Ronnie Rooks Named Blue Monster Course Superintendent, Anthony Baur Named Great White Course Superintendent, And Mark Gerstung Named Superintendent For The Red & Gold Courses
ORLANDO, Fla., – October 9, 2008…Marriott Golf, one of the world’s premier golf operators, today announced that Ronnie Rooks has been promoted to Golf Course Superintendent for the famed Blue Monster Course at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Fla. Home to the PGA TOUR’s WGC-CA Championship, one of three World Golf Championships events, the Blue Monster Course is one of five world-renowned golf courses on property at Doral.
In this position, Rooks will be responsible for overseeing course conditions, grounds maintenance and operations for the Blue Monster Course, ensuring that it is in pristine condition for the WGC-CA Championship, March 10-15, 2009. Rooks formerly served as Golf Course Superintendent of the Great White Course at Doral.
In addition, Anthony Baur, who previously served as Superintendent for Doral’s Red and Gold Courses, has been promoted to Superintendent of the Great White Course. Further, Mark Gerstung, who previously served as the Assistant Superintendent for the Red Course and the Gold Course, has been promoted to Superintendent for both the Red and Gold Courses.
“It is always preferable to promote from within our current team, so we are very pleased to announce that Ronnie, Anthony and Mark have accepted new positions,” said Darrin Helfrick, Golf General Manager, Doral Golf Resort & Spa. “Each individual has played an integral role in the overall operation here at Doral, and they are an ideal fit to oversee operations for our championship golf courses.”
The 693-room Doral Resort, which is managed by Marriott International and is officially named the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort, joined Marriott’s first-class portfolio of 60 resorts worldwide in August of 2004. In managing the golf business operations at Doral, Marriott International enlisted its in-house golf management arm, Marriott Golf, the world’s largest resort golf management company and the first in-house golf management team ever established by a lodging company. Currently, Marriott Golf oversees more than 150,000 rounds of golf per year on Doral’s five championship golf courses.
About Marriott Golf
Marriott Golf manages 61 golf courses at 45 locations in 13 countries, offering more than 1,000 holes of championship golf. Marriott has been managing golf operations since 1970 and is one of the world’s premier golf operators. 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 more than 3,000 lodging properties in the United States and 66 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 Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 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
