Veteran PGA pro brings distinguished golf career to newly rejuvenated South Florida course
WELLINGTON, Fla., Sept. 24, 2007 – KemperSports has recently announced the naming of longtime PGA professional and golf industry veteran Wheeler Stewart as head golf professional of Binks Forest Golf Club in Wellington, Fla. In this role, Stewart will be responsible for golf course and shop operations, instruction, golf events and tournaments, and various programs at the newly renovated, championship course in South Florida.
"I’m honored to join Binks Forest at such an exciting time in the club’s revitalization," said Stewart, a resident of Royal Palm Beach. "I look forward to working with our team to ready this course for its imminent return to the golf world and to the Wellington community, and to provide our public golfers and members alike with first-rate service."
Stewart, a 28-year PGA golf professional, brings a distinguished teaching and playing career to his new post at Binks Forest Golf Club. His experience in the Greater Palm Beach County market began in 2001 as the first head golf professional at The Links at Madison Green in Royal Palm Beach. He moved on to serve as head professional at West Palm Beach Golf Course and Wellington Country Club. Prior to entering the Florida golf scene, Stewart gained valuable experience in the Middle Atlantic, including 10 years as head professional at Oakland Golf Club in Maryland. He was also a teaching professional at the historic Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., which has hosted numerous PGA TOUR events and major championships.
Over the past three decades, Stewart has also proven his skills on the course, accumulating an impressive list of golf accomplishments and individual tournament titles, highlighted by winning the Maryland Open and the Middle Atlantic PGA Championship. In 1986, he was a member of the United States team that claimed the PGA Cup, a premier event that pits the top PGA professionals from the U.S. against their counterparts from Great Britain and Ireland.
Stewart marks the latest addition to a first-rate professional team that has been assembled to restore the once-acclaimed Binks Forest Golf Club, including: Aquila Property Company and KemperSports, course owner and operator, respectively; Gene Bates, golf course architect; and Allied Capital, financial partner in the Binks Forest acquisition.
Originally designed by PGA TOUR professional Johnny Miller and award-winning Florida-based golf course architect Gene Bates, Binks Forest opened in 1990 and quickly gained prominence in the golf industry, including a ranking among Golf Digest’s "Top 75 Public Golf Courses in the United States." Hailed as unique among its Florida counterparts with rich foliage, pine tree-lined fairways, heavily forested terrain and lush Bermuda grass reminiscent of North Carolina’s Pinehurst, the venue quickly proved itself tournament-ready by hosting a major professional event – the 1990 PGA TOUR Team Championship – in its first season. Binks Forest Golf Club, closed for more than five years, is scheduled to open nine holes on Oct. 22 followed by the full 18 holes in mid-November.
Binks Forest Golf Club is offering a limited number of Annual, Charter and Corporate memberships (rates for Binks Forest and Wellington residents are available). Contact Greg Schroeder, director of sales and marketing, at 561.714.5048 or gschroeder@kempersports.com for membership information, or visit Binks Forest Golf Club’s newly launched Web site at http://www.binksforestgc.com.
About Aquila Property Company
Founded in 2000, Aquila Property Company, Inc., is a South Florida-based real estate investment and management and advisory firm that specializes in turning around underperforming properties. Aquila’s principals bring more than 35 combined years of experience as direct principals and senior officers for institutional investors and have been responsible for the acquisition, financing development and management of more than $3.0 billion in real estate transactions throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aquilaproperty.com.
About KemperSports
Northbrook, Ill.-based KemperSports operates golf facilities as well as athletic clubs, lodging venues and major sporting events, including nationally ranked courses and tournament venues such as Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Dorado Beach Resort & Club, The Glen Club, Gillette Ridge, Harding Park Golf Course, Bolingbrook Golf Club and Desert Willow Golf Resort. Affiliate KemperSports Marketing & Communications, a sports marketing, events and public relations agency, has produced and managed major national and international events and communications programs, including the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational college basketball tournament and numerous PGA TOUR events. For more information, visit http://www.kempersports.com.
Contact:
Kristin Schaner
847.480.4850, kschaner@kempersports.com
Susie Chang
847.850.2471, schang@kempersports.com
