Destination Golf - May 2013

Destination Golf Media Ltd

184 Charlesland WoodGreystonesCo. WicklowIreland

[email protected]

� PUBLISHERDermot Synnott

� EDITORKarl Doyle

� CONTRIBUTORSAndrew MarshallPaul Marshall

� DIRECTORVincent Synnott

� FINANCIALCONTROLLERDarren Maguire

� CREDIT CONTROLLERMallory Courell

� UK OPERATIONSPeter Barnes

� OFFICE ADMINISTRATORHelen Duggan

� INTERNATIONAL SALESGianni AttanasioDavid CooneyAlbert Ferrer I Lahoz

FRONT COVERModry Las Golf ClubPoland

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Golf TravelWriter

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Golf TravelPhotographer

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Welcome to your latest edition of Destination Golf Travel where, once again, we hope towhet your appetite with some unique features and stunning images from must-playcourses around the globe.

Kicking off Issue 7 is the region of Murcia, which lies in the southeast of the Spanish mainland. One of themain attractions of Murcia is the pristine beaches of the Costa Calida coastline, but the courses of theNicklaus Golf Trail – and leading resorts like La Manga – form the bones of this exciting golf destination. Afterthis, we exhibit some of the leading golf resorts in Ireland that offer quality‘stay & play’ packages. One such venue is Carton House, which will hostthe 2013 Irish Open very soon. In our first ever look at Malaysia, wepresent some of its exotic courses.

Our travel guru Andy Marshall has been at it again – this timereporting back from sun-drenched Barbados, with a little tipple of rumalong the way. This paradise island has long been a magnet for therich and famous, but there’s more to this tiny tropical beauty than sea,sand and sunshine. For starters, there’s some top-shelf golf. Play thecourse where Tiger got married, or the 18-holes with one of the world’sbest collection of Par 3s, then relive your round over a glass of rum –affectionly know by locals as the island’s ‘liquid gold’.

Our golf club feature for this issue brings us to Poland’sNo1 layout at Modry Golf Club. The Gary Player-designedcourse has been receiving much acclaim since its opening,hosting professional tournaments and attracting thetravelling golfer. Our two resort features focus on thewonderful European resorts of the Four SeasonsFairways in the Quinta do Lago estate, situated in theheart of the Algarve, and the 5-star Grand HotelBarriere in Dinard, widely recognised as a haven ofpeace on the Emerald Coast in Brittany.

Enjoy!

Destinations galore nowsummer is finally here

Karl [email protected]

CCoonntteennttss aanndd rreeffeerreennccee gguuiiddeeEELL VVAALLLLEE GGOOLLFF RREESSOORRTTSpainwww.elvallegolfresort.comPPaaggee 44--55

LLAA TTOORRRREE GGOOLLFF RREESSOORRTTSpainwww.latorregolfresort.comPPaaggee 88--99

AADDAARREE MMAANNOORRIrelandwww.adaremanorgolfclub.comPPaaggee 1122--1133

GGLLAASSSSOONN GGOOLLFF CCLLUUBBIrelandwww.glassongolfhotel.iePPaaggee 1166--1177

PPAALLMM GGAARRDDEENN GGOOLLFF CCLLUUBBMalaysiawww.palmgarden.net.myPPaaggee 2266--2277

KKOOTTAA PPEERRMMAAII GGOOLLFF && CCOOUUNNTTRRYY CCLLUUBBMalaysiawww.kotapermai.com.myPPaaggee 3300--3311

HHAACCIIEENNDDAA RRIIQQUUEELLMMEE GGCCSpain www.hacienda-riqualme-golf.com PPaaggee 66--77

LLAA MMAANNGGAA SSOOUUTTHH CCOOUURRSSEESpainwww.lamangaclub.comPPaaggee 1100--1111

CCAARRTTOONN HHOOUUSSEE GGOOLLFF CCLLUUBB Irelandwww.cartonhousegolf.comPPaaggee 1144--1155

