A view of the Indiana golf course at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria in south-east Spain, which has been selected by lady golfers from Ireland as the venue for their 2013 winter training.
Lady golfers from Ireland are the latest to select Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria, Andalucía, in south-east Spain, as the venue for their 2013 winter training.
By opting for Desert Springs, the Irish Ladies Golf Union follows the Scottish Ladies Golf Union and the Golf Union of Wales, the latter for whom Desert Springs is their Official Spanish Home, which regularly use the resort as their base for pre-season training.
The Irish Ladies Golf Union is the governing body for amateur women's golf in Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and is recognised as the oldest Ladies Golf Union in the world. Golf is the highest participation female sport in Ireland, with almost 60,000 female golfers in the country aged from 8 to 88, playing on a regular basis.
Between Saturday 9th – Saturday 16th February 2013, 12 players representing the Under 18 and Under 21 International squads and three officials will visit the resort for a week long intensive training programme to develop their individual golfing skills in warm weather while experiencing a golf course which offers a challenge to players at all levels.
Desert Springs Golf Academy
Simon Coaker, director of golf at Desert Springs, said:
"Desert Springs has become very well known as a destination for the warm weather winter training of the Elite players of both the English Counties and a host of National Squads. The squads of the Irish Ladies Golf Union represent the very best women's amateur golfers in Ireland and we are obviously delighted to be host to such an elite group of young players and feel that this further underlines our commitment to the world of women’s golf.”
During their time at the resort the players will utilize the excellent practice facilities at the Golf Academy and play the Indiana Championship golf course.
Players can also enjoy opportunities to swim, play tennis and use the gymnasium, trim trail, jogging tracks, paddle tennis and beach volley ball courts. They also have access to the resort’s Private Reserve which incorporates a spa, private sauna and jacuzzi suite, personal fitness workout room, games room with bar, and a home cinema.
The players and officials will be accommodated in some of the privately owned apartments normally reserved for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs and the resort’s executive chef will be on hand to cater for the special dietary requirements of individual players dining in the award-winning El Torrente Restaurant.
For more information about properties available, or golf at Desert Springs, contact The Almanzora Group on telephone +44 (0) 1242 680 116 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com
Additional background Information
The Desert Springs Resort & Golf Club
Facilities already completed and in use at Desert Springs include:
- a 72 par 18-hole USGA Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California;
- a golf academy whose PGA qualified teaching professionals cater for several international teams, for the women’s elite squads of the Golf Union of Wales and for many of the English County Union’s elite squads; PGA European Tour and LET players.
- two hard tennis courts, two paddle courts, beach volley ball and two football pitches – one is a full-size grass pitch; the other is designed for five-a-side games;
- a Spanish colonial style Golf Club House with a lounge, bar, restaurant, locker rooms, TV and reading rooms, and a Ralph Lauren Golf Boutique;
- The Crocodile Club which provides family fun at the heart of the resort with pools, equipped sand play areas, a kid’s battery powered John Deere Gator circuit and a games room as well as a jacuzzi, sun lawns and a pool bar;
- a health and fitness club and spa
Awards
In 2005 Desert Springs won the Daily Mail Best Almeria Award and the Bentley International Property Awards for the Best Spain Development and Best Architecture. In 2006, it was awarded the Spanish National Madera Verde Prize for Environmentally Sensitive Development. In 2007, the El Torrente Restaurant received the New Millennium International Gastronomy Award for the Tourist, Hotel and Catering Industry. This award was created by the Trade Leaders Club with the aim of distinguishing companies from all countries, for the outstanding quality of their products or services.
Already well known as a resort specialising in family holidays, Desert Springs is gaining popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for golfers and cricketers, as well as footballers. For details call 01242 680116 or visit the website, http://www.almanzora.com
The climate of the Almanzora coastal region
Desert Springs takes it name from the region’s desert microclimate, which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.
Getting there from the UK
The Almanzora region is easy to reach, thanks to three international airports. The current journey time from Almeria International Airport to Desert Springs is around 50 minutes by road. Other international airports are at Murcia – 70 minutes on the toll motorway direct to the Almanzora Valley – and Alicante, which is less than two hours by road.
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Reader enquiries: |
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Simon Coaker The Almanzora Group Ltd
The Manor, Boddington, Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116 e: tag@almanzora.co.uk www.almanzora.com |
