(NEWPORT, Wales) – The Celtic Manor Resort – host of golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup and premier luxury retreat less than two hours outside London – announces a specially commissioned shotgun will go on display at this year’s Ryder Cup to celebrate the sporting links between shooting and golf.
To mark the event’s first visit to Wales this October, specialist gunmaker Holloway & Naughton® was commissioned to create the bespoke 12-bore game gun.
It features intricate engravings from world-renowned Welsh engraver, Phil Coggan. Images include a detailed portrait of Samuel Ryder, the seed merchant who created the Ryder Cup back in 1927. A Welsh dragon, the national symbol of Wales, is also depicted, as well as a bald eagle to represent the American visitors. The Ryder Cup itself is featured on the top lever in the finest detail. A striking European flag appears on the trigger guard accentuated by gold stars.
Notwithstanding its decorative appeal, the finished product is also a sporting shotgun of exceptional quality.
“It’s a work of art but also a fully functioning sporting gun hand-built to the very highest specifications,” says Andrew Harvison, managing director of Holloway & Naughton®. The gun represents more than a twelve hundred man-hours of effort in its production.
“There is a beautiful feel to the gun which has been enhanced by the wonderful, detailed artwork of Phil Coggan. It was a real honor to have been granted this commission and we are very proud of the end result, the sort of quality shotgun that is not made very often these days.”
Featuring a 12-guage sidelock action and a single inertia trigger, the shotgun has demiblock 30-inch barrels and a tapering solid rib.
The gun will be put on display during the Ryder Cup, which takes place from October 1-3 at Celtic Manor, the five-star resort in South Wales.
Simon Gibson OBE, Chief Executive of Wesley Clover, the holding company that owns the resort, says: “Celtic Manor’s reputation as a world-class golfing venue will be cemented when it stages the Ryder Cup, but shooting is another popular outdoor pursuit we offer our leisure and corporate clients.
“Many people enjoy both sports and there are certainly similarities between the two. The importance of technique and maintaining your powers of concentration are key elements of shooting and golf.
“The gun is a celebration of Wales hosting The Ryder Cup for the first time and the Welsh and British craftsmen involved in its design and construction have created a truly magnificent shotgun worthy of the occasion.”
For more information about Celtic Manor Resort, email Reservations at bookings@celtic-manor.com; call 866.789.5779 (U.S.) / 877.354.2003 (Canada) and ask for Golf Sales Manager Sean Clancy; or visit www.celtic-manor.com.
About Holloway & Naughton® Gunmakers
Holloway & Naughton® is a traditional bespoke handmade gun maker, whose origins date back to 1909. The Company has an enviable reputation, equalling if not exceeding the leading London gun houses. In 1995, Andrew Harvison began designing a complete new range of guns, driven by an acute attention to mechanical detail, along with visual design, and achieved by expert craftsmen. This translates into guns with exceptional handling characteristics, combined with extreme artistic beauty. His efforts were recognised by the industry, when Holloway & Naughton ® was awarded the Highly Commended, Best New Gun 2006 at the Shooting Industry Awards. With new product launches imminent, the international presence of the Company will undoubtedly continue to expand.
About Celtic Manor Resort
Located less than two hours outside London, Celtic Manor Resort will host golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup and is the UK’s foremost luxury retreat. Featuring 1,400-plus acres of panoramic parkland and wooded hills, it is recognized as the “Gateway to Wales.”
A popular destination among business and leisure travelers, golf-tour operators and corporate incentive agents, five-star Celtic Manor offers myriad amenities. These include three championship golf courses (the Twenty Ten, Roman Road and Montgomerie), two lavish hotels (the majestic, 330-room Resort Hotel and historic, 70-room Manor House), five savory restaurants, two tranquil spas and state-of-the-art health clubs, a golf academy and miles of hiking trails. A convention center, exhibition hall, array of well-appointed suites, meeting rooms and large ballrooms are also available to host groups up to 1,500 for conferences, weddings and other special events.
Celtic Manor is privately owned by founder Sir Terry Matthews, the Ottawa, Canada-based telecommunications entrepreneur who was born on the Celtic Manor site when the original Manor House was a maternity hospital.
Getting There: Celtic Manor is 45 minutes from Bristol International Airport (BRS) and Cardiff International Airport (CWL). Daily, non-stop flights are available from Newark, New Jersey (EWR) to Bristol on Continental. Daily, one-stop flights are available from New York to Cardiff on KLM via Amsterdam; and from New York, Chicago, Boston and Orlando on Aer Lingus via Dublin. London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is a two-hour shuttle drive, with rail service from Paddington Station (London) to Newport, Wales also available.
Contact:
Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3509
sreynolds@buffalocommunications.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
www.twitter.com/buffalocomm
David Wood
Buffalo Communications
703.635.0577
dwood@buffalocommunications.com
