Cottrell Park Golf Resort, managed by GCMA member Derek Smith, was named 2015 Future Financials Welsh Golf Club of the Year at the Golf Union Wales Annual Awards Ceremony at Celtic Manor Resort on Wednesday 3 February.
The resort, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, was awarded the honour above all other golf clubs in Wales because of its diversity, outstanding customer service and commitment to the environment.
The ambitious club has seen over 20,000 golf visitors in the past twelve months, an increase of 2% on the previous year due to its development and expansion of wide-ranging leisure facilities. There have been 27 weddings and six wedding fayres, firmly establishing the resort as a an elegant venue for weddings with award winning cuisine.
Cottrell Park Resort also hosts Corporate parties and team building events, attracting a wider demographic of visitors to experience the vast facilities.
Whilst the club prides itself on being a welcoming resort that doesn’t alienate local guests and tourists, it keeps the traditions and etiquette of golf at its heart.
Head Greenkeeper, Paul Morgan who has already celebrated his own personal 20th anniversary as a valued employee of Cottrell Park, has seen the club grow from its inception in the mid 1990s to the two 18-hole championship-maintained golf courses on offer today.
Derek Smith, General Manager was delighted with the accolade: “This is the result of many years of hard work by each and every person at the resort, and I can’t wait to go back and let everyone know.
“There has always been a vision at Cottrell, that the resort needed to be more than just a golf club. The economic downturn spurred on an ambitious team to diversify and offer a wide range of facilities to a wide-ranging group whilst always keeping the integrity of the golf’ he added.
Forty years in the Golf Industry, Smith himself brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the resort: “We aim to be accessible to all but 40 years in this industry has taught me that it is equally important to remain loyal to our members and this award proves that the team of staff we have here have delivered on every level. I’d also like to thank the owners of the resort David and Jonathan Johns-Powell for their continued support, their vision and their willingness to always invest in the resort”
Customer service has been a high priority at the resort which Smith attributes much of the resorts success to: “We listen to all our customers, from local visitors and tourists to our loyal members.
“Customer service is first and foremost here, all our staff undergo customer service training on an annual basis and we actively encourage feedback on our TripAdvisor profile. We have recently been awarded the TripAdvisor certificate of excellence, which we are also very proud of as it puts us within the top 10% of businesses to be given this status.
“We’re pro-active in our commitment to the environment for example, we participate in an annual tree planting and maintenance programme and recycle all rain water.
“Cottrell Park has held the largest golf membership in Wales since 2007 with the only exception being 2014 when we were second highest and with a year of celebration to come this award is the best start to the year the resort could wish for.” said Smith.
Congratulations from everyone at HQ to Derek, and the rest of the Cottrell Park team!
By Mike Hyde
