WELSH CLUB GOLFER 19
LATEST NEWS
THE Celtic Manor Resort Hotel
has celebrated its tenth birthday,
toasting a decade of success as
one of Europe's leading business
and leisure destinations.
The Resort Hotel � a massive
expansion creating 333 new bed-
rooms, a large convention centre
and a luxury spa � was officially
opened by Tony Lewis, then
chairman of the Wales Tourist
Board, on August 6, 1999
Dwarfing the original 70-bed-
room Celtic Manor Hotel, which
still exists as The Manor House
Hotel, the 10-storeyed building
took more than two years to
build at a cost of �90m. It has
become an iconic landmark at
the gateway to Wales, towering
above the M4 motorway a few
miles from the Severn Bridge
near Newport.
Resort staff, many of whom
were present at the official open-
ing in 1999, were invited to
enjoy a slice of a massive cake in
the shape of the Resort Hotel,
created by talented pastry chef
Amit Kumar.
Sir Terry MatthewsThe man behind the 2010 Ryder Cup writes for you
Less than 12 months to go
and excitement is building
W
OW! If anyone
wasn't aware of
the enormity of
The Ryder Cup
and the year we have ahead
of us, then I think it was
brought home with a
resounding bang during the
recent `Year To Go' activities
we had at The Celtic Manor
Resort.
It was a delight to welcome
back Ryder Cup captains Colin
Montgomerie and Corey Pavin for
an exhibition match but I think the
golfing headlines were stolen by
their celebrity partners, Chris
Evans and Bryn Terfel.
Bryn, the loveable Welsh opera
star, delighted the audience of
media and invited guests by burst-
ing into "We'll Keep A Welcome In
The Hillside" to "find his rhythm"
on the first tee.
Mind you, judging by the way
he cracked his first drive away,
there was no sign of any nerves.
As Colin quipped, he's certainly a
better golfer than Monty is a
singer!
Chris wasn't too far behind
with his opening tee shot either
and it set the tone for a great
little match in which the
amateurs played their full part.
CONDITION
The only thing brighter than
the golf was the weather and it
was fantastic to see some glori-
ous, autumn sunshine here in
South Wales.
Now, I just need to order a
week of it for the end of
September and start of October
next year!
Corey praised the condition
of the the Twenty Ten Course and
said the time of year actually
suited the greens because there
would be less growth on them.
With the leaves on the trees
just changing colour, it's
certainly a great time to play and
watch golf in this part of the
world.
If there's a bit of sunshine
around, the course should look
magnificent as it is beamed into
the homes of a billion people
around the world.
The fun continued into the
night at a gala dinner for 660
guests. Chris stayed on to
compere the evening and quizzed
me on my pride at bringing the
Ryder Cup to Wales for the first
time, before asking some more
searching questions of Colin and
Corey on their captaincy roles,
which made for some fascinating
answers I assure you!
Bryn also took to the stage
for a few songs along with
another great Welsh singer,
John Owen Jones, so it was a
great night's entertainment.
The most pleasing thing for me
was hearing some of the
people who had never been to
Celtic Manor before saying how
great they thought the facilities
were and how well they had been
looked after.
That's what it's all about for
me. Giving people a fun time so
they want to come back for more.
Hopefully, we'll achieve that in
front of a much bigger audience
during the Ryder Cup itself next
year.
IMPRESSIVE
Things are shaping up nicely as
we add the finishing touches to
the property to help facilitate that
experience.
In my last column, I talked
about foundation works starting
for the new �2million bridge to
the Ryder Cup practice ground.
I'm delighted to report that
structure is now up ahead of
schedule and once it has been
reinforced, surfaced and access
roads put in, the whole project
should be completed by the end
of the year.
Stretching over 100 metres in
length and rising 85 feet into the
sky, it's quite a spectacular
addition to the Twenty Ten Course
and will take all the
players and spectators over to the
new practice area during the
event.
Elsewhere, there's some hard
core to put down for the coach
parks and some tidying up to do.
We know we're going to have our
busiest 12 months ever but
everything's on track and it's a
challenge we all look forward to
rising to.
Ryder Cup countdown is now
well and truly on for us all
EAT IT: Pastry chef Amit Kumar's cake!
Celtic Manor toasts
its tenth birthday
in fine fashion
THE Celtic Manor Resort has
been playing host to prestigious
groups of visiting golfers from
the United States. The venue
welcomed the PGA Magazine
Ambassadors programme during
a week when members also
played a Ryder Cup Challenge
match against Valhalla.
The PGA Ambassadors trip
also included some notable
Ryder Cup connections because
many of the US professionals
were representatives from Jack
Nicklaus' Muirfield Village, where
the 1987 match was played, and
Whistling Straits, which is in line
to stage the 2020 event.
Also represented were US
Open venues Congressional
Country Club and Columbia
Country Club, and the Golf Club
of Georgia which hosts the US
Collegiate Championship.
They were among 18 PGA
golfers in all and a further nine
trip organisers from PGA
Magazine and Premier Golf, a
company which organises golf
vacations and Ryder Cup trips.
American visitors
descend upon the
Celtic Manor Resort
Sir Terry Matthews
Chairman, The Celtic Manor Resort

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