BLOOMFIELD, CT. – Feb. 22, 2005 – Travel and Leisure Golf magazine this month recognized Gillette Ridge Golf Club, a KemperSports Management facility, among 2004’s finest new public golf courses. Gillette Ridge Golf Club in Bloomfield, Connecticut debuted among the “Ten Best New Public/Resort Courses,” according to the publication. Travel and Leisure Golf released the top 10 newcomers from the public/resort, private and international categories in its January/February issue.
A joint venture between CIGNA Corporation and KemperSports, Gillette Ridge Golf Club opened last August as the only Arnold Palmer-designed golf course in the Hartford, Connecticut area. Longtime golf journalist and Travel and Leisure Golf contributing writer, Brian McCallen, calls Gillette Ridge “a bold, unabashedly urban design” and “well-groomed course.”
The 18-hole championship-caliber layout has four sets of tees, allowing the course to play from 7,191 yards at the tips to 5,582 yards from the forward tees. The course takes full advantage of its surrounding landscape, stretching across dense forest and open parkland, along with natural wetlands and meandering streams. The architects built a number of peninsula or island greens, using granite from the site to build walls near several greens and tee boxes. There are a number of forced carries at Gillette Ridge, both off the tee and on approach shots to the medium size, undulating putting surfaces. Bunkers are fairly numerous and ponds or wetlands come into play on almost half the holes. The generous fairways provide enjoyment for players of all abilities.
Spread across CIGNA insurance company’s 600-acre Bloomfield Campus, the property also features a full-size driving range, practice sand bunkers and putting greens. A 5,500-square-foot clubhouse boasts a spacious pro shop, bar and casual dining facilities.
For more information, visit http://gilletteridgegolf.com
About KemperSports Management
Northbrook, Illinois-based KemperSports Management operates more than 70 golf facilities nationwide, including nationally ranked courses such as The Glen Club, Bandon Dunes, Pacific Dunes, Harding Park, Bolingbrook Golf Club and Desert Willow, as well as a number of major sporting events including the PGA TOUR’s Booz Allen Classic and the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. For more information, visit http://www.kempersports.com.
Chuck Grodovich
Gillette Ridge Golf Club
(860) 726-1430
cgrodovich@kempersports.com
