Meeting News - May 5, 2008 - (Page 20)

Insider Report: Golf Meetings Rees Jones Leaves Mark In California and Florida New Jersey-based course architect Rees Jones, perhaps best known for his redesign of Long Island’s Bethpage Black, which hosted the 2002 U.S. Open, has redesigned the South Course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, CA, near San Diego, site of next month’s U.S. Open. More than $3.4 million was spent to refurbish the course layout, which sits atop a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Jones has lengthened the course from the professional tees to 7,607 yards, making it the longest in U.S. Open history. The Torrey Pines resort complex encompasses 36 holes of golf, the 170-room Lodge at Torrey Pines with 13,000 sf of meeting space, and a 9,500-sf spa. Jones also is working on a new 18-hole championship course at the Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, a 500-acre, mixed-use development slated to open in summer 2009. Slated to debut in fall 2008, the course will be a central piece of the new resort, which is next to Walt Disney World Resort and will feature a 1,000-room Hilton hotel, a 500-room Waldorf=Astoria, and the 400-room Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Hotel & Spa. The latter will be highlighted by 145,000 sf of meeting space and a 25,000-sf spa and fitness center. ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA Callaway Gardens Says: Practice Makes Perfect In Pine Mountain, GA, 70 miles southwest of Atlanta, the 13,000-acre Callaway Gardens Resort will open the 26-acre Twin Oaks Practice Facility this month. Named after two massive oak trees that dominate Callaway Gardens, Twin Oaks features almost 1.5 acres of manicured tee space, 12 target greens, an expansive putting green, and a short-game area with two large sand bunkers and multiple chipping and pitching areas. In other developments at the resort—home to two championship golf courses—the new First Mountain View golf cottages will be available for rental to small groups in early 2009. A new pro shop, called the Golf House, will have its first phase completed in April 2009. at the NEW Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village Meet in the middle of it all – with 301 stunning all-new guest rooms and suites, unique settings for meetings and events indoors and out, an attentive staff, and the ﬁnest outdoor pursuits Florida has to offer in every direction. • 86,000 sq. ft. of ﬂexible function space • Two golf courses • PGA TOUR Spa Laterra • Events at the exclusive Serenata Beach Club on Ponte Vedra Beach • Chartered ﬁshing trips, among many team-building opportunities • World Golf Hall of Fame • St. Augustine, America’s oldest city Learn to Be the King of Swing New for corporate and incentive groups at the PGA Tour Golf Academy inside the World Golf Village, near St. Augustine, FL, is the Elite School taught exclusively by the academy’s head instructor and limited to only three students. The program features a three-day golf school and ample on-course play with a dedicated instructor. But Elite School can be customized to any number of days and times. The academy, which has views of the World Golf Hall of Fame (also within the village), features allweather hitting bays and multiple covered tee areas. Utilizing a video analysis system in the bays, students can compare their swings to top PGA Tour pros. World Golf Village has two 18-hole championship courses and is anchored by a renovating 301room Renaissance hotel (April 7 MN, p. 12) and the St. Johns County Convention Center, which has 40,000 sf of meeting space. H —Section written by Ed Schmidt www.meetingnews.com For 2008 Value Dates, Call 1-904-940-8635 worldgolfrenaissance.com Another Exceptional Resort by John Q. Hammons Hotels 20 MeetingNews May 5, 2008 http://worldgolfrenaissance.com http://worldgolfrenaissance.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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