Here’s some of the World Golf Awards 2021 winners

The World Golf Awards, which recognises and rewards excellence in golf tourism, has held its eighth annual gala ceremony in Dubai, amid a strong sense of optimism after a very challenging two years.

Hosted in the United Arab Emirates for the second time, there was a global gathering of the golf industry, with pioneers, influencers and leading figureheads travelling from across the world to attend. The prize-giving ceremony at Park Hyatt Dubai marked the climax of a golf itinerary which included the World Golf Awards Classic played at The Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

Voted for by professionals working within the golf travel and tourism industries as well as golf tourism consumers, this year a number of golf venues were rewarded for their environmental endeavours.

Vietnam, with its resurgent golf market, was unveiled as one of the big winners, collecting trophies for both ‘Asia’s Best Golf Destination’ and ‘World’s Best Golf Destination’, whilst Da Nang’s Ba Na Hills Golf Club was named ‘Asia’s Best Golf Course’. Meanwhile Augusta National Golf Club’s rich history and world-class greens helped it lift the title for ‘World’s Best Golf Course’.

LET player and Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for her outstanding contribution to golf. Swedish pro golfer Henrik Stenson was named ‘Golf Course Designer of the Year’.

The Belfry Hotel & Resort had four wins.

Its Brabazon course was crowned ‘England’s Best Golf Course’ and it also took home the award for ‘Europe’s Best Golf Course’. The Belfry also won ‘World’s Best Golf Hotel’ and ‘Europe’s Best Golf Hotel’.

The Belfry

Chris Eigelaar, resort general manager at The Belfry, said: “It is an honour to have received four awards at the World Golf Awards; we are delighted to be placed amongst the world’s elite. It has been a challenging year, but our team have excelled, and we could not be prouder of their dedication and passion for delivering exceptional hospitality, service and always going above and beyond what we ask of them. It is fantastic to receive this recognition from our guests and uphold The Belfry’s reputation as a world-class golfing resort.”

Dumbarnie Links in Scotland was named ‘World’s Best New Golf Course’ in a good night for Troon, which picked up 20 awards.

Highlights of the awards for Troon were the famous Falcon Clubhouse at Abu Dhabi Golf Club winning the ‘World’s Best Golf Clubhouse’ and Vattanac Golf Resort – Dragon Turn winning the ‘World’s Best 9 Hole Golf Course’. Renowned for its night golf, the Sir Nick Faldo designed course in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, boasts a dramatic landscape under the night sky, along with an impressive dragon shaped lake that sits in the middle of three holes, offering visiting golfers a fresh and exciting approach to the game.

Mark Chapleski, executive vice-president of Troon International, said: “To enjoy such continued success year-on-year at the publicly voted World Golf Awards is testament to the hard work that all of our Troon-managed and affiliated courses put in globally to ensure we offer the very best in golfing experiences. Troon standards remain a coveted benchmark globally across agronomic practices, golf operations or culinary experiences.

“By securing 20 awards in 14 countries, we are able to demonstrate tangibly that these properties are all maintained to the highest standard and merit their place as some of the best in the world. Many congratulations to all of our winners whose remarkable hard work and dedication has delivered these coveted accolades for our clients.”

Troon

Infinitum in Spain, host venue of the European Tour’s Final Qualifying Stage, was named ‘Europe’s Best Golf Venue’ for the third consecutive year.

Its championship golf course, Hills, has recently been ranked inside Golf World’s ‘Top 100 Golf Courses in Continental Europe’ for the first time.

Infinitum

The resort is also participating in projects and processes to reduce its overall impact on the environment, whilst finding new and innovative ways to improve its current delivery of maintenance. Having achieved GEO certification for the second time through it’s ‘eco-first’ strategy, Infinitum has recently announced the installation of 535 solar panels to the roof of its desalination plant to run the facility using renewable energy during daylight hours.

Agustin Garcia Pascual, chief business officer, said: “We could not have wished for a better start to our journey as Infinitum. Since the launch our team has worked exceptionally hard to improve the quality of standards and facilities that are available to guests all year round. It is our ambition to present golfers and non-golfers alike with the best possible experience and as part of this it is great to see Hills rewarded.

Infinitum

“This is only the start of our journey. Every year we will seek to improve and raise the benchmark for hospitality and service within the industry, both in Spain and in Europe. We are already excited to welcome back Europe’s leading golfers next year as we begin to reveal even more of the exciting projects that are planned at the resort.”

Staying in Spain, La Finca Resort was named ‘Spain’s Best Sports Resort’.

The resort’s general manager of hospitality, Brendan Dwyer, proudly stated that “receiving this prestigious award yet again brings a welcome injection of optimism for the future. Not only is it a fantastic acknowledgement of the hard work done by all the staff at La Finca Resort; it also shows that, in spite of all that has happened, we continue to deliver outstanding quality in our facilities and services.”

Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore captured the title of ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ for the second consecutive year.

Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong also collected ‘Singapore’s Best Golf Course’.

The club this year announced a pledge to become the world’s first carbon neutral golf club by 2022, through various initiatives to actively manage and reduce its carbon, water and waste footprint including the deployment of energy efficient buggies, innovative irrigation and agronomy technologies, and supporting offsite carbon sequestration through certified high-quality offsets from contributions from golf rounds.

General manager Andrew Johnston said: “To be recognised as the ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ for the second successive year is an outstanding achievement. Receiving recognition for our hard work to improve and pioneer new sustainable initiatives over the last 12 months is also hugely satisfying.

Sentosa Golf Club

“Sentosa will take great pride and satisfaction in winning these awards, however our focus will remain on continuing the excellent work that has been carried out over the last three years and to continue to lead the industry in tackling this critical issue.”

And Golf Saudi won the ‘Sustainable Legacy Award’ for its efforts to inspire and encourage a nationwide culture of environmental and ecological innovation throughout all of its ongoing pioneering initiatives. This included Golf Saudi signing-up to a United Nations initiative for sporting organisations aimed at achieving ambitious global climate change goals. The World Golf Awards also acknowledged Golf Saudi’s Social Agenda and Mass Participation programme, both of which aim to provide Saudis with education and employment opportunities, providing certified golf specific career paths, as well as encouraging them to take up the game for the first time from a leisure perspective.

Golf Saudi

Majed Al Sorour, deputy chairman of the Saudi Golf Federation and CEO of Golf Saudi, said: “To once again be recognised by the World Golf Awards is a huge privilege and underlines the progress we as an organisation are making towards our Vision 2030 goals in Saudi Arabia.”

Golf Saudi

Chris Frost, managing director, World Golf Awards, said: “Park Hyatt Dubai and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club have proven world-class hosts of what has been a magnificent reunion of the golf tourism industry. We have had the privilege of recognising the leading golf courses, hotels, resorts, designers and tour operators from across the world and my congratulations to each of them.”