Ryder Cup 2010: My weekend of heaven (and a little golf hell) at Celtic Manor Resort

By NEIL ENGLISH

Blue-sky thinking: Celtic Manor will provide a dramatic setting for the Ryder Cup


The photos that have emerged from Delhi in the last week, showing the ‘rudimentary’ nature of the athletes living quarters for the Commonwealth Games, have made global headlines. But the world’s best golfers – arriving in Wales to contest the 2010 Ryder Cup this weekend – should have no such fears about what awaits them.

I can vouch for this personally. The accommodation at the Celtic Manor Resort – a five-star golfing paradise near Newport - is in pristine condition. No stone is left unturned. No speck remains undusted in order to guarantee the highest levels of comfort.

Even the Ryder Cup WAGs will surely find nothing to complain about. If the heat of competition is ramped a notch too far, they can take a break from following their beloved stars around the course, kick off their heels and summon a chauffeur-driven buggy to deliver them to one of two opulent spas for a spot of off-course rest and relaxation.

Of the pair, it is the Forum Spa that takes my vote, for its divine 20-metre pool - perfect for earnest swimming or simple floating about - with its giant Welsh-dragon mosaic floor, housed underneath a simulated blue sky which darkens at night with twinkling stars. Just feet away, a hot pool, steam room and sauna are primed to soothe tired muscles, while a weary minds can be calmed by an impressive range of beauty or massage therapies in the treatment rooms.

When I was invited to sample Celtic Manor Resort by joining a team of six English journalists pitched against Irish counterparts in a, albeit light-hearted, 'Writers’ Cup', I thought twice.

Golf is far from my first sporting love. I play seldom, and badly - though I feverishly enjoy watching the professionals ply their magic at the most coveted of tournaments on television. But my main concern was that I have many times seen the top floors of Celtic Manor looming over high trees from the M4 en route to Cardiff, and have always thought it looked an ugly institution of a building.


They won't have time to appreciate it, but the world's best golfers will be playing amid glorious Welsh scenery


Having now spent a few days and nights there, I must confess that I haven’t changed my mind on that front. But beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder (many people love the colossal, imposing exterior) - and thankfully, from my perspective, beauty is not just skin deep.

Once inside it is impossible to escape the fact that you are in a five-star establishment. Celtic Manor is spacious – a fact reinforced by the atrium that greets you at the entrance. Gazing up at all six floors of the hotel (each one adorned with florally decorated interior balconies) – right up to the giant octagonal skylight – it is impossible not to be impressed.

The living quarters do not disappoint either. The American Ryder Cup team and entourage will be especially thrilled to see the ample space afforded by each of the 362 rooms, the vast beds and accommodating wardrobe areas, plus choice of shower or bath (WAGs take note, Elemis products galore) in generous bathrooms, each boasting many square metres of Italian marble. Normally, lack of bed and bathroom space is the standard American complaint that echoes through hotels all across Europe.

The whole package – from the main sweeping driveway down to the hotel and the 1400 acres of parkland estate within the Usk Valley (graced by its peacefully flowing river, forested hills and seductive vales), to the three impeccably manicured 18- hole golf courses – is a panoramic achievement of which Newport, Wales and Britain should be proud.


Inner sanctum: A sneak view of the changing facilities for this weekend's big event


Americans firmly believe they are the masters of the world-class golf club concept - but I fancy they may learn a thing or two when introduced to Celtic Manor.

All this is the brainchild of Welsh telecommunications entrepreneur, Sir Terence Matthews. In 1980, he purchased a 19th century manor house that had been the maternity hospital in which he was born.

But his decision to turn it into an elegant 70-room period retreat, still separate from the main Celtic Manor hotel, was not based purely on sentiment. His shrewd eye for business spotted a massive leisure opportunity, not least with such sweeping countryside grounds at his disposal.

Some £140 million later (still the biggest single private investment in the British hospitality industry) Celtic Manor Resort has won so many hotel, golf-course, spa and clubhouse awards that its silverware cabinet would be the envy of a Premiership football club.

Perhaps Sir Terence’s biggest coup was securing the right to stage the 2010 Ryder Cup (the world’s third largest sporting event in television-viewing figures) – and a large part of winning that bid was offering to create a golf course especially for this titanic clash between Europe and America’s greatest golfers - a first in the event’s 73 year history.

So it came to be that the Twenty Ten Course – a par-71 with a length of 7,493 yards – was born.

Colin Montgomerie, the European captain, knows Celtic Manor inside out – since he not only designed one of the other 18-hole championship courses (named after him), but also, with his host Captain’s prerogative, made a handful of personal changes to the Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course.


Fire breather: In case you wonder where you are, the grand atrium offers a few reminders of its Welsh location


He recently said: “I’m extremely proud of the course and the changes I’ve made. It is in great shape to present a real challenge to the world’s best golfers.

“It is not just necessary to hit the fairways. You have to be in the right places on the fairways to get a decent shot at the greens.”

And that is why I, personally, hated it. I had a thoroughly miserable round of match-play golf on this beautifully prepared course, and if it were not for my superb partner, we would not have gained a point against our canny Irish opponents.

This course completely exposed my 28 handicap. It humbled and humiliated me, and reduced my already withered golfing confidence to below zero. And with every hideous stroke I made, hacking up the hallowed grass where icons of the game will tread, I could sense the wincing of the groundsmen.

I played better on the Montgomerie course, and enjoyed the hill-top views of many of the Twenty Ten course holes. But my favourite was the Roman Road course, with its generous par of 70 (over 6,515 yards), and its lovely views across the Severn Estuary, into Somerset and Devon.


Gloom on the horizon: Either America or Europe will have their dreams dashed this weekend


When I return to Celtic Manor for a weekend of leisure, I will make more use of the tennis courts, fishing, walking and mountain biking trails, as well as the spas. And I will make less of the golf - though I may give my confidence a boost with a lesson at the highly reputed in-house golfing academy. Maybe then, the Twenty Ten course will not seem quite so unforgiving...


Travel facts

The Celtic Manor Resort stages the Ryder Cup between October 1st and 3rd. It reopens for business on October 5th.

Visit www.celtic-manor.com or phone 01633 413000 for details and prices of all golf, spa or recreational packages.

For nearby attractions and all Welsh regional information see www.visitwales.com.


source :dailymail