While married to Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods commissioned a Swedish millionaire to develop a 62-acre private island for him near Stockholm. The island features a complete practice range with six hitting bays and a full short game practice area. Other lavish amenities include a 2,500 square-foot mansion, a hunting lodge, a ferry, a horse stable and a one-mile jogging path. After the well-documented demise of the Woods-Nordegren marriage, Woods never stepped foot on the finished property. The entire island is now on the market for $7.1 million U.S. dollars.
Completion of the practice range is all that remains for course architect Gil Hanse to finish the Olympic Golf Course in Rio de Janeiro – which will host golf’s illustrious return the Olympics in 2016. The range just needs to be grassed – at this stage, course superintendent Neil Cleverly has taken over the project.
The Golf Range Association of America would like to offer sincere condolences to the friends and family of PGA Professional Wes Mensing. Mensing tragically passed away on Jan. 3 after a car in New York City struck him and his girlfriend. In the teaching world, Mensing had been rising fast. He became one of Jim McLean’s standout pros at his world-renowned facility at Trump National Doral. He was named lead assistant in his second year, then a master of instruction from 2011-14. Last winter, the prestigious Plainfield (New Jersey) Country Club hired him to be the club’s first-ever director of instruction. The Wesley R. Mensing Scholarship Fund has been established by those close to him to provide funds for the continuing education of the poor and orphaned children of Northern Thailand, where he spent time helping the impoverished children of that area.
Fore Seasons Indoor Golf in Tampa, Florida, gives golfers the chance to play some of the worlds best courses via golf simulator, practice their game with launch monitor technology and receive instruction. With a Topgolf facility opening up about 10 miles away, Fore Seasons has continued to attract customers by emphasizing the instruction component.
