PGA Instructors with 73 full time students from the Lee Westwood Golf School during their first visit to the Desert Springs Resort for a 4-day intensive winter training camp.
“The golf facilities were great. I found the golf course a challenge but very fair, as it will punish a bad shot and reward the good ones.
The staff was always on hand to help us make the best of our training and I can´t think of anything that would have made my training at Desert Springs any better.
It has been good to be here and go through a very intensive programme, and I believe that this trip has definitely helped me to improve my golf.”
That is the verdict of 18-year-old Olivia Jay, one of 73 full time students from the Lee Westwood Golf School based at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf & Spa in Cheshire and Stoke-by-Nayland Hotel Golf & Spa in Essex, who have returned from their first visit to the Desert Springs Resort for a 4-day intensive winter training programme to develop their individual golfing skills.
Six Lee Westwood Golf School PGA Instructors accompanied sixty-eight boys and five girls aged between15 – 18 years for 4 days of warm weather winter training at the Desert Springs Resort between 14th & 18th January.
Lee Westwood Golf School PGA Instructors; Michael Welch, Gareth James, Rory Harrison, Simon Dainty, Elliot Jones and Mark Hetherington.
The training camp utilised the excellent practice facilities at the Desert Springs Golf Academy where the PGA Instructors were able provide one-to-one tuition and take advantage of the use of the Desert Springs short game academy.
Students working on there putting technique at the Desert Springs Short Game Academy.
Jack Yule aged 18 remarked of his experience at Desert Springs:
“The visual aspect of the Resort is unique, and it´s a great venue for golf for sure.
I was aware of other squads and teams that have been here previously, and when they said it´s awesome they didn´t lie!
The academy practice facilities are great and sufficiently big enough, even for a group of our size.
I´m working on some swing changes currently and consequently I have found the golf course challenging, but I´m definitely coming back to Desert Springs as I want to know what I can shoot around the Indiana!”
A Lee Westwood Golf School student tees off on Hole 2 “Gulch” on the Indiana 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.
Simon Dainty, Lee Westwood Golf School PGA Instructor commented:
“This being my first visit to Desert Springs, I was certainly impressed with the layout of the Resort; it was perfect in order to handle our group of students and keep them under control during the stay. We didn´t miss anything from outside of the Resort, hence we didn´t need to leave at anytime.
The staff at the Resort always strived to help as much as possible; I couldn´t fault them.
The standards of the Golf Academy and Indiana Course were ideal, including the full grass range.
The course is challenging and maintained in excellent condition, and it provides a good test to golfers of all abilities. Also, I would stress that having all of the golfing facilities located within walking distance from the Apartments has made time management very easy to arrange.”
Accommodation for the Lee Westwood Golf School students and coaches was provided in the apartments available at Desert Springs.
Rory Harrison, Lee Westwood Golf School PGA Instructor remarked:
“The Lodge Accommodation was ideal.
The Indiana Course offers an interesting layout with a wide variety of shots that have to be played, and also course management plays a big role.
Desert Springs is an excellent venue to carry out a training week. It has been a very productive winter training camp and we certainly believe that the students have had a great experience and maximized their time and potential whilst here.”
- For details of Golf & Sports Training Camps, Corporate Golf Events and Meetings at Desert Springs call 01242 680 116 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com
- To find out more about the Lee Westwood Golf School visit the website www.leewestwoodgolfschool.com
Additional background Information
Warm weather winter training camps at Desert Springs
Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, is proving to be one of the most popular destinations for warm weather winter training camps among the growing number of schools with their own golf academies and teams, currently estimated at around 90 in the UK. In addition to Lee Westwood Golf School pupils, visiting groups have included golfing pupils from, Darren Clarke Golf School, Millfield School, Reading Blue Coat School at Sonning-on-Thames, King Edward’s School in Bath and Loretto School at Musselburgh near Edinburgh.
All school golf trips to Desert Springs are bespoke. If desired, the programme can include time away from the golf course for some local sightseeing in what many regard as ‘the real Spain.’
During their stay pupils have opportunities to swim, play tennis and use the gymnasium, trim trail, jogging tracks, paddle tennis and beach volley ball courts.
Desert Springs is easy to reach from the UK, thanks to three international airports. They are: Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away by road; Murcia Airport, 80 minutes by car, and Alicante Airport which is a drive of less than two hours. Airlines currently flying to the region from the UK include easyJet, Monarch, Ryanair, Jet2, Jetair Fly and Thomas Cook.
Already well known as a resort specialising in family holidays, Desert Springs is gaining popularity as a centre for warm-weather training for cricketers and footballers, as well as golfers.
Accommodation is provided in the apartments and villas available for holidays and short breaks at Desert Springs. Meals are served in the resort’s Croc Restaurant, part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club that is geared up for a wide variety of leisure activities and the award winning El Torrente Restaurant at the Club House.
A spokesman for Desert Springs said that, depending on the size of the group and its requirements, the total cost of a four-day trip for warm weather training, including flights, would work out at between £350 and £400 per person.
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.
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.
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Reader enquiries: NOTE: High Resolution Images available upon request. |
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Simon Coaker The Almanzora Group Ltd The Manor, Boddington, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 0TJ Tel: +44 (0) 1242 680116 |
