Meeting News - December 17, 2007 - (Page 44)

Insider Report: Golf Event Report Pepsi & Pinehurst Mean Refreshed Groups Yearly min esort stages Pepsi’s annual client event sgeV tist or bi bl ee er ex ne re ti h a s R For the past 11 years, Pepsi USA has hosted the Pepsi Invitational in early fall at Pinehurst Resort, in Pinehurst, NC. The program, running two-anda-half days, unites company bottlers and top executives with clients from across the United States. Typically, the event attracts between 80 and 120 participants. Each Pepsi attendee and his client invitee form a two-person team that competes in a ﬂighted, twoday tournament in a best-ball format, with handicaps on the 2,000-acre resort’s headliner No. 2 course, or a choice between Nos. 4, 7, or 8. “It continues to amaze me how closely everyone bonds in the golf experience, from the time they arrive on Sunday until they leave for the airport on Wednesday morning,” said Heather Fueger, manager of the Pinehurst Championship Management team, which also coordinates such major on-site tournaments as the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. The event kicks off with a reception on Sunday, followed by a skills challenge at the Pinehurst Golf Academy that brings new meaning to the term “product placement.” Among the activities are a lob shot contest over 15-foot inflatable bottles of Gatorade, Aquaﬁna, and Pepsi, and a putting contest through strategically placed cases of Pepsi products. “There are always lots of laughs, and it puts people in a great mood for the tournament,” Fueger noted. After the tournament, the event concludes with a lavish, full-plated awards dinner on Tuesday night, with ﬁlet mignon and crab cakes topping the menu. In the event’s history, a wide variety of prizes have Luxurious Service is Now A Matter of Course Pampering at resorts doesn’t occur just at the spa anymore hilled towels soaked in rum and lime juice, caddie concierges, golf carts equipped with course strategy software, and event facilities steps from the 18th tee are just a few of the newest amenities in the golf experience. Ritz-Carlton’s Golf Caddie Concierge, a program at properties in Jamaica, Orlando, and Sarasota, FL, is one such effort. Caddies perform traditional services like course yardage, bunker maintenance, and divot repair, but also F&B services, post-golf reservations, and a signature service of cold Oshibori towels. Meanwhile, the Territory, 75 minutes from Oklahoma City, which hosts small groups of up to 24, offers chilled towels and Evian mineral water spray in a beverage cart service. The Biltmore, in Coral Gables, FL, has a sophisticated GPS system that allows groups to put customized messages on golf cart screens. The system also provides real-time scoring and a running leader board, which can even be directed to the hotel’s closedcircuit TV system. For planners tired of late stragglers to meetings following a golf event, Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort & Hotel, in Worley, ID, C Ritz-Carlton’s above par services help keep duffers under par in Jamaica. designed a 6,000-sf events pavilion just a few steps from the golf course. It has highspeed Internet access, videoconferencing capability, and a full kitchen. Other amenities rapidly becoming staples at many resorts are shoe-polishing services; climate-controlled golf carts; complimentary chilled fruit and smoothies; and beverage carts with imported beers, ﬁne wines, and gourmet sandwiches. been awarded to the top three ﬁnishers in each ﬂight, including crystals and trophies. Fueger said this year’s prizes for ﬁrst place and second place, 12-inch and 6inch ceramic-like statues of the Putterboy, Pinehurst’s logo, were extremely well-received. “Even the nonwinners go home happy every year,” said Fueger. Going Old School What’s a planner to do when events like night golf, skills challenges, clinics, and putting competitions are met with a collective sigh from attendees and a “been there, done that” attitude? Some creative golf event planners are responding with one-of-a-kind themed golf functions. Recently, Sam Baker, president of Haversham & Baker, a Cincinnati-based travel and meeting services ﬁrm specializing in golf, executed a historicalthemed event at Westin Turnberry Resort, in Ayshire, Scotland. In the three-hole event on the Golf Academy driving range, 80 attendees used antique hickory-shaft clubs and vintage-style balls. The Turnberry staff designed three holes on the range: a 100-yard hole that required one shot to the green, a 220-yard hole that required two shots, and a 350-yard hole that required three shots. “It took less than two hours to play and was a great camaraderie builder,” said Baker. H www.meetingnews.com Pinehurst hosts top-ranked tournies, but the resort will take a swing at quirky golf events, too. Pinehurst Photo:(R) Pinehurst, LLC. All rights reserved 44 MeetingNews December 17, 2007 http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - December 17, 2007

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