THE WORLD OF LEADING GOLF AWARDS 2018 AT ROYAL BLED

Mystery Testers and jury define a well recognized list of champions 2018

On October 17th, 2018, Royal Bled and World of Leading Golf CEO, Claus Feldt, welcomed members and guests to celebrate this year’s best member clubs and present them with a World of Leading Golf Award 2018. In perfect accordance with the host club’s philosophy, the event was characterised by its distinguished and vibrant, yet relaxed atmosphere.

Slovenia was the perfect destination for the fifth annual World of Leading Golf Awards, as it took place parallel to IGTM in Ljubljana, where for the first time, 12 partners and members were represented with a united WLG booth. World of Leading Golf new member club, Royal Bled, was the perfect setting for such an intimate event to underline this year’s strong growth from Eastern Europe, which included the new WLG members and exhibitors, Riverside Golf Zagreb and The V Golf Club in Vilnius.

The well-known club in Bled is cherished by many for its combination of a wonderful course, comfortable accommodation, attentive service and excellent food with a friendly and unpretentious atmosphere. It is a prestigious social hub with numerous popular events and everything that goes with it, so it is no wonder, that guests coming to attend the World of Leading Golf Awards 2018 felt more than welcome. Of course, the day and evening also served as a chance to connect and bring everyone up-to-date.

BEST SERVICE 2018

Nominees:

• Club de Golf Alcanada
• Gorki Golf & Resort
• Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee
• Kölner Golfclub
• La Reserva Club Sotogrande

Whether in detail “Bags were collected by the Caddie Master from the car and returned to the car at the end of the round.” or in general: ”All staff acknowledged my presence, polite and friendly.”, all testers unanimously stated that the excellent overall service was particularly noteworthy at World of Leading Golf Award winner La Reserva Club Sotogrande.

BEST CULINARY OFFERINGS 2018

Nominees:

• Golfclub Beuerberg
• Costa Adeje Golf
• Gardagolf & Country Club
• La Reserva Club Sotogrande
• Royal Bled

The World of Leading Golf Award winner Golfclub Beuerberg is famous for its homely atmosphere and many non-golfers come for its tasty and honest kitchen and the furious selection of wines. All Testers could feel the “love and profession from the owners” in all details and came to the conclusion that “The F&B area is one of the best I have seen in a Golf Club. A must visit, just for the restaurant!”

BEST COURSE CONDITIONS 2018

Nominees:

• Dachstein-Tauern GCC
• Golf La Moraleja
• Golf Son Gual
• Le Golf National
• Penati Golf Resort

The World of Leading Golf Award winner Penati Golf Resort received high scores in everything from the practice grounds onto the fairways regarding design and maintenance. These comments guarantee a perfect round: “Teeing areas were very well presented. Lines of cut were excellent and tee markers well positioned.”; “Bunkers were exceptional.”; “Fairways were generally outstanding in quality and cut.”; “The greens were immaculate.”

BEST OVERALL IMPRESSION 2018

Nominees:

• Celtic Manor
• Royal Bled
• Spa & Golf Resort Weimarer Land
• Golf Son Gual
• Zala Springs Golf Resort

The World of Leading Golf Award winner Royal Bled impressed with golf courses offering an “Exceptional experience”. “The views are superb. The variety of lakes, streams and woodland gives a very peaceful ambience.” But the quality does not end after 18 holes as another tester put it in a nutshell after spending one day there: “This is a club that represents the highest level of service, standards and attention to the smallest of details.”

BEST NEWCOMER 2018

Nominees:

• Golfclub Bad Ragaz
• Golf Sempach
• Skjoldenaesholm Golfcenter
• The V Golf Club
• West Cliffs Golf Links

The World of Leading Golf Award winner West Cliffs Golf Links impressed as new member and new course not only the testers: “If you love to play golf this is a course that you want to play.” The years of experience of the management of Praia D' El Rey are reflected in the small details: “The staff know that they have a wonderful golf course but nevertheless they want us to feel welcome and contribute to that wonderful experience.” The integration of the golf course in the natural surroundings and the view of the sea are the icing on the cake.

BEST MEMBER 2018

Nominees:

• Celtic Manor
• Club de Golf Alcanada
• Le Golf National
• Penati Golf Resort
• Stoke Park

“This club is in the Top 5 clubs I have visited for condition, maintenance, service and standards.” This comment of a tester on the World of Leading Golf Award winner Le Golf National makes clear: The club stood out especially by giving the Ryder-Cup feeling to every guest the whole year long. “The course is always an amazing place to play, all tees and fairways are perfect and well maintained. The bunkers are exceptional. The layout and shaping is world class.” This is why not only the testers came to the conclusion that they all “loved the Ryder Cup feeling.”

As Claus Feldt explained after the affair: “There were many excellent networking opportunities while guests also used the occasion to renew acquaintances with people they have known for some years. Evenings like this are particularly valuable in golf, for it is a relatively small industry in terms of the people in it – they move around but tend to stay within it – and they value social occasions such as this where they can catch up with people they may have known from previous roles.”

Looking at the awards ceremony itself, he added: “The fulcrum of the evening will have been the presentation of the WLG Awards and we’d like to congratulate all the winners on their individual successes. But we should emphasise, in being a member of WLG, each venue has already demonstrated a commitment to being one of the best destinations in world golf.”

For more pictures have a look at our World of Leading Golf Awards Gallery.
If you are interested to see the Awards Presentation, you could find it here.