, as voted on by their readers. The pre-renovation ranking will be published in the September 28 issue of Golf World.
Palmer expects excitement with the new birdie making potential when Tiger Woods returns to defend his title at the 2010 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.
"There's a risk-reward situation there, I like that." said Palmer. "I'm really pleased with the outcome."
Bay Hill Course Tour (Before/After)
Posted: October 1, 2009 12:20 PM
Crescent Pointe Golf Club in Bluffton, South Carolina: An Arnold Palmer gauntlet
By Lisa Allen, Contributor - travelgolf.com BLUFFTON, S.C. - Simply put, Crescent Pointe Golf Club is a tough course. Only 6,770 yards from the Arnold Palmer tips, and it adds an extra par 3 on the front for a 71 total, but there isn't anything it doesn't dish out. Bring your game or stay in the bar. Read the full storyPosted: October 1, 2009 10:33 AM
