Hershey Country Club in Hershey, PA T
“The range of golf opportunities at the Hershey Golf Collection is limitless,” he added. “We have three Championship 18-hole golf courses (East Course at Hershey Country Club, West Course at Hershey Country Club and Hershey Links) and Spring Creek Golf Course, a nine-hole course.” The East and West Courses at Hershey Country Club are only available to members or guests of Hershey Meetings.
Golf programs can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular group holding an event at one of Hershey’s courses, such as multi-day events or a nine-hole afternoon event. “Our profes- sional staff will assist in creating a format that fits each group’s golfing needs,” Graff continued. “We can host clinics in concert with a golf event to allow novice golfers the opportunity to receive instruction while the avid golfers are playing. We also can help with any form of contest for the golf event, such as ‘closest to the pin,’ ‘longest putt’ and ‘hole-in-one’ events.”
The Hershey Golf Collection offers a professional staff of six PGA golf professionals and three PGA golf apprentices who are well versed and have extensive experience in administering golf tour- naments and instruction. The collection has a long history of hosting golf championships, as well, including both professional and collegiate events.
This tradition continues, as the PGA of America’s Professional National Championship will take place here in June 2011, the USGA Women’s Senior Amateur Championship will be hosted by the Hershey Golf Collection in 2012, as will the NCAA Division II Men’s Championship in 2013.
According to Andrew Dawes, director of golf instruction for the Hershey Golf Collection, while the courses here certainly have a tradition of excellence and have hosted high profile and top- level professional talent, corporate groups who choose Hershey for their outings can let loose and just have fun, no matter what their skill level.
“The best and most fun ‘out of the box’ event hosted at Hershey Country Club was for a group of 450 people,” Dawes recalled. “It was a late evening event that involved a dinner in the Keystone Ballroom followed by games including pool, darts, an indoor put- ting contest and Mario Kart on the Nintendo Wii. We also had out- door options that included glow-in-the-dark ‘closest to the pin’ and ‘longest drive’ contests.”
He added, “We were able to customize our facilities to accom- modate the needs of the group. They were able to mingle and spread out between the indoor and outdoor facilities at Hershey
Country Club, and there was plenty of room for our guests, so they were able to network comfortably.”
Spring Mill Country Club in Ivyland, Pennsylvania is another great choice at which to host outdoor group events.
According to Susan Kennedy, outside marketing/event sales and planner for Spring Mill Country Club, “Golf has historically been the tool to drive, build and sustain business relationships. It brings like-minded people together for sport and conversation... It also personalizes the business relationship, making it more relaxed.”
Spring Mill Country Club is easily accessible from Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties, as well as to Princeton, New Jersey.
“We offer beautiful wide-open space,” Kennedy noted, “and our course is always in excellent condition, as we are USGA specs and bent grass. Along with the catering facilities at the country club, we have Spring Mill Manor directly across the street, which can hold larger after-golf functions for 400 or more guests. The setting is perfect for a fundraiser that includes a silent auction and top draw featured speaker. Our culinary team is headed by Chef Nick Poccia, a CEC who has been with us for 20 years.”
Spring Mill is ideal for hosting smaller outings for 24 or fewer guests, and it is perfect for an executive board meeting, as a treat for valued clients or employees, or as part of a team building exercise.
“In addition, we can partner a golf outing with activities for fam- ily members of the golfers,” said Kennedy. “We can easily include a package for spouses and children at out Chip ‘n’ Putt course, mini golf course and swimming pool.”
The options extend even further, as she noted, “We have done a smaller outing under four hours at our Chip ‘n’ Putt with a wine tasting and small plate tasting included right at the course. A micro beer tasting with a Philadelphia theme would be another great option.”
In addition to golf, another appealing group outing alternative is a day or evening river cruise. One vessel that offers a wide range of options available to planners for group outings is Entertainment Cruises’ Spirit of Philadelphia.
The Spirit of Philadelphia just recently completed a $1.5 million renovation that has transformed it into a modern, contemporary
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