PPOORRTTMMAARRNNOOCCKK GGOOLLFF LLIINNKKSSIrelandwww.portmarnock.comPPaaggee 1188--1199

GGUUNNUUNNGG RRAAYYAA GGCCMalaysiawww.golfgr.com.myPPaaggee 2288--2299

KKUUAALLAA LLUUMMPPAARR GGOOLLFF && CCOOUUNNTTRRYY CCLLUUBBMalaysiawww.klgcc.comPPaaggee 3322--3333

GGOOLLFF && RRUUMM IINN TTHHEECCAARRIIBBBBEEAANNAndrew Marshall reportsPPaaggee 2211--2255

MMOODDRRYY LLAASS GGOOLLFF CCLLUUBBPolandwww.modrylas.plPPaaggee 3344--3377

FFOOUURR SSEEAASSOONNSS FFAAIIRRWWAAYYSSAlgarve, Portugalwww.fourseasonsfairways.comPPaaggee 3388--4411

GGRRAANNDD HHOOTTEELL BBAARRRRIIEERREEDinard, Francewww.lucienbarriere.comPPaaggee 4422--4455

FFeeaattuurreess

4 Destination Golf TRAVEL

El Valle Golf ResortSpain • www.elvallegolfresort.com

5 Volume 1 • Issue 7


Hac Spain


cienda Riquelme Golf Clubn • www.hacienda-riquelme-golf.com



La Torre Golf ResortSpain • www.latorregolfresort.com


La Manga South CourseSpain • www.lamangaclub.com


e


Adare ManorIreland • www.adaremanorgolfclub.com



Carton House Golf Club Ireland • www.cartonhousegolf.com




Glasson Golf ClubIreland • www.glassongolfhotel.ie


Portmarnock Hotel & Go Ireland • www.portmarnock.com


olf Links

The setting is hallowed ground in the world of golf.We are treading on the marble floor inside thefoyer of Sandy Lane, one of the Caribbean's most

exclusive resorts – home to two championship golfcourses, and the place where Tiger Woods reservedall 112 rooms and famously tied the knot in a lavishceremony at a reported cost of almost $3m. It's alsothe start of our Barbados golf and rum trip and wehave a tee-time booked at the Country Club coursedesigned by Tom Fazio.

With a sense of anticipation, we take the lift thatdescends to the buggy hanger and the doors open toreveal a high-tech interior containing rows of gleaminggolf carts. It’s like a scene from a James Bond moviewhere we imagine Q in the corner testing out some newgadgets for 007.

Our next requirement is a caddie, which aremandatory here as they help speed up play. They are acolourful cast of characters and some are legendary,such as ‘Iron’, who can bounce a golf ball on a pitchingwedge for longer than Tiger Woods, or ‘Cardinal’, whohas 26 years experience, knows the greens like the back

of his hand and is Padraig Harrington’s bagman when he’s over here. "If someonetelephoned me and told me where their ball was on one of the greens, I’d be able totell them the break," says Cardinal as the three of us pull up alongside the first tee.

Like everything at Sandy Lane, the Country Club has been landscaped to a highstandard. Pick of the crop on the front nine is the 353-yard par 4 3rd, played froman elevated tee offering a spectacular seascape setting. Holes 6 and 7 areparticularly sweet, and it has nothing to do with the fact that plumes of smoke canbe seen rising from a nearby distillery busily converting cane juice into rum.

After playing the closing hole - a par 3 cracker with a lake in front and the classyclubhouse beyond, we go our separate ways. "If you need me again, I'm usually up atthe caddie shack playing pool or cards and waiting for a bag," says Cardinal as heheads off, still wearing his trademark cap with Padraig Harrington’s nameembroidered on the back.

