{"id":463,"date":"2010-11-04T16:04:37","date_gmt":"2010-11-04T23:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveltattler.com\/?p=463"},"modified":"2010-11-04T16:04:37","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T23:04:37","slug":"royal-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/463\/royal-treatment","title":{"rendered":"ROYAL TREATMENT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>While the world\u2019s most famous and luxurious golf clubs and resorts profess to giving their guests the white-glove treatment, the prospect of a royal visit or a head of state dropping by is a complex matter.
\n\u00a0
\nBearwood Lakes is an exclusive golf club with an international membership in Berskshire. A 30-minute drive from London\u2019s Heathrow Airport, its finely manicured course and clubhouse are built on an estate that, until recently, was part of the Great Windsor Park \u2013 hunting grounds of the Kings of England since the 11th century. No surprise then, that members of Britain\u2019s royal family are prone to make themselves at home at Bearwood Lakes, which has, among other things, hosted the United Kingdom qualifier for the Duke of Edinburgh Cup. Naturally, protocols for when the royals arrive are firmly in place. Take for example, His Royal Highness Prince Edward\u2019s recent visit.
\n\u00a0
\n\u201cAll staff members were briefed and told that when addressing the Prince for any reason, they should call him \u2018His Royal Highness\u2019 and that no fuss was to be made of him,\u201d says Rebecca Glenister, the membership director for Bearwood Lakes. \u201cThe Prince made it quite clear he did not want to cause too much disruption to the daily running of the golf course.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nHonourable intentions indeed. But a royal is a royal and due to safety concerns, some fuss and disruption was certainly necessary. Security staffers arrived two weeks ahead of the Prince. \u201cThey checked the boundaries of the golf course for weak points and one of our meeting rooms in the clubhouse was appointed a \u2018safe room\u2019 where, in case of an emergency, the Prince could be locked away from harm with a telephone whilst his bodyguards assessed the situation. The key was given to the head security guard and no one was allowed in or out.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nAll normal postal and food deliveries were suspended for the day and a Bearwood Lakes staff member, who would recognise authorised visitors, manned the gate to identify possible risks. Two bodyguards and two four-wheel drive vehicles were set to shadow the Prince around the hilly and wooded golf course designed by Martin Hawtree, even if he were to stop by the club\u2019s halfway house to try one of their famed bakewell tarts, according to Glenister.
\nMembers at Bearwood Lakes enjoy the tarts, and an extensive practice range which helps them avoid the 50 acres of lakes threatening their score. Membership at Bearwood Lakes is by way of no more than 675 debenture units. A small number of full memberships are available at approximately $10,000 U.S.; associate memberships, which forbid play on weekends or Bank Holidays, cost $5,000. Corporate, student, junior and international memberships are also available. International members must be a member of a recognised golf club and must reside outside the United Kingdom. Contact Bearwood Lakes at www.bearwoodlakes.co.uk<\/a> or telephone 01 18 979 7900.
\nOne avowed UK resident, HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, slips in and out with only one security person when he visits the Loch Lomond Golf Club, according to Joanne Kerr, a communications official for the posh and private enclave just outside Glasgow. His Highness serves as Loch Lomond\u2019s International Captain, so his visits are often in an unofficial capacity. \u201cThe first time we address him as \u2018Your Highness,\u2019 the second time and onward, it\u2019s \u2018Sir\u2019,\u201d Kerr explains. Mind you, the staff members employ a \u201cspeak only when spoken to\u201d philosophy with the Prince.
\nThe same royal treatment is available to all Loch Lomond members, who come from as many as 28 different countries. Regular membership, a non-equity deposit of approximately $100,000 U.S., which is 100-percent refundable after 30 years, includes full use of the Loch Lomond and Dundonald Golf Courses without green fees. Spouses and children through the age of 22 may also enjoy the club. Charges apply for guest fees, accommodations, fishing, shooting, boating, and dining. Contact Loch Lomond Golf Club via www.lochlomond.com<\/a> or phone 44 01 436 655555.
\nFormer U.S. President Bill Clinton\u2019s visit to Loch Lomond and the neighbouring De Vere Cameron House Hotel proved to be much more complicated that Prince Andrew\u2019s stealthy visits \u2013 seven rooms were needed for Clinton\u2019s entourage. In addition to the security officers minding the President from between the trees that line each hole, a CPR machine trailing on a golf buggy was never far from Clinton as he walked the Loch Lomond, course designed by Tom Weiskopf, which plays host each year to the Scottish Open.
\nTwo weeks before Clinton\u2019s visit, secret service officials chartered a pleasure boat normally used to give sightseeing cruises to Cameron House guests to scan the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. When the boat captain asked one of the security officials for whom he worked, he was told cryptically, \u201cMate, I can\u2019t answer that, but I\u2019m not bothered by the question. If you already knew who was coming, I\u2019d be worried.\u201d
\nDe Vere\u2019s prestigious, 5-star Cameron House and its brand new golf course, The Carrick, are open to the public, with resort ownership opportunities available as well. Log on to www.thecarrick.com<\/a> or phone 44 01 31 558 3111.
\nAfter no less than weeks of security preparations, sitting U.S. President George Bush was able to walk the grounds of the majestic Dromoland Castle freely during a visit to the stately Irish golf resort to meet with European leaders in the summer of 2004. \u201cPresident Bush was exceedingly nice and friendly to everyone he encountered,\u201d says Michael Vaughan, Dromoland\u2019s marketing manager, who had spent time in Bush\u2019s company. To visit Dromoland, which is open to the public, log on to www.dromoland.ie<\/a> or phone 353 61 368 144
\nGleneagles, a famed golf resort on 850 acres in the Scottish Highlands, excelled at the task of welcoming a number of world leaders simultaneously, including Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, when the five-star hotel hosted the G-8 Summit in July 2005. \u201cNot surprisingly, the sporting clay grounds were closed down altogether,\u201d says Terry Massey, a shooting instructor at Gleneagles, who normally lends a helping hand to guests with their shotguns to aim at prey such as pigeons, grouse, pheasants and rabbits.
\nFood service workers were divided into the \u201cred team\u201d and \u201cblue team\u201d to wait on the various leaders, and all Gleneagles staff were forced to park two miles off-site near the motorway, submit to metal detection searches, and be shuttled in while the world leaders rattled the manor\u2019s glass windows by landing on the Gleneagles lawn in their Chinook helicopters. Head professional Russell Smith said Russian President Vladmir Putin and Jenna Bush booked in for golf lessons.
\nOn another, somewhat more private and obviously less formal occasion, the King of Morocco, a frequent Gleneagles guest, arrived in a motorcade of 16 limousines ferrying 50 female companions!
\nWhether, like the King, you have a companion, or even if you\u2019re travelling alone, visit Gleneagles by logging on to www.gleneagles.com<\/a> or phone 44 (0) 1764 662231. Membership opportunities are also available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the world\u2019s most famous and luxurious golf clubs and resorts profess to giving their guests the white-glove treatment, the… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2010\/11\/Gerald_G_Golf_Decoration.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":465,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463\/revisions\/465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}