The 2010 Course – Celtic Manor
Entrance to the Celtic Manor Golf Resort
On October 1st 2010 Wales will play host to one of the greatest sporting spectacles on the planet. The Ryder Cup is coming to Newport with Celtic Manor’s new 2010 course the destination. For those of you not familiar with the Ryder Cup here’s a quick introduction to the competition.
The Ryder Cup pits a team of European golfers against their American compatriots. It’s been running since 1927 and is third in global viewing figures, behind only the FIFA World Cup and Olympics. During the three day event over 50,000 people will be travelling to the course each day. This gives you a brief idea of just how huge the event is.
With the Americans winning the last Ryder Cup in 2008, Colin Montgomerie’s men will be looking to bring the trophy back to European soil. The American captain, Corey Pavin, has a tremendous playing record in the competition, having never lost during 13 matches, and will be looking to take that form into his captaincy. So with such a massive event coming to South Wales, Sport Cymru decided to head to Newport to see what Celtic Manor was doing to prepare for the event.
The brand new 2010 Club House
The site has undergone serious renovations since Celtic Manor successfully won the bid to host the event. The course has been heavily altered, with nine new holes, and there is also a brand new clubhouse. Head of PR for Celtic Manor Resort, Paul Williams, gave us an overview of just how drastic and expensive the changes to the course have been in the last few years.
The players changing rooms
The new clubhouse is hugely different to the other two clubhouses at the resort. Going round the 2010 Clubhouse the amount of time and effort put into creating a world-class atmosphere becomes clear. As the players enter the changing rooms they will be greeted with state of the art facilities, including their own personalised showers and electronic lockers. They can then relax in their teams own private suites which overlook the 18th green, a view that will be sure to witness a lot of drama over the three days.
Huw teeing off
So now its time for Sport Cymru, represented by Huw and Jack, to take on the course which Corey Pavin described as fairly straightforward. The driving range and tee for the first hole is a short buggy ride away from the club house. It’s a wet and windy day on what has been voted the 7th best course in the world, so myself and Huw’s round is about to be made a lot more difficult.
View to green to 5th Hole
Looking over the course as you travel round it, the layout is incredible. Lakes and bunkers seem to surround every hole. Taking the example of the 5th hole, which at a glance, seems like a simple par 4. According to the stroke index, which indicates how hard a hole is, it’s the most difficult on the course. The green is surrounded by hazards, with a lake on one side and a bunker on the other, and the green itself runs like you’re putting on glass, not a fun hole to play if you’re not hitting straight!
Redeveloping the course cost Celtic Manor around £17 million, a figure which was widely criticised at the time for being too costly. But looking at the course, club house and facilities which they have built, they seemed to have put every penny to good use. As well as this Newport and the surrounding areas, including Cardiff, is set to make over £70 million from hosting the event. This is due to the fact that nearly a quarter of a million people making their way to the area over the three day period when the Ryder Cup will be staged.
View of 18th from Club House
One of the most interesting holes on the course though and the one which will attract the most amount of drama and action when the tournament kicks off is the 18th. It’s a par 5, playing downhill towards a heightened green with a lake in front of it. A picturesque finish to a golfing round as you head back up to the foot of the club house.
The 2010 Course will host the Wales Open next year as the final piece of preparation for the Ryder Cup. After playing the course and traveling round the facilities its clear that the Celtic Manor Resort has poured a lot of time and energy into this project, and I’m sure they will benefit from this effort. South Wales now has arguably one of the greatest courses in the world and next year will no doubt be a superb host to some of the greatest sportsmen on the planet.
