New ownership group, Oceânico Group USA, making vast resort improvements
Carthage, NC (September 12, 2008) – Little River Golf & Resort, located near the Village of Pinehurst, has improved upon its star rating status by Golf Digest. The resort, now owned by Oceânico Group USA, has received the “Golf Digest 4.5 Star Rating” in the 2008/2009 edition of Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play”.
“This years “Best Places to Play” rates nearly 6,000 courses in North America and the Islands”, states Jerry Tarde, Chairman & Editor-In-Chief for Golf Digest Magazine. “The courses were evaluated by approximately 20,000 Golf Digest readers on a five point scale.”
Golf Digest’s extensive “Places to Play” ballots take into account criteria such as overall golf experience, value, service, conditioning, and pace of play. At 4.5 stars, there is only one course in NC that is higher then Little River, and that is Pinehurst #2.
Oceânico Group, the leading luxury property developer and golf operator in Portugal, acquired the Little River Golf & Resort in the prestigious Pinehurst golf area of North Carolina, which marked the Group’s first step into the US market. The acquisition of Little River Golf & Resort was completed in December 2007, and since then the group has made several key improvements to the 630-acre golf resort, which lead to its newly improved rating by Golf Digest.
Guests are raving about the new improvements to the Little River golf course, which has included over $600,000.00 in renovations. Improvements have included rebuilding teeing areas, bunker improvement, tree removal, and redefining the fairway lines has led to more enjoyable rounds. In addition, overall maintenance practices have improved along with increase in service levels at the course as well as the entire resort.
“Our guests have really enjoyed the improvements Oceânico has made to the resort so far. This 4.5 star rating by Golf Digest is strong testimony that we are going in the right direction with our improvements and service levels”, said Terry Schieber, Director of Golf & Resort Properties for Oceânico Group USA. “Our improvements to the golf course will continue, as well as ongoing improvements to the overall resort, which will continue to make Little River one of the top golf resort destinations in the country.”
Opened in 1996 Little River Golf & Resort includes an 18-hole golf course – the only Dan Maples designed golf course in the Pinehurst area. Managed by Troon Golf, Little River is ranked among North Carolina’s top 100 golf courses. The resort also features a 20,000ft” luxury clubhouse, which overlooks the resort’s renowned landscaping, including lakes and forests.
Also included in the resort are 64 two-bedroom suites, with Oceânico planning to expand this further with a number of residential and holiday properties, together with an on-going investment in enhancing the golf facilities. Future development will include 1150 lodging units comprising a mix of town homes, cottage homes, single-family homes, condos and a hotel & Spa.
For more information about Little River Golf & Resort, please visit www.littleriver.com.
For more information about Oceânico Group USA, please visit www.oceanicogroupusa.com.
Contact:
Oceânico Group USA
Séverine Utiger
Marketing Manager
(910) 949-3588
severine.utiger@oceanicogroupusa.com
Resort & Golf Marketing
Dave Richards, (248) 642-6420, dave@resortandgolf.com
Kevin Frisch, (989) 614-0241, kevin@resortandgolf.com
