{"id":31,"date":"2009-10-07T12:04:15","date_gmt":"2009-10-07T17:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/golfcoursebusiness.com\/?p=31"},"modified":"2012-03-19T10:07:42","modified_gmt":"2012-03-19T15:07:42","slug":"tavistock-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/golfcoursebusiness\/real-estate\/31\/tavistock-cup","title":{"rendered":"Tavistock Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s the moment the sleek white Tavistock Group corporate helicopter lands on the 18th fairway, dropping off the Isleworth team of red-clad golfers after a quick 10-minute cross-town commute. Or maybe it\u2019s just the private presence of Hall of Fame-caliber players like Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and a host of others putting on the practice green as Golf Channel satellite trucks and PGA tour leader boards prepare for the live worldwide telecast.<\/p>\n

Whatever the case may be, the first thing that\u2019s clear about Orlando\u2019s Tavistock Cup is this isn\u2019t your typical Monday morning \u201cmember-guest\u201d tournament.<\/p>\n

In 2005, when CNBC provided news coverage of the second-ever Tavistock Cup, an annual golf tournament featuring Isleworth Golf & Country Club\u2019s touring professional golf members against touring pros from cross-town sister club Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, the cable business news channel billed the private event as the \u201cToughest Ticket in Sports.\u201d Others have described the friendly affair hosted by Orlando-based Tavistock Group as the World Golf and Country Club Championship.<\/p>\n

According to Lake Nona member Ian Poulter, the contest is all about bragging rights \u2013 two great clubs, great members and great pros. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get any better than this,\u201d the popular British golfer said before this year\u2019s event at Lake Nona.<\/p>\n

However one wants to describe it, the recently held Tavistock Cup is simply one of the most unique and compelling sporting events around. How else can one explain an invitation-only event whose rosters read like a who\u2019s who of golf, led by none other than Woods \u2013 one of the greatest athletes ever.\u00a0 Or a gallery highlighted by past Tavistock Cup player and female golf icon Annika Sorenstam, who casually roamed the crowd at this year\u2019s event after slipping out of her nearby Lake Nona fairway home.<\/p>\n

Factor in the likes of fellow participants Stuart Appleby, J.B. Holmes, John Cook and captain Mark O\u2019Meara on this year\u2019s Isleworth team, as well as the Els-captained Lake Nona squad led by Retief Goosen, Justin Rose, Chris DiMarco and defending Masters champ Trevor Immelman \u2013 to name just half the players — and the members of these two clubs have won an astonishing 53 major championships and 710-plus worldwide victories.<\/p>\n

Throw in a tournament purse of $3.5 million, $1 million of which is donated to charities, two days of live international Golf Channel coverage and all the trappings of a top Tour extravaganza, including 10 leader boards and party suites\/tents flowing with the finest of foods and spirits, and it\u2019s well apparent there\u2019s nothing quite like the PGA Tour-sanctioned Tavistock Cup.<\/p>\n

In fact, all the talent, organization, and luxurious amenities and accoutrements associated with the event has the flavor and feel of a major championship, yet it\u2019s open to just 4,000-plus Lake Nona\/Isleworth members, residents, guests, sponsors and volunteers fortunate enough to follow their favorite stars in an extremely rare, no-ropes golf environment. What this special intimacy also offers is an opportunity to enjoy the players and world-class amenities of Tavistock\u2019s\u00a0 Isleworth and Lake Nona communities in a distinctly more lighthearted and relaxed fashion.<\/p>\n

For instance, what other event with this type of talent and prize money on the line actually holds a major themed private gala on the eve of the final round where all the sponsors and special guests mingle and party together \u2013 with the players\u00a0 as part of another fundraiser. At this year\u2019s highly popular gala, a brand new Audi 5 Series car and $20,000-plus Omega watches were just two of the live raffle prizes.<\/p>\n

Back on the course, where hole-in-one\/closest to the pin prizes include more Audi cars and Omega watches, Air Nautique boats and private travel from Marquis Jet, the mood and competition is just as spirited as spectators show up by the thousands in either \u201cmandatory\u201d Isleworth Red or Lake Nona Blue to display their official support for Team Isleworth or Team Lake Nona. Even the world\u2019s No. 1 ranked player lets down his guard in a rare competitive moment, telling comedic commentator David Feherty, \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt we\u2019re going to have a little bit of fun today,\u201d just one day after placing ninth at the World Golf Championship in his second tournament since coming back from knee surgery.<\/p>\n

And fun Woods had on the first hole of the opening day, when the world\u2019s top-ranked golfer gave everybody a chuckle by walking up from the back of the tee box with a pair of white autographed boxers as Henrik Stenson was lining up his opening drive. Of course, the briefs were a brief reminder of Stenson\u2019s highly publicized shot at the previous weekend\u2019s World Golf Championship at Doral, when the Swedish golfer stripped down to his white underwear and whacked a wet shot from a water hazard.<\/p>\n

From behind the tee box, boxers in hand, Woods leaned into host emcee Gary McCord\u2019s microphone and said with a grin, \u201cOn behalf of all the players from Team Isleworth, we\u2019d like to personally present to you \u2026\u201d and Woods, with a beaming smile, unfolded the autographed shorts and draped them over Stenson\u2019s golf bag.<\/p>\n

