Travel News
The Kinloch Club has come of age. The nineyear-old club is now firmly etched on the golfing map, benefiting from hefty investment over the past five years by New Zealand-based owner Southpark Corporation and the vision of its executive director, John Sax. New Zealand’ s only Jack Nicklaus signature design, the par-72 championship course on the shores of Lake Taupo has always been regarded as one of Nicklaus’ s best. A tough challenge, Nicklaus himself drove the first ball on opening day back in 2007 and returned a year later to play all 18 holes. He is quoted as remarking:“ You won’ t find another golf course that looks much like this in the world”.
One of the oldest and most prestigious events on the European Tour, the Italian Open has been won by some of the biggest names in golf, and this year’ s tournament is set to crown a sparkling 2016 for Italian golf when it takes place in Milan next month. Golf Club Milano will have the honour of hosting the championship for the eighth time when the 73rd edition of the Italian Open is held in Lombardy, northern Italy, from September 15-18. Recent winners of the title have included European Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter( twice), Graeme McDowell and Francesco Molinari, and this year’ s world-class line-up is set to feature US Masters champion Danny Willett, Martin Kaymer, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood and Rafael Cabrera Bello.
A team of 10 military personnel from the UK’ s Battle Back golf team will take on their Australian counterparts from the Soldier On Foundation over three days of competition for the Clyde Pearce Cup from August 9-11. The Ryder Cup-style match represents the pinnacle for players on the Battle Back golf programme which aims to assist the rehabilitation of injured servicemen through playing the game of golf. Battle Back Golf Chairman Major Andrew Barnett said:“ Golf is such an important part of the rehabilitation process for these injured soldiers.
Custom-fitted sets of Vokey wedges are among the many great prizes to be given away by golf’ s big brands when the London Golf Show takes place at Glow, Bluewater, in Kent, from August 26- 28. The industry’ s major names have already signed up for the show, including Cobra Puma Golf, PING, TaylorMade, Mizuno, Callaway, Yonex and Acushnet – parent company to Titleist, FootJoy, Pinnacle, Scotty Cameron and Vokey Wedges – with more expected to follow. Each will have its own individual offering with driving bays to test out the latest equipment with many brands offering a custom-fitting option. PING is also offering fitting on its putter range using its innovative iPING app.
One of Scotland’ s top luxury hotels has unveiled their latest £ 4.5million development with a new ballroom and 28 new bedrooms. Meldrum House Country Hotel and Golf Course, in Oldmeldrum has created a stunning new wing. It has seamlessly combined a period building with a glass addition, heralding the latest in contemporary design and luxury. Aberdeenshire’ s newest Ballroom will hold up to 200 guests and boasts floor to ceiling windows with access straight out to the gardens. Many of the new bedrooms will have exceptional views to the hotel’ s Parkland 18-hole golf course and miles of countryside beyond.
In addition to being a leader as a golf tourist destination in Europe and in the Mediterranean, the Costa del Sol is also at the helm in an important environmental aspect: the irrigation of golf courses with recycled water. The public company, Acosol, is the company that supplies the most recycled water in Europe for the irrigation of golf courses. It currently supplies 37 courses( which adds up to over five hundred holes) using around 7,000 million litres a year. It is also investing millions to extend the radius of action of its supply network. Although the new regulations in Spain state that new golf courses must be irrigated with recycled water and existing courses must do so as far as possible, in practice, this requirement is not always easy to fulfil, as it is subject to the existence of purification plants nearby and pipes that take the water to the golf course.
16 Destination Golf. TRAVEL