Doonbeg, the five star golf resort in West Clare, has been selected as the European Golf Resort of the Year for its ‘exceptional contribution to the world of golf travel’. The prestigious award was made by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) whose 300+ golf tour operators cast the votes.
Doonbeg’s sister property on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, won the North American Golf Resort of the Year Award.
Previous winners of the European Golf Resort of the Year include Turnberry (Scotland), Druid’s Glen (Ireland), Praia D’El Rey (Portugal), Dona Filipa and San Lorenzo Golf Resort (Portugal) and Carton House (Ireland). The awards scheme was inaugurated by IAGTO in 2000.
IAGTO’s 300+ golf tour operators, representing 49 different countries, cast their votes prior to the awards. Each operator was asked to nominate what they consider to be the best performing golf resorts of the year enjoyed by their golf travelling clients.
The golf resort in each of the three regions – Europe, North America and the Rest of the World – with the most number of votes receives the 2010 Golf Resort of the Year accolades.
Operators were asked to consider the resorts under the following criteria:
- Customer satisfaction
- Quality of golf course/s and accommodation
- Value for money
- Accessibility to tee times
- Speed of communication and quality of service of the golf resort sales, marketing, reservation, administration and management staff
Speaking of the award Mr Joe Russell, general manager, Doonbeg, said that they were delighted to win such a prestigious award. “We rely on the Golf Tour Operators to provide us with a great deal of business and the award is acknowledgement that we are providing the kind of service that they and their clients require. In accepting the award I do so on behalf of all of the staff at Doonbeg. We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and the service we give and I believe this award is an endorsement of both”.
Doonbeg www.doonbeggolfclub.com
IAGTO www.iagto.com
Kiawah Development Partners www.KiawahIsland.com