Monkey BusinessSandy Lane's other course 'the Green Monkey’, also designed by Fazio may be

the most spectacular golf course created in the Caribbean since Pete Dye's Teethof the Dog, but so far has remained hidden from view, well outside the gaze of thegolfing public. It's like the Mona Lisa of golf - enigmatic, untouchable and onlyavailable for Sandy Lane guests to play. Some people will pay any price to play, and

20Destination Golf TRAVEL

Golf and rum in the

Words: Andrew Marshall

Photos: Paul Marshall

Continued over... A colourful rum shop sponsored

The island of Barbados d playground for the rich a

sunshine. For start


e Caribbean... TRAVEL

FEATURE

and painted in Malibu colours

dangles on the far-eastern tip of the Caribbean Island chain. A favourite and famous, there’s more to this tiny tropical beauty than sea, sand and

ters there’s some top-shelf golf. Pour a glass or rum and read on...


Workers in the barrel store at the Mount GayVisitor's Centre. A local walks past a wall advertisement for Old

Brigand Barbados Rum, Bridgetown. The sig Sandy L

Royal Westmoreland has some classic holes, including the 455-yard par 4 4th, played fr


stories abound of people tossing their room keys to their caddie after around."

With the layout shrouded in a veil of mystery, getting to play it becomes anobsession. Over 'snaps' of rum, we begin hatching plans like a golfing version ofthe Great Escape – tunneling under the estate fence with a skeleton set ofclubs to be on the first tee at dawn. Of course we never do it, but hey, we areamong the lucky ones, we receive a course tour and a complimentary packetof Green Monkey tees and markers to impress our golfing mates.

And what a cracker of a layout it is too. "The vision of the owners,” saysFazio, “was to create a place as dramatic as any there is in the world.” Createdand sculpted from what was once a working limestone quarry, Fazio slowlybuilds drama through the first eight parkland-style holes, and then startlesgolfers with a rapid descent into an abandoned quarry, where 27-metre highcoral walls dwarf the fairways.

From the remarkable 635-yard 9th where you drive from a high tee to afairway 150 feet below, bordered by the quarry wall, to the flags that feature agreen monkey with an extended curled tail that flutters in the breeze -everything at the Green Monkey is about grandeur and detail.

Golf for AllIn direct contrast with the Green Monkey’s exclusivity and with a ‘golf for

everyone’ philosophy, Barbados Golf Club is a friendly course for golfers of allabilities. Wide-open fairways, gently rolling hills and a series of coral wastebunkers are all features of this 18-hole track redesigned by respected golfarchitect Ron Kirby. Two lakes enhance play on five holes creating a dramatic‘Amen Corner’ on holes 15 and 16, and the flora, especially the dramaticyellow-and-red flowers of the Pride of Barbados bush that line the fairways, addto the visual excitement.

Playing the Barbados Golf Club allows you to meet some of the laid-backlocals. As we prepare to tee off on the 545-yard par 5 7th, a Bajan guy whoruns a small shop on the fringe of the course calls out to us. "Hey man, youwant good golf balls? 20 Barbados dollars for 20?" With RoyalWestmoreland, the final course of our island trio coming up, it’s an offer wecan’t refuse. We stock up on a bag of balls and two ice-cold cokes and finishoff.

“You’re here a few days too late, we’ve just wrapped up the Sir GarrySobers Golf Festival, “ says Chief Executive Officer, Claire Jordan as we join herat the clubhouse bar after our round. “It’s a 3-day, 54-hole stroke-playtournament with a day here, at Royal Westmoreland and Sandy Lane CountryClub. At the end there's a big party where plenty of rum is drunk." And Claire iswell qualified to know a thing or two about the local beverage of choice as sheonce worked as International Brand Manager at Mount Gay.

Continued over...