McCord, who entertained the crowd all tournament long with his witty comments, then yelled, \u201cOh, and they\u2019re dirty!\u201d Stenson quickly turned to the camera and replied with an ever-so-slightly embarrassed smile, \u201cHe\u2019s disgusting you know,\u201d in reference to Woods. \u201cYou know that don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

McCord then carried on with the gag, saying, \u201cThese will be on eBay tonight ladies and gentleman in case you want to bid. Starting bid will be a dollar and a half. I\u2019m in!\u201d Everybody then roared in laughter, and Woods and longtime caddie Steve Williams beamed with smiles, as Stenson\u2019s caddie, Fanny Sunesson proudly waved the boxers for all to see.<\/p>\n

That moment, in many ways, encapsulates the priceless experience of being at the Tavistock Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is truly no other golf tournament in the world like it,\u201d says Tavistock Cup tournament director Andy Odenbach. \u201cFifty percent of our member professionals playing on the PGA Tour are in the top 30 in the world, and our guests get to walk right down the middle of the fairways with them as they compete \u2026 it is unreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is equally as unreal are the two exclusive private communities owned by the Tavistock Group, a private investment company founded and controlled by British billionaire Joe Lewis. Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, the setting for this year\u2019s March exhibition, is a gorgeous 600-acre private community located in southeast Orlando, and serves as the centerpiece to the growing 7,000-acre mixed-used Lake Nona development highlighted by a booming life sciences corridor that features a new University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Veterans Administration and Nemours Children hospitals, and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research.<\/p>\n

Besides the world-class championship course designed by Tom Fazio, other top amenities enjoyed at Lake Nona are an elegant 40,000-square Neo-Georgian-styled clubhouse, an 18-room Lodge, world-class Bath & Racquet Club and state-of-the-art fitness center.\u00a0 The pristine golf course, set amidst a secluded wooded canopy on the front nine and three large picturesque lakes on the back nine, has hosted many international golf events over the years, including the Solheim Cup, World Cup and several USGA qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Among the low-density setting of Lake Nona lies an array of Mediterranean- and French-inspired residences, ranging from coach homes to custom estate homes priced at $1 million to more than $7 million. Famed golfers Sorenstam and Sergio Garcia are two of the member-residents, as well as former football coach Lou Holtz and tennis great Jim Courier.<\/p>\n

On the other side of Orlando where Woods calls home in Isleworth, the setting is even more luxurious and exclusive. Situated on 600 acres, the private gated enclave of less than 400 residential units is home to numerous sports stars and celebrities led by Shaquille O\u2019Neal, Vince Carter and Ken Griffey Jr., and business leaders such as Darden Restaurants chief executive Clarence Otis, Tupperware Brands chairman\/CEO Rick Goings and IMG vice chairman Alastair Johnston to name a few.<\/p>\n

Featuring one of the most exquisite clubhouses in the world, an 89,000-square-foot Mediterranean-styled structure, numerous multi-million-dollar Sotheby\u2019s sculptures scattered about the grounds and an 18-hole course called \u201cFlorida\u2019s Augusta\u201d by member-resident Robert Allenby, and Isleworth Golf and Country Club is simply in a league of its own. Home prices at Isleworth start at $2 million and go up to $20 million-plus.<\/p>\n

If either of these communities isn\u2019t compelling enough, try visiting Tavistock Group\u2019s newest resort-style development called Albany, which features Woods and Els as two of the development partners. A luxury beach resort community on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, Albany has a broad array of amenities for all members of the family including a luxury boutique hotel, an Els-designed 18-hole championship golf course and a mega-yacht marina flanked by luxury marina residences designed by some of the most acclaimed architects in the world. Most of the amenities are scheduled to be open fall 2010.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tavistock Group also is in a high-profile partnership with the Jamaican Government\u2019s Harmonization Ltd., to jointly plan and develop 2,350 oceanfront acres on the country\u2019s northern coast in Trelawney Parish (Jamaica\u2019s prime minister Bruce Golding was in attendance at this year\u2019s Tavistock Cup). The Harmony Cove development is designed to reclaim the age of luxury in Jamaica and will include several hotels, a gaming lounge, golf courses, retail shops, restaurants and marina, making it one of the Caribbean\u2019s definitive premier resort destinations.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s building best-of-class private resort-style country club communities, or hosting one-of-a-kind sporting events, it\u2019s hard to top the Tavistock touch. That would certainly be the opinion of those wined and dined at this year\u2019s Tavistock Cup, where two days of Grey Goose, Sea Bass, lobster tail and other tasty treats made most people forget about the depressing economy or anything else for that matter — other than having just a great time at a private party with the best players in the world.<\/p>\n

Yep, for at least two days under idyllic spring conditions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, it seemed like all was right in the world. Then again, that\u2019s how it feels all the time inside the gates of Tavistock Group\u2019s communities.<\/p>\n

As the colorful Poulter put it after he and his champagne-soaked teammates won this year\u2019s four-ball medal match-play\/four-ball singles medal match play, 17-13, \u201cEverything about the Tavistock Cup and Tavistock Group just gets bigger and better each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust look out there and see all the red and blue people having a great time,\u201d added Poulter, as his little girl\u00a0 danced around the 18th<\/sup>green spraying Perrier-Jouet champagne at victorious Lake Nona party-goers. \u201cFor Joe Lewis and his team to put on such a great show like this says a lot about the quality of his company and the communities. There\u2019s nothing else like it in sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, and there\u2019s nothing quite like the Tavistock Group. Sometimes, the grass is<\/em> greener on the other side.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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