• Submitted by: manso
• Editorial Articles
• 12 / 01 / 2010

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Cuba's Varadero Golf Club to host 2011 Esencia and Montecristo ...Dec 1, 2010 ... "The Montecristo Cup and Esencia Cup tournaments lead the way,offering a challenging and enjoyable game," said British golfer Tony Jacklin,Cuba Golf Courses - Cuba golf course guide.

HAVANA -- Following the great success of the 2009 and 2010, the 2011 Esencia & Montecristo Cups will be held April 15-16 at Varadero Golf Club, Cuba.

The exciting three-day event will include: Thursday April 14 - registration (handicap certification by appointment) and practice. and the evening Welcome Party.

Friday April 15 and Saturday April 16 - There will be two tournament days of individual play. The 2011 Esencia Cup will be given to the best individual net score from those days. The 2011 Montecristo Cup will be given to the best individual gross score from those days. The competition is open to those with a handicap of 24 or under (men) or 30 or under (women).

The event is being hosted by the Varadero Golf Club and Palmares SA in association with Esencia Group. The Montecristo Cup is being sponsored by Habanos, the purveyors of the world´s finest cigars. Additional information and regular updates are available at www.themontecristocup.com

British golfer Tony Jacklin, winner of The Open and the U.S. Open, says: "Cuba is an ideal location for golf tournaments and has a bright future with regards to courses. The Montecristo Cup and Esencia Cup tournaments lead the way, offering a challenging and enjoyable game … plus where else can you light up a cigar and strike the ball."

The awards dinner will take place following the competition on Saturday, April 16 at the Xanadu Mansion, which was built in 1930 and was once the luxurious residence of the Dupont family, and is within the grounds of the Golf Club.

Highlights from 2009/10 Guest of honour, Ernie Els, a three-time major championship winner and former No.1 World Golfer, said "I look forward to coming back and seeing much more Cuban golf."

The event is a truly international competition, with golfers representing many countries including the UK, Canada, Spain, Andorra, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and China as well as Cuba.

The event was covered by a host of local and international press agencies including Associated Press, Reuters EFE as well as specialist golf, travel leisure and cigar publications.

The awards were presented at the exclusive Du Pont mansion, Xanadu, where all the players enjoyed mojitos, music and dancing as well as a gala dinner on the oceanside terrace courtesy of Palmares. Throughout the weekend, there was a generous supply of Montecristo Open cigars, an exclusive range created by Habanos to complement the alfresco weekend event.

2010 prizes were presented by Alvaro Quiros, currently ranked top 50 in the world of professional golf.'There is an incredible opportunity for golf development here in Cuba especially with the magnificent climatic conditions and the natural talent Cubans have for sports."

Alvaro Quiros at TMC 2010 Graham Cooke: Award-winning golf course architect playing TMC 2010, "Commitment to the development of golf (in Cuba) is strong; it's now a question of when. As it's an important innovative strategy in the development of tourism in Cuba it is crucial to get it right and this takes time...." said Andrew Macdonald, CEO of Esencia Hotels and Resorts.

A representative of Palmares commented "Another successful event! We are already looking forward to a bigger and equally as exciting tournament for 2011 2010 winners of The Esencia & Montecristo Cups Helwis Gonzalez y David Villafana TMC 2009 winner Xavier Espot Miró with Ernie Els

Notes: For more information and registration for The Montecristo Cup and The Esencia Golf Cup 2011 and to see the images of the 2010 event please visit: www.themontecristocup.com

For information about travel arrangements and hotel rates please contact Floridita Travel by visiting
www.floriditatravel.com or call The Montecristo Hotline: +44 20 7148 5591.

For press enquiries or to receive images please contact (Europe) Johnny Considine:
Tel +34 914262053 Mobile + 44 7793451652 Email. Johnny@...

Notes to editors: Varadero Golf Club & Xanadu Mansion With a design that meets the highest international standards, the Varadero Golf Club has presently the only professional, 18-hole par golf course in Cuba. It is a par-72 course running 6,856 yards (6,269 meters) and features several salt water lakes that connect directly with the sea, a rare feature in golf course design.

This is the first and (currently) only 18-hole Cuban golf course,designed by Canadian golf architect Les Furber (President of the Canadian company Golf Design Services Ltd. and also once an associate with Robert Trent Jones), which offers luxurious surroundings and an entertaining round of golf,both for beginners and experts.

The course opened in 1998 and hosted two European Challenge Tour Grand Finals in 1999 and 2000. It is challenging yet extremely fair with wide fairways and few hidden hazards. The signature hole is the par-5 18th, which runs along the ocean with an elevated green protected by bunkers and with the wind sweeping in from the north. The course offers practice facilities with a driving range, two putting greens, a chipping green, and two practice bunkers. Club rentals are available as well as a Golf Academy.

The course runs from the San Bernardino Hill, the highest point at Varadero beach, all the way down. On the hilltop is the clubhouse - the monumental Xanadu Mansion, former residence of multi millionaire Irenée Dupont de Nemours which has been refurbished strictly respecting its original construction in 1930.

Upstairs is the Casa Blanca Panoramic Bar featuring cocktails and live music and a great view of the beach. The mansion has six guestrooms, each with private balconies, featuring 1920's classical furniture. Pure air, lush vegetation and peacefulness characterize the green and blue environment of the Varadero Golf Club, the grounds on which the Mansion Xanadu is set.

Varadero is Cuba's primary tourist destination, 120 kilometers (75 miles) from downtown Havana with a series of all-inclusive hotels stretching along the beachfront of the peninsula. The Varadero Golf Club caters almost exclusively to the hotels located along a 3.5 km resort strip along Varadero Beach. For more information visit www.varaderogolfclub.com Sponsorship

The main sponsors of The Montecristo Cup & The Esencia Cup are Habanos SA, the world's leading premium cigar company and purveyor of the famous Montecristo brand and Esencia Hotels and Resorts, one of the supporters and developers of golf in Cuba. The event is hosted by Palmares, a Cuban organization supervised by the Ministry of Tourism.

Further sponsorship is available to companies by appointment. For full sponsorship details, please contact christopher@...

http://www.worldgolf.com/newswire/browse/65370-Montecristo-Cup-Varadero-Cuba-201\1

Source: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/119221