Ryder Cup and 8 times European No 1 Colin Montgomerie, has officially opened the course where the Ryder Cup Matches will be played in 2010.
Monty worked on the course with European Golf Design, the joint venture design company of The European Tour and IMG, with whom he worked most recently at Carton House, Ireland.
The Montgomerie Course completes a trio of courses at Celtic Manor Resort; the Roman Road Course which has staged the last three Celtic Manor Wales Open and the recently opened Ryder Cup course, designed by European Golf Design for the 2010 Ryder Cup.
The Montgomerie will provide a different challenge to the other two courses. At the launch last Tuesday Montgomerie explained how delighted he was to be asked to work with Celtic Manor Resort.
“It was fantastic to be given the opportunity to work with such a good piece of land, which has helped me create some truly memorable golf holes with some stunning views,” he said. “It was also great to work alongside European Golf Design whom I am also working with on projects in Turkey, Bahrain, Scotland and Denmark.”
Whilst playing several holes on the course Colin explained the challenges he has created.
“I’m a pot bunker fan rather than the big wide areas of sand that you see on so many modern golf courses. They might look spectacular, but they’re not really a penalty, particularly to the better players. A bunker should be a half-shot penalty, so I’ve made the bunkers smaller and very much deeper than you will see on most new layouts. I believe you should have to plot your way around them like a game of chess.”
The course has a links feel and the fairways have been shaped and cut in a traditional manner in contrast to the fairways on the other two courses at Celtic Manor.
At 6,371 yards and playing to a testing par of 69, the course will provide a rewarding challenge to all standards of golfer.
European Golf Design www.egd.com