News & events

Golf Wales launched to the golfing world at Celtic Manor Wales Open

30 May 2007

Golf Wales was successfully launched to the golfing world on 30 May at the Celtic Manor Wales Open pro-am event. The book was unveiled to the sporting press in line with the prestigious Wales Open held at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue.

John Hopkins spoke passionately about his essays and stood up for his choices in selecting some of Wales’ finest courses, admitting that it was a hard task to plump for the small selection of clubs featured in the book from an initial list of about 25 absolute gems.

“Finding the courses to write about was easy," Hopkins said. "There were plenty of candidates. But narrowing the field down was hard. My choice is totally subjective and thus open to criticism but this is what the book is meant to do - to stimulate discussion about the merits of one golf course over another at the same time as extolling the virtues of all the ones I have written about.”

Hopkins says he hopes the book will be successful enough for him to indulge himself in writing a follow-up. "There are plenty more candidates to write about," he said. "At least as many again and I would love to be able to spend six months criss-crossing Wales while doing the research for such a book."

Colin Pressdee, who contributes a ‘where to eat and stay’ section in the publication, also attended the launch and successfully highlighted the importance of food and accommodation to a golfing experience.

“Every golfer knows that a good weekend of golf can only be successful if followed up by a good meal and often, a good place to stay too. I have included quality restaurants, gastro-pubs and hotels that cater for a wide range of tastes and budgets. This makes Golf Wales not only a beautiful and intriguing book, but also an informative guide to golfing in Wales for any keen golfer.”

The book is now available priced £14.99 at all good book shops and online at www.golfwalesuk.com.

For further enquiries or to request a review copy, please speak to Vanessa Kilcoyne on 029 2078 5156 or email Vanessa.kilcoyne@graffeg.com