Colin Gooch Named Head Golf Professional At Westfields
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – November 20, 2007… Marriott Golf, one of the world’s premier golf operators, today announced that Tom Farris has been promoted to Director of Golf at Westfields Golf Club, an 18-hole Fred Couples designed course in Clifton, Virginia, just 25 miles outside of Washington, D.C. Farris, who has served as the Head Golf Professional at Westfields since 2004, will now be responsible for managing all golf operations for the club, including golf & grounds maintenance, food & beverage operations, and sales & marketing initiatives.
With more than 15 years of golf industry experience as a Head Golf Professional, Farris brings a wealth of knowledge to his new position. A well respected class A-1 PGA Professional, Farris has been presented with the “Good Service Award” by Golf Digest Magazine and was nominated for PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year in 2005, among other golf industry accomplishments. Farris is a graduate of The College of William and Mary, where he received a B.A. in History.
In related news, Colin Gooch has been promoted to Head Golf Professional at Westfields Golf Club. In this new position, Gooch will be responsible for managing retail merchandising, outings and tournaments, and overall golf shop operations. Gooch, who joined the Marriott team in 2002 as Tournament Coordinator at Westfields, returns with more experience, having served in a variety golf management positions at some of Marriott Golf’s premier facilities throughout the country, including The Rookery at Marco in Naples, FL, and most recently, Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Palm Desert, CA.
During his initial experience at Westfields, Gooch was instrumental in significantly increasing the resorts overall tournament business. Gooch is a graduate from Methodist College, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Professional Golf Management.
About Marriott Golf
Marriott Golf manages 63 golf courses at 47 locations in 15 countries, offering more than 1,000 holes of championship golf. Marriott has been managing golf operations since 1970, is one of the world’s premier golf operators, and is the world’s largest resort golf management organization. Marriott provides golf management and consulting services to a variety of operational environments including resort, private club, daily fee, golf school and franchises. For more information, visit www.marriottgolf.com.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE: MAR) is a leading lodging company with nearly 2,900 lodging properties in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2006 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best places to work for by FORTUNE®. The company is also a 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Partner. In fiscal year 2006, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $12.2 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com.
Contact:
Michele Kruchkowski (mkruchkowski@mastrocomm.com) Stefanie Schiavello (stefanie@mastrocomm.com)
Mastro Communications, Inc. @ 732-469-5700
