PALM HARBOR, FL – The PGA Tour has made its way to the west coast of Florida this week for The Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort.
In two months, the not for profit International Network Of Golf will follow in the PGA Tour’s footsteps, taking its 21st Annual ING Spring Conference to Innisbrook May 22-26.
And in-between, hundreds of vacationing golfers will travel to Innisbrook to enjoy all this 40-year-old golf destination has to offer.
Professional golfers; members of the golf industry and media; and consumers – Innisbrook is truly a destination for everyone with an interest in golf.
The ING Spring Conference is open to anyone in the golf industry or media, and approximately 175 people are expected to attend. For more information or to register, visit www.inggolf.com.
Innisbrook is a 900-acre property that includes 620 villa rooms, four golf courses, several restaurants, a spa and many more amenities. Tram service is available throughout the property and shuttle service is available for the short ride from the Tampa airport, so renting a car is not mandatory.
The resort recently underwent a major renovation that spruced up the property from end to end.
“We saw the need for change, and we spent $26 million in 2009 to completely renovate the property,” GM Lloyd Williams told Ocean State Golf. “I can’t think of another property that has four courses this good in one location. We have the warm weather in the winter, two great restaurants and we are less than an hour from a major airport (Tampa/St. Petersburg),”
Larry Packard, now a 96-year-old resident of Innisbrook, designed all four courses. The Copperhead course is the most recognized of the four, and is home of this week’s PGA Tour event. It also will host the ING’s Durland Cup Scramble on Wednesday of the conference. Regularly listed in the top 75 courses in America, Copperhead can be a monster, as it plays to over 7,300 yards from the tips. One of the unique things about the Copperhead is the elevation change of up to 70 feet on some holes.
Many Innisbrook regulars say the Island Course is the best track on the property. The Island will host the annual International Pairs World Qualifier on Monday of the conference. The winning twosome in that net Stableford format will represent the USA in the I.P. World Finals in Scotland in October, expense paid. The Island, also very tournament-tested, is a beautiful layout that winds through a natural setting of tall pines, moss-laden cypress and live oaks, and water hazards that definitely come into play.
The North and the South are both more resort-friendly layouts, though challenging enough for all levels of play. The ING Ice Breaker Skills Challenge on Sunday afternoon and the fun-time Team Scramble on Monday will both be played on the South.
The ING Spring Conference has a schedule featuring something for everyone. Companies that sell golf equipment or training aids will have their products tested by attending media at the Demo Lab. And all companies have a chance to take a display table in the One-On-One Appointment Show, which provides attendees a platform for private meetings to encourage business relationships.
The new Golf Media Expo will be part of a revamped Sunday Night at the ING Spring Conference. Magazines, media websites and TV and radio shows that register for the conference will receive complimentary tabletop display space to show their materials, samples and more. Display space is limited.
The conference also includes a revised educational format, featuring ActionCOACH as the workshop facilitator. There will also be tremendous networking opportunities, product displays and tests, and lots of golf.
Nationally known TV personality Michelle Phillips is the keynote speaker, and Jimi Jamison, lead singer of Survivor, will perform a concert on Tuesday night that is free to all attendees.
For registration details, or for general information, call 407-328-0500, ext. 1 or visit www.inggolf.com.
Contact:
Mike Jamison, Executive Director
407-328-0500, ext. 1
mike@jamisongolf.com
