The picturesque De Vere Cameron House resort welcomed Gary Alliss to its fairways earlier this month, as the GB&I PGA Cup team captain played The Carrick course for this first time.
Having narrowly missed out on reclaiming the Llandudno trophy two years ago in the United States, Alliss is keen to make the most of home advantage, and hailed the Doug Carrick designed course as the perfect venue for the 24th PGA Cup which will take place from 18th-20th September 2009.
Highlighting the combination of testing par threes and tricky greens, Alliss predicted a close contest, and one that he hopes will favour the home side, who have never been defeated when the matches have been held in Scotland.
“The greens are undulating and tricky and players will really need to get the right club to get into the right part of the green so club selection will be important for positioning,” he said. “The course has some strong par fives which we can push up if we want to make it exciting. It has a prevailing wind and it’s going to be a challenge and a very fair challenge at that.”
“As a golf course it is beautiful and in a stunning location with mountains on one side and the loch on the other,” continued Alliss, referring to the unique feature of The Carrick course, which meanders between the lowland banks of Loch Lomond and the undulating highland heath. “I think the Americans will love it,” he added, “running along the banks are pine trees and heather and Carrick has made the most of the natural contours and slopes.”
In addition to the golf course, Alliss was also impressed by the off-course facilities at De Vere Cameron House.
“The clubhouse is also beautiful, the facilities are fantastic and De Vere are bending over backwards to make us all feel welcome,” he said.
During the PGA Cup the players and their guests will be staying in the 5-star, luxury De Vere Cameron House hotel which overlooks Loch Lomond and boasts a state-of-the-art leisure suite, spa and beauty treatments and fine-dining option, which will ensure the players off-course experiences are second to none.
De Vere Golf www.devere-hotels.com/golf