GOOD NEWS FOR "ENGLISH GOLF'S SLEEPING GIANT"

• New Director of Golf, Leisure and Spa at luxury Heythrop Park Resort

Heythrop Park Resort’s new golf and leisure supremo Tim Good has arrived at the luxury Oxfordshire destination pledging to raise its profile, and to seal its place among the UK’s most desirable golf resorts.

Good’s arrival coincides with a major refurbishment at Heythrop Park, which has a 7,088 Par 72 Tom MacKenzie golf course set in a 440-acre countryside estate near Chipping Norton, with over 350 hotel rooms at two hotels, the De Vere Heythrop Park and the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

“I have heard Heythrop Park described as English golf’s sleeping giant” said Good, “and when you come here you can instantly see why. The size of the facility is impressive: everywhere you look there is history, scale and quality, and it has everything you need for the ideal stay-&-play golf break.

“If golfers do nothing else new in 2014, they should make this the year that they come and experience the spectacular Bainbridge Course at Heythrop Park Resort for the first time. It is a truly memorable golfing challenge, but of course it has not been on the scene for long, and is therefore still waiting to be discovered by most golfers.

“I aim to change that, and am looking forward to helping to put Heythrop Park up where it belongs – which is among the UK’s most talked-about golf destinations.”

Though aged just 33, Good has already worked at several high-profile British golf venues having most recently held the Director of Golf position at De Vere Mottram Hall. Before that he was Golf Operations Manager at Marriott Hanbury Manor, and originally started as a trainee PGA pro at the Celtic Manor Resort.

He takes on the role of Director of Golf, Leisure and Spa at Heythrop Park Resort, which is based around an early 18th century mansion house set among landscaped Natural England gardens. As well as having two major hotels and a championship-quality golf course, the resort also has luxurious leisure facilities with a 20-metre indoor pool at the centre of a well-appointed Spa and Gymnasium.

“Since it opened in 2009 the golf course has not yet fulfilled its promise,” said Good. “It is certainly one of the most significant to have opened in the United Kingdom over the last decade.

“Tom MacKenzie’s superb design takes you through beautiful wooded valleys, with lakes and streams defining several holes which would clearly be stand-out ‘signature’ holes on most other courses.

“This is a wonderful place to be a member, or to visit on a golf break or a green fee. This year we are making golf on this high-quality golf course affordable to all, and there has definitely never been a better time for golfers to visit Heythrop Park Resort.”

Green Fees for 2014 have been set at £30 during the week and £40 after 11am at weekends.

Ends.

www.heythroppark.co.uk

The Bainbridge Course at Heythrop Park was redesigned in 2009 by Tom MacKenzie, the golf course architect responsible for many Open Championship venues. The 7088 yard Par 72 course weaves throughout the 440-acre Heythrop estate and provides an exciting challenge for all golfers. The 18 hole course meanders over ridges and through valleys which are studded with ancient woodland, lakes and streams. The course is quintessentially English and has several signature holes, notably the 6th hole where the green nestles besides a fishing lake, the 14th which sweeps leftwards around an ancient woodland, and the closing hole which is straight as a die and has the impressive Heythrop Park mansion house as its backdrop.

Heythrop Park Resort is a unique venue set in 440 acres of stunning Oxfordshire Countryside. Dating back to 1710 this quintessential English country estate seamlessly combines elegance with style and boasts over 350 rooms at two individual hotels: the elegant DeVere Heythrop Park Hotel and the stylish Crowne Plaza Hotel. The Resort also offers a championship 18 hole standard golf course, health club & spa together with state-of-the-art conference facilities.

Whether you need a venue for a golf day, a conference, a special occasion, a group tour, a weekend getaway or a fairy-tale wedding, Heythrop Park Resort has something for everyone. Just 90 minutes from the heart of London, and easily accessible from Bristol, Birmingham and the Midlands, we are located on the edge of the Cotswolds with Oxford on our doorstep. Heythrop Park Resort is also the perfect base to explore England’s countryside, or to visit attractions such as Blenheim Palace, Cotswold Wildlife Park and the picturesque Cotswold Villages of Burford & Chipping Norton.