Troon, May/June 2019

42 TROON MAGAZINE TROON MAGAZINE 43 The Royal Golf Club Bahrain hosted the final leg of the inaugural Troon series on the MENA Tour Earlier successful events at Al Zorah Golf Club won by Daniel Gaunt and Dubai Hills Golf Club won by MG Keyser culminated in Robin Roussel winning the Bahrain Open Prize money across the three events totaled 225000 Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf Beach Resort recently debuted a newly renovated 35000 square foot clubhouse at the Rio Mar Country Club home to The Ocean Course and The River Course The multimillion dollar project including renovations as a result of Hurricane Maria features new locker rooms with jacuzzis steam rooms saunas and lounge areas innovative food and beverage venues and a refined golf shop Now in its 17th year the Troon Challenge presented by Callaway Golf is Troons largest amateur golf event attracting more than 1600 golfers competing in regional qualifying events across the United States From May through November regional qualifying events will be held at more than 34 facilities in 11 different states Two person teams in both net and gross divisions will compete to qualify for spots in the Troon Challenge national finals to be held in Arizona at The Phoenician Golf Club and Troon North Golf Clubs Monument Course from Dec 6 8 For more information go to www Troon com Troon_ Challenge WORLD OF TROON NEWS NOTES Silver Creek Valley Country Clubs director of tennis Ken DeHart was recently inducted into the Professional Tennis Registry PTR Hall of Fame Ken is as committed to Silver Creek Valley Country Club as he is to the tennis industry said Barrett Eiselman general manager of Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose Calif We are very proud of his accomplishment of being inducted into the PTR Hall of Fame and are very fortunate to have him as part of our team A new Village Center will be opening in May at Red Ledges in Heber City Utah Phase I of the two part project includes a pool with water slide water playground and two lap lanes hot tub mens and ladies locker rooms full service poolside kitchen and bar and pool deck seating for nearly 300 people Phase 2 of the project will be implemented as residences in the community continue to grow over the next four to five years In March a number of 59 Club Service Excellence Awards 2019 were bestowed on Troon affiliated properties The Grove in England won UK Golf Operation Team of the Year a Gold Flag Award and UK Golf Manager of the Year honors for Brad Gould In the UAE Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and Abu Dhabi Golf Club were named to the Gold Flag Members Club 2019 as was Royal Golf Club Bahrain At the latter Jamie Faulkner and Will Evans were named Overseas Greenkeeper of the Year and Paul Gindra and Candice Hall were named Overseas F B Managers of the Year For the second consecutive year the Ak Chin Indian Community in Arizona home to Ak Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club partnered with the World Long Drive Association WLDA to host the Ak Chin Smash in the Sun The event was held in April and the finals were televised live on Golf Channel Winners were Phillis Meti womens division and Tim Burke mens division Audubon Country Club in Naples Fla has approved a 7 million renovation and expansion project of the clubs Courtside Café building The current single story building will be replaced with a new two story 18000 square foot Lifestyle Center with tennis and fitness operations and a new casual indoor outdoor dining area Ground is expected to be broken this spring with completion slated for December 2019 Additionally a new HydroGrid exhibition tennis court and two gel surface pickleball courts will be added in 2019 Ben Wilson an assistant professional at St James Plantation Golf Club in Southport N C will participate in the 2019 Bush Institute Warrior Open presented by AT T in May He is one of 24 competitors invited to the two round tournament which is hosted by former President George W Bush in Dallas Tex Wilson U S Marine Corps Ret was injured twice on patrols supporting the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Iraq Currently working on becoming a PGA professional he is an active member of the Veteran Golfers Association and many other military golf organizations teaching the game to veterans The Golf Club at Lansdowne unveiled Piedmonts its newly renovated restaurant in March The exclusive restaurant is located in The Golf Club at Lansdownes 43000 square foot clubhouse and is open to club members and Lansdowne Resort and Spa resort guests only Located in the beautiful Piedmont region of Virginia the restaurant overlooks The Golf Club at Lansdownes Greg Norman Golf Course and expansive practice facilities