Orlando Golf News

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – April 9, 2008…Marriott Golf, one of the world’s premier golf operators, today announced the Company will be hosting the 2nd annual “Hit The Green” fundraiser for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) throughout the 2008 calendar year. Beginning in April, 20 of Marriott Golf’s domestic properties will each be hosting promotional days to help raise funds for CMN.

In 2007, participating Marriott Golf properties raised nearly $40,000 for CMN, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by generating funds for children’s hospitals across North America.

Participating properties will each host 12 CMN promotional days as part of the fundraiser, and a designated par 3 will serve as the “Hit The Green” hole, offering golfers the opportunity to win prizes, while supporting a worthy cause.

ChampionsGate, Fla. – ChampionsGate Resort in Osceola County will host and sponsor the 18-hole 2008 Osceola Chamber of Commerce golf tournament on Friday, May 16.

Marc Reicher, senior vice president of operations at Champions Gate Resort, said more than 288 golfers are expected to tee off in the 8 a.m. shotgun start.

Reicher said the day’s events will include a helicopter ball drop. “The helicopter ball drop is very exciting,” said Reicher. “A helicopter will buzz the golf course and drop hundreds of golf balls. The person who purchases the golf ball that hits closest to the hole wins a prize,” Reicher explained.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Team Isleworth reclaimed the 2008 Tavistock Cup as they defended their home turf against Team Lake Nona. Team Isleworth won in a 19 ½-11 ½ victory and was crowned the World Golf and Country Club Champion.

The 2008 Tavistock Cup presented by Citi Private Bank was highlighted by a spectacular performance by rookie J.B. Holmes, as he took home the Payne Stewart Salver Award, the Old Mutual Long Drive Challenge and the Cadillac Closest to the Pin.

34 courses to meet Audubon Certification by end of 2008

This week Doral Resort and Spa will earn the distinction of becoming the second course to host the WGC-CA Championship for back-to-back years since the first two years at Valderamma, the host of this September’s Ryder Cup competition.

Another honor will also be bestowed upon Doral this week, as it becomes the first-ever Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in North America to host a World Golf Championships event.

In conjunction with Doral receiving this distinction, Marriott Gold announced this week new standards requiring 34 of the company’s managed golf courses throughout North America and the Caribbean to become Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries, by the end of 2008.

To date, Marriott Golf has six golf courses including Doral that have Audubon certification. Two of those, Grande Pines Golf Club and the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, are in Orlando.

It would have made great theater to see Tiger Woods pass Arnold Palmer on the PGA TOUR’s list for career wins and have the legend and soon-to-be King of the game exchange pleasantries and barbs at the tournament bearing Palmer’s name. Like many of Woods’ milestones, the record arrived earlier than many thought possible.

However, there was one man who believed the hype surrounding Woods from day one.

“This may be a surprise to all of you,” Palmer told the assembled media at a press conference Wednesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I anticipated he would pass that record and I can’t see him doing anything but continuing to pass other people’s records in the future.

(DELAND, Fla.) – Victoria Hills Golf Club – the award-winning Ron Garl design located in Victoria Park, a St. Joe community in DeLand – advanced two spots to No. 7 among Florida’s best courses in Golfweek’s 2008 Best You Can Play, State-by-State rankings available in the March 8 issue.

This distinction marks the sixth consecutive year Victoria Hills has earned a spot among the Sunshine State’s best, solidifying its position as one of America’s elite layouts. The survey, which included more than 700 Floridacourses, examined overall strength of routing, feature shaping, natural setting, greens, variety and memorability of holes, conditioning and maintenance, landscape management and other criteria.

“We’re thrilled to move even further up the top 10 in Golfweek’s rankings, a highly regarded source for identifying the country’s finest golf experiences,” says Matt Payne, Head Professional at Victoria Hills. “Florida has a vast array of outstanding golf courses and we’re honored to be considered among the very best.”

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — The Family of Orange Lake Resorts, based in Orlando, Fla., announces the 10th anniversary of its Legends and Legends Walk golf courses. The Legends at Orange Lake®, an Arnold Palmer signature course measuring 7,072 yards combines different styles of course design from the legendary links of Scotland to the classic pines of North Carolina.  

Legends Walk, a 1,581-yard, 9-hole par 27 course was designed by Arnold Palmer for unique day or night play with tee times available under the lights as late as 9 pm, is a walking course with holes ranging in length from 85 to 222 yards. To commemorate the anniversary, individual golfers can play 18 holes at The Legends for the public rate and then get 50% off their next round at the Legends. Plus, golfers will be invited to come back and play a free round of golf at Legends Walk. This offer is available until December 31, 2008 and golfers can take advantage of this discount by calling 407.905.1050. 

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – the top two golfers in the world – are the headliners in a strong international field for the Arnold Palmer Invitational next week that includes 30 of the leading 50 players on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Golf legend and host Arnold Palmer will be celebrating the 30 th year of the PGA TOUR event at his Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida, with prize moneyof $5.8 million including $1,044,000 to the winner – a far cry from the total purse of $250,000 for the first tournament at Bay Hill in 1979.

The PGA TOUR’s Florida Swing had its share of intrigue on the course in 2007 but perhaps the biggest story was the deviation from a schedule that had been in place for 20 seasons.

Change was the norm for all four stops on the swing last year, whether it was a new name, location, sponsor or date on the Tour calendar.

This year the confusion should be alleviated for players and members of the gallery, leaving golf as the main focus once again.

As professional golf makes its long-awaited return to the east coast after stints in Hawaii and California, Florida steps into the spotlight for the better part of the month of March.

Here is a quick look at what to expect, see and do during this year’s edition of PGA’s Florida Swing.

Tiger Woods has twice won a PGA TOUR event four times in a row, a feat that had only been done twice previously in American golf and three times in the game’s history. But before he won his fourth straight Buick Invitational in January, Woods first pulled off the feat at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with his masterly run from 2000 through 2003.

The No. 1 player in the world made his commitment today to return to the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida, for the 30 th edition of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, scheduled for March 1016. When Woods arrives, he will have yet another streak on the line. Dating back to the 2007 BMW Championship,Woods has won his last four PGA TOUR starts and his last five overall, including a win at the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.