Holiday Club puts a major emphasis on its golf projects. A full-size golf course will be built next to Holiday Club Saimaa, and the popular Katinkulta course will enter a new size class with its extension to 36 holes.
“Golf courses are a seamless part of our service concept, which consists of holiday apartments, spa, hotel, and restaurant businesses and extensive, high-quality leisure time activities,” says Regional Manager Jukka-Pekka Pajunen from Holiday Club. “We also want to be heavily involved in regional development, thereby increasing the year-round attractiveness of our destinations.”
The construction has proceeded on schedule at both locations. The course in Saimaa will open with nine holes this July, and it will be completed in the summer of 2013.
The extension in Katinkulta concerns the Vuokatti and Tenetti courses at Katin Golf. The existing courses will also be improved and modified, with parts of them being reconstructed; this means that the courses will continue to change during the coming season. Once the modifications are complete, the selection of courses will include one full-length course and two nine-hole courses.
The courses at both Saimaa and Katinkulta have focused on offering a unique nature experience, as well as high-quality, ecological construction. “For me, the construction means high-quality work that has a distinctive look,” says Jari Koivusalo, a golf architect and the Managing Director for Katin Golf Oy, who has been the designated designer for Holiday Club’s courses for sixteen years. “When designing courses, we emphasise clear units with short transfers and varying challenges that keep the players interested again and again. We also want our courses to be as easy to play, laid-back, and family friendly as possible,” he says.
Holiday Club has also put an emphasis on the development of golf products by appointing PGA Golf Professional Vesa Kontturi as the Holiday Club Golf Manager. Kontturi is responsible for the development and functionality of the company’s golf holidays, golf training, reception services, and golf shops.
The investments in the Saimaa golf course shall amount to EUR 3–4 million. The expansion at Katinkulta is estimated to cost approximately EUR 900,000.
Saimaa Focuses on Service Selection
Holiday Club Saimaa is the company’s new top product. The 18-hole pay&play course that is to complement the largest leisure time centre in the Nordic countries is being constructed on a heath that has an optimal landscape for a golf course. The location is also interesting for avid golfers, since three courses will be located within a 20 km radius once this newest course is completed. A regular flow of local customers is also expected: there are approx. 25,000 people living within a five-kilometre radius of the course.
“Our location is truly international, so we are making careful preparations for serving international guests. We shall also offer weekend courses and half-week courses that you can use to brush up on your skills before hitting the green,” promises Jukka-Pekka Pajunen.
The services of the Saimaa course are complemented by the varied and personal service offering of Holiday Club Saimaa, bringing the selection of the course to a unique level. The other leisure time activities at the location are also top-class.
Holiday Club Saimaa is an enormous complex, with its Cirque de Saimaa spa, sauna world, and ice arena. The services also include a day spa and a wide selection of programme services, while the three different restaurants offer plenty of choice for every taste. You may choose to stay in the Castle Hotel renovated into an old hospital building from the 1920s, the intimate Gant hotel, or the family-friendly, roomy Club hotel. The resort also has Holiday Club Villas that have their own kitchen and sauna.
Katin Golf Steps Up a Size
The extension brings Katinkulta Golf to a new size class. The course is one of the most popular in Finland within its category, and the number of visitors has been increasing steadily. In 2007, the course was the most popular among the 18-hole courses with its 32,000 players; in the summer of 2011, it attracted over 51,000 visitors. In recent years, the growth in the number of players has especially been focused on the 6-hole Tenetti and Vuokatti courses. With these changes, an increase of approx. 10 per cent in the number of players is expected.
“The expansion and development of the course meet the challenges posed by increasing demand. We are very proud of the success of our courses, and we wish to further improve the playing opportunities and the service experience,” Jari Koivusalo says.
The new fairways in Katinkulta are located amidst beautiful lakeside scenery, offering players wonderful challenges with their links-type fairways. “The new introductions further improve Katinkulta’s reputation as a wonderful lakeside course; the unique appearance is accentuated by the lichen and heather growths that most other courses cannot offer,” Koivusalo describes.
The latest improvement to the service offering at Katin Golf is the renovated service centre, offering a golf reception, shop, training services, and restaurants. From the counter, you can also make an appointment for “periodic maintenance” at a masseuse therapist, or take to the relaxing bubbles at the spa for relaxation after an intense round of golf.
Katinkulta in Vuokatti is also being renovated and expanded with the Villas apartments being constructed next to the resort. The project is worth EUR 17 million, making it the second-largest travel investment initiated in 2011, immediately after the company’s own Holiday Club Saimaa project. An additional 80 apartments will be constructed next to the golf course in the future.
- The “Jokamieskenttä” in Vuokatti and the “Klubikenttä” in Tenetti will both be expanded to 9 holes.
- The Nuas Championship Course is Katinkulta’s original 18-hole course; it has been the stage of countless championship competitions from domestic to international.
- The estimated costs for the renovation of the Nuas course and the expansions of the Tenetti and Vuokatti courses amount to EUR 900,000.
Eco-friendliness Is Key
Environmental issues have played a major part in the design and construction of both locations. Katin Golf Oy follows the Finnish Golf Association’s environmental programme, and is also involved in the international GEO (Golf Environmental Organization) certification programme. Similar procedures are also being introduced for the course in Saimaa.
Holiday Club’s other golf projects are also progressing steadily. The golf courses in Himos and Kuusamo, in which the company owns a share, will be completed by the summer of 2013.
More information:
Jukka-Pekka Pajunen, Regional Manager, Holiday Club Resorts Oy, tel. +358 40 501 8814, jukka-pekka.pajunen@holidayclub.fi
Jari Koivusalo, Golf Manager, Holiday Club Resorts Oy, tel. +358 40 596 3250, jari.koivusalo@holidayclub.fi
www.holidayclub.fi
Holiday Club Resorts Oy is the leading weekly timeshare company in Europe and a significant operator in the fields of holiday housing and tourism. The company is owned by the acting management, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd and a group of Finnish private investors. Holiday Club Resorts Oy has 32 resorts and 1,300 holiday homes. Seven of the resorts feature not only holiday homes but also a spa hotel. Eight resorts are located outside of Finland; in Sweden, on the Costa del Sol in Spain, and in the Canary Islands. In addition to the Holiday Club Saimaa built in Rauha, Lappeenranta, Holiday Club has recently acquired a spa hotel in Ylläs. During the financial year 2010–2011, the group recorded a turnover of €93.4 million and employed approximately 588 people on average.
Mon 05.03.2012