From previous page

gnature hole at The Country Club, Lane (353-yard Par 4, 3rd)

rom an elevated tee


The Bougainvillea Beach Resort makes a greatbase for your experience Scorecard detail (Country Club & Green Monkey) Braddy

The signature hole at the Green Monkey (226-yard par 3,16th)


Colourful Rum Shops Claire begins to tell us about the island's rum shops -

colourful watering holes that speak the spirit of Barbadosthe same way as pubs do for Dublin or cafes do for Paris.“There are around 1600 rum shops – but ask anyoneand you will get a different answer, “ she says. Drivingaround the island between rounds of golf we can’t helpbut notice these vibrantly painted establishments that dotthe roadside.

Rum shops, contrary to the name, also sell beer anddouble as convenience stores offering foodstuffs such astinned goods, crackers and corned beef. The majority ofthem are sponsored by big name drinks companies suchas Guinness, Heineken, Banks (the island's own hugelypopular beer and a decent drop to boot), Johnnie Walkerand Mount Gay.

Bajans are approachable people and you can drop intoany bar anytime and ‘lime’ with the locals. Check out DeBanks Garden at Bayfield St Phillip, Skeete's Bar atMartin's Bay, Braddie's Bar (close to Dover SportsGround), and Trotties Bar (out amongst the sugar cane -ask a local for directions on this one). Along Baxters Rdjust north of the centre of Bridgetown the capital, you'llfind a concentration of watering holes, where the rum andbeer flows freely and in the evening street-side vendors fryup fish on barbecue grills well into the night.

Classic Par ThreesJoining Sandy Lane's two championship

courses in the top tier of Barbados golf isRoyal Westmoreland Golf Club, majesticallysituated on the rolling slopes of St James andcarved through a plethora of natural rock

gullies, chasms and rock-faces. Opened in 1994 by PrinceAndrew who wowed onlookers by expertly splitting thefairway with his first drive, it’s a superb 6,870-yard par-72course of unrivalled beauty, with superb views of theshimmering Caribbean Sea.

The scenic Robert Trent Jones Jr design is thecentrepiece of a $400-million residential and resortdevelopment that, in principle, is restricted to guests,although visitors can usually secure tee times. Afterteeing off on the 327-yard par 4 6th, one cheeky littlemonkey jumps out of a tree, grabs my ball from thefairway and scampers back up into the branches with itsprize. Rule book, anyone?

Tipple of ChoiceNo Barbados golf and rum experience is complete

without learning how the liquid gold is created, so visitMount Gay Visitor Centre and Distillery - where theworld's oldest rum brand was born over three centuriesago.

“Barbadians love their rum and around a case is drunkevery year for just about every person on the island," saystour guide Janelle Jones. After the tour, she announceswith a twinkle in her eye, there will be a taste test and theopportunity to sample the portfolio of rums - EclipseBarbados Rum, Sugar Cane Brandy and the premiumoffering known as Extra Old. After a tour it’s almostmandatory to visit the shop next door to select your tippleof choice.

Well, when in Barbados...

From previous page

’s Bar by the beach

The Golf Courses• Barbados Golf Club Web: www.barbadosgolfclub.com

• Royal WestmorelandWeb: www.royalwestmoreland.com

• The Green Monkey, Country Club & Old NineWeb: www.sandylane.com

Where to stay...• Bougainvillea Beach ResortOverlooking the emerald Caribbean Sea on one of theloveliest, south coast beaches, the Bougainvillea Beach Resortoffers one hundred all-suite rooms with kitchen facilities www.bougainvillearesort.com

ActivitiesRum Tours: www.mountgay.com


Palm Garden Golf ClubMalaysia • www.palmgarden.net.my




Gunung Raya GCMalaysia • www.golfgr.com.my


Kota Permai Golf and Cou Malaysia • www.kotapermai.com.my


untry Club


Kuala Lumpar Golf & Co Malaysia • www.klgcc.com


untry Club

34

Destination Golf TRAVEL

Modry Las Golf Club

35

Poland • www.modrylas.pl

Volume 1 • Issue 7

GOLF CLUB

FEATURE

Modr


Pole positionfor golfersHost to Polish PGA Tournaments, the

Gary Player-designed course at

Modry Las Golf Club has been named as

the best golf course in Poland, and was

built on 321 acres of gently rolling

terrain that winds along the lake’s edge.

