Sunriver, Ore. – Sunriver Resort, the only resort in America to host collegiate championships every year since 2000, may be the most popular championship site in college golf with perks like every player in the tournament issued a complimentary bicycle to ride all week.
“It’s a real treat for the teams to come to a resort setting,” says Rich Taylor, golf sales manager at Sunriver, this week’s host for the 2005 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships on the Meadows Course. “They get to have the same memorable experience here that our guests enjoy. We have the staff here who know how to roll out the red carpet.”
Sunriver, a Destinations Hotels & Resorts property, has hosted NCAA men’s and women’s golf championships at both the Division I and Division II levels, on both the Crosswater and Meadows courses. This spring Sunriver hosted its fifth consecutive Mountain West Conference Championships – both men and women.
As a result of an innovative approach to “recruiting” events, Sunriver Resort now has 13 major college events on its resume, dating back to its debut on the national scene with the 1999 NCAA Women’s Fall Preview. In 2006 the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship returns, and Taylor said that next year Sunriver also plans to bid for the 2008 Division II Men’s Championship, which would round out a full decade as a collegiate site.
The relationship has been a “win-win,” Taylor says, in that while the college teams find themselves doing things they don’t normally do at a tournament – from afternoon white-water rafting trips to bike rides on 35 miles of paved trails, to snowball fights at nearby Mt. Bachelor – Sunriver also benefits from a business perspective – filling rooms with players, coaches and families prior to peak season, while exposing its award-winning courses on a national stage.
Oregon State University, the host school of this week’s championship, has been Sunriver’s partner from the start, agreeing to be the host school for the NCAA Women’s Championship in 2000, as well.
“Oregon State was instrumental in opening the door to the NCAA,” Taylor says. “Through that teamwork with the staff at Oregon State, we have been able to learn how to work with the NCAA, and what works best for its national golf championships.”
Sunriver Resort and the community are located on 3,200 acres along the Big and Little Deschutes Rivers. It is one of only 25 Golf Magazine Gold Medal Resorts in the nation and Crosswater is No. 28 on the 2005 Golf Digest list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.” Crosswater also is designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International.
This week is one of the rare times college players get to stay right on the golf course, with accommodations during the NCAA Championships set along the 10th and 11th holes of the Meadows Course, a casual walking distance to the range.
“We have developed a real strong partnership with the NCAA,” Taylor says. “Together with the host schools, we all work well together. With all the great players who have competed at Sunriver, we have had the opportunity to be involved with a part of golf history.”
No more results found. “It’s a real treat for the teams to come to a resort setting,” says Rich Taylor, golf sales manager at Sunriver, this week’s host for the 2005 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships on the Meadows Course. “They get to have the same memorable experience here that our guests enjoy. We have the staff here who know how to roll out the red carpet.”
Sunriver, a Destinations Hotels & Resorts property, has hosted NCAA men’s and women’s golf championships at both the Division I and Division II levels, on both the Crosswater and Meadows courses. This spring Sunriver hosted its fifth consecutive Mountain West Conference Championships – both men and women.
As a result of an innovative approach to “recruiting” events, Sunriver Resort now has 13 major college events on its resume, dating back to its debut on the national scene with the 1999 NCAA Women’s Fall Preview. In 2006 the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship returns, and Taylor said that next year Sunriver also plans to bid for the 2008 Division II Men’s Championship, which would round out a full decade as a collegiate site.
The relationship has been a “win-win,” Taylor says, in that while the college teams find themselves doing things they don’t normally do at a tournament – from afternoon white-water rafting trips to bike rides on 35 miles of paved trails, to snowball fights at nearby Mt. Bachelor – Sunriver also benefits from a business perspective – filling rooms with players, coaches and families prior to peak season, while exposing its award-winning courses on a national stage.
Oregon State University, the host school of this week’s championship, has been Sunriver’s partner from the start, agreeing to be the host school for the NCAA Women’s Championship in 2000, as well.
“Oregon State was instrumental in opening the door to the NCAA,” Taylor says. “Through that teamwork with the staff at Oregon State, we have been able to learn how to work with the NCAA, and what works best for its national golf championships.”
Sunriver Resort and the community are located on 3,200 acres along the Big and Little Deschutes Rivers. It is one of only 25 Golf Magazine Gold Medal Resorts in the nation and Crosswater is No. 28 on the 2005 Golf Digest list of “America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.” Crosswater also is designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary by Audubon International.
This week is one of the rare times college players get to stay right on the golf course, with accommodations during the NCAA Championships set along the 10th and 11th holes of the Meadows Course, a casual walking distance to the range.
“We have developed a real strong partnership with the NCAA,” Taylor says. “Together with the host schools, we all work well together. With all the great players who have competed at Sunriver, we have had the opportunity to be involved with a part of golf history.”