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- Welsh Lady Golfers make Desert Springs winter home
Welsh Lady Golfers make Desert Springs winter home
16 December, 2008
| Welsh Lady Golfers make Desert Springs winter home 16th December 2008 Lady golfers in Wales have adopted Desert Springs in south-east Spain, as their base for winter training camps to hone their skills Lady golfers in Wales have chosen 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, as their base for winter training camps. The news follows the success of visits for pre-season training by the Elite Women’s and Junior Squads of the Golf Union of Wales (GUW). Now more are planned. Nigel Edwards, director of player development and coaching at the Newport-based Golf Union, first visited Desert Springs soon after the GUW was established in 2007. This followed the merger of the Welsh Ladies Golf Union (founded in 1904) and the Welsh Golfing Union (founded in 1895). “From the outset I was impressed by the Indiana golf course at Desert Springs and all the facilities in the resort,” says Nigel. “When our players and selectors told me they loved it as well, it was an easy decision to make it our pre-season practice venue.” Players who have trained at Desert Springs during the winter months include 12 players in the under-18 Girls Squad. Now up to 10 lady members are planning a visit early in the new year to benefit from the resort’s Golf 4 Women programme led by leading PGA coach and Desert Springs' ladies’ golf ambassador Christine Langford Among Welsh enthusiasts for Desert Springs is 21-year-old Breanne Loucks, a member of Wrexham Golf Club who is expected to turn professional soon. In the past year Breanne, who has been playing since she was nine years old, has carried off the trophies for both Match Play Champion and Stroke Play Champion in South Africa, as well as Irish Champion, Welsh Order of Merit Champion and best Amateur in Wales. Breanne describes the calibre of the course at Desert Springs as “millionaire’s golf.” She said: "The Desert Springs Golf Academy offers specially designated practice areas specifically designed to allow you to practise every challenge of the game. There is a great chipping green and a fantastic putting green. The short game bunker practice area is ideal for practising your bunker play. On the course, the fairways are excellent and the greens are like carpets. “I also like the way that the layout of the resort has been carefully planned so that all the golf and other facilities are close to hand, without having to walk miles!" At the heart of Desert Springs is its 72 par 18-hole USGA Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy. He was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California. The dramatic nature of the Desert Springs fairways, set in a landscape of cactus, rock and flowering desert, is said to have taken golf in Spain to a new level of excellence. From October 30 to November 1 this year (2008) the Sir Ian Botham Charity Golf Classic was held at Desert Springs, raising more than €70,000 for Leukaemia Research. Sir ‘Beefy’ Botham was joined by celebrities and professional sportsmen captaining their amateur teams. |
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