A naturally beautiful golf course, Modry

Las is located in North Western Poland,

an area known for its rolling countryside,

pristine lakes and virgin forests. The 18-

hole championship course is the first to

be designed by Player in Central Europe,

and opened in 2009 as a private golf

course that is open to the public.

Fairways are marked by breathtaking

stretches of landscape and strategically

placed signature Gary Player bunkers.

Modry Las was built to be one of

Europe’s top courses and is on par with

the world’s best. A pro provides lessons

at the Modry Las Golf Academy. There is

a practice range, putting greens and

clubhouse, and also features 150 home

lots tucked discreetly around the course.

For more information seewww.modrylas.pl

ry Las Golf Club



Four Seasons FairwaysQuinta do Lago, Portugal • www.fourseasonsfa


airways.com

HO

TEL

FEATURE


Four Seasons Fairways

Four Seasons..but always sunnyLocated a short 20 minute drive from Faro

Airport in the heart of the Quinta do Lago estatelies the Four Seasons Fairways. An idyllic base forgolfers to relax and make friends, the resort issuperbly located along the first fairway of Quinta doLago’s North Course, and a mere three-wood awayfrom the South Course’s first hole.

Quinta do Lago has been a magnet for golfenthusiasts visiting the Algarve for many years, andis widely regarded as one of the most establishedtourism destinations in Europe. The area is home tothe stunning Ria Formosa Nature Reserve, withbeautiful sandy beaches, walking circuits, shoppingcentres, a choice of restaurants and bars and, ofcourse, plenty of golf courses. Take your pick fromthe aforementioned Quinta do Lago North andSouth courses, Laranjal, Pinheiros Altos and thebeautiful San Lorenzo – in fact, you’re spoiled forchoice.

Four Seasons Fairways boasts 132 luxury villasand hillside apartments – which are an ideal basefor golfers – with villas sleeping up to eight people,and all with either private pools or jacuzzis.

Extensive leisure facilities at the resort include: amembers-only clubhouse, a 24-hour reception desk,restaurant and bar, indoor and outdoor swimmingpools, a popular children’s club, a gymnasium withregular classes, tennis courts, a mini-market,beauty salon, sauna & steam rooms.

In our opinion, this is a ‘must visit’ resort, and ishighly recommended.

For more information see

www.fourseasonsfairways.com



Grand Hôtel Barrière de Din Dinard, France • www.lucienbarriere.com


nard

HO

TEL

FEATURE


Grand Hôtel Barriè


Luxury inLittle BrittanyGrand Hôtel Barrière de Dinard is part of

Lucien Barriere Hotels & Casinos, whichfeature magnificent Golf Resorts all overFrance.

One of its leading stars is the 5-star GrandHôtel Barrière in Dinard, widely recognised asa haven of peace on the Emerald Coast inBrittany, which is ideal for weekend breaks orstays focused on relaxation and wellbeing. Abreak here provides an experience todiscover a region full of culture, activities,excursions and adventures!

Since 1859 the majestic white façade hasstared out over Saint-Malo bay – the firsthotel built in what was to become the mainseaside resort on the Emerald Coast.Renovated in 1998 by expert decoratorJacques Garcia, the hotel offers the utmostelegance, comfort and finery. During your freetime you can sample the heated pool, sauna,hammam, fitness hall and Wellbeing facilities,or just laze on the terrace and in the gardensfacing the bay.

Spacious and comfortable, the rooms atthe Grand Hôtel Barrière offer the perfectbalance between seaside luxury and efficient,ultra-modern facilities. All rooms aredecorated in typical Dinardais style (describeas ‘refined seaside’) and include views of thesea, the hills above Dinard and the hotel’sprivate garden.

For more information see

www.lucienbarriere.com

ère de Dinard

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Destination Golf - May 2013