Solheim Cup 2011

Solheim Cup – County Meath, Ireland: 23rd – 25th September 2011

1990 - Orlando, Florida    1992 - Edinburgh, Scotland
1994 - West Virginia    1996 - Chepstow, Wales
1998 - Dublin, Ohio    2000 - Luss, Scotland
2002 - Edina, Minnesota    2003 - Malmo, Sweden
2005 - Carmel, Indiana    2007 - Halmstand, Sweden
2009 – Sugar Grove, Illinois    2011 – Dunsany, County Meath

Considered the premier event in women's world golf, the biennial trans-Atlantic matchplay competition will see 12 of the top European-born players from the Ladies European Tour (LET) pitted against 12 top American-born players from the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). It was founded in 1990 by Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (KMC), makers of PING golf equipment.
There will be extra spice to the event in 2011 as the European team attempt, on home turf, to win back the famous Waterford Crystal Trophy won by the United States Captain Beth Daniel and her team after an electrifying Solheim Cup at Sugar Grove in Illinois in September 2009.

The Solheim Cup will take place in Killeen Castle, Dunsany, County Meath
23rd – 25th September 2011.

The Junior Solheim Cup will also take place in September 2011, on the weekend preceding the main tournament. Following a similar format to the Solheim Cup, the Junior Solheim Cup features the top 12 U.S. amateur girls (under 19) versus their European counterparts. The event is held over two days, with six fourball and six foursome matches the first day, and twelve singles matches the second day. So far, the home team has won all five events, with Team USA winning in 2002, 2005, and 2009, and Team Europe winning in 2003 and 2007. The venue for 2011 is The Knightsbrook Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort, Trim, Co. Meath

Facts & Figures:

Solheim Cup
• Founded in 1990, the Solheim Cup is the most prestigious international team event in women’s professional golf.
• Named after Karsten Solheim and his family – the makers of PING golf equipment -the Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LGPA and the best European-born players from the LET.
• The Waterford Crystal Perpetual Trophy was made exclusively in Ireland by Waterford Wedgewood for this event.
• “Team Ireland” – Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Killeen Castle, Twenty-Eleven (the company formed to deliver Solheim Cup 2011), local accommodation providers, Meath County Council, Meath Tourism.
• Spectator Numbers: Sweden, 2003 – 99,500 spectators; Indiana, 2005 – 103,000 spectators; Sweden, 2007 – 100,400 spectators; Illinois, 2009 – 120,000+ spectators; Meath, 2011 – (modest prediction) 95,000 spectators.

Killeen Castle

Killeen Castle, the ancestral home of the Earls of Fingal, sits in a wooded estate of 600 acres in Dunsany, County Meath.
The Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course winds its way through the historic grounds and natural woodlands of one of Ireland’s oldest and finest 12th Century Norman castles.
Located just north of Dunshaughlin in the heart of County Meath and overlooked by the ancient Hill of Tara, Killeen Castle is just minutes away from the picturesque hamlet of Dunsany.
Killeen Castle also benefits from proximity to many of Meath’s towns and villages, with their abundance of shops, services and activities.
Killeen Castle boasts a 30,000 sq stand alone modern purpose built clubhouse, with parking facilities in an old walled garden setting for 260 cars.
The Killeen Castle estate offers the Solheim Cup 500 acres for public village and hospitality facilities, a television compound, grandstands and spectator traffic flow, all adjacent to the dramatic18th hole.
For more information on Killeen Castle, go to www.killeencastle.com.

Golf Facts:
• Golf is a massive participation sport, with 57 million golfers and over 32,000 golf courses globally.
• USA is the largest market with 27.3 million participants.
• Estimated worldwide female golf population of 10 million.
• Between 1998-2994, overall golf participation in Europe has increased by 35%.
• Over the same period, female golf participation in Europe has increased by 476%.
• Female golf participation will continue to grow faster than men’s golf in the future.
• The standard of women’s golf is very high.

What does hosting the Solheim Cup mean for County Meath:

Statistics from Solheim 2009, Illinois:

Accommodation & Services -
• 8,000+ hotel rooms booked in the wider area, many for the full week
• Hotels, restaurants, bars & golf courses – packed all week
• Importance of local contacts & cooperation

Volunteering -
• 1,600 volunteers worked at the event – wide range of activities including stewarding, visitor services, airport runs, meet & greet, traffic direction, etc.
• Volunteers paid to participate - $150 dollars each!
• 3,000+ volunteers on a waiting list
• Some volunteers stayed with local families

Visitors-
• Visitors from 49 out of the 50 US States were identified
• Visitors from 15 other countries
• Sweden – origin of the highest number of European visitors
• Other countries represented – Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Spain, Holland, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands
• 3,500 junior golfers and children
• ‘Set-up’ and ‘take-down’ crews stayed longer

Media -
• Global exposure for ladies professional golf and those brands associated with the event through: daily newspapers, sports magazines, lifestyle magazines, in-flight magazines.
• Most widely televised women’s golf event in the world.
• Total brand exposure produced a gross global media value in excess of €8.9 million in 2007.
• Over 421,000,000 homes in 140 countries – the Golf Channel & Sky Sports.
• Preliminary figures for 2009 – overall viewers 40% higher than 2005 and 2.5 times higher than 2007 in the US.

Benefits:
• 1,900 references to host venue on an Internet search the day after the event
• Estimate - $20 million + to local and regional economy

Meath & The Solheim Cup 2011 – What can we achieve?

Attract & retain as much business as possible into the county.
Raise awareness of the event in hotels, guest houses, self-catering accommodation, restaurants, bars,, golf courses and in every business – and secure their involvement.
Inform & train people – so we know and can impart as much information as is needed.
Let’s keep people in Meath – what “after sundown” events do we have/can we arrange?
Ensure fair play – not just confined to sport – also applies to providing services to those who visit our county!

Useful Web Links:
• For more information on the Solheim Cup 2011, go to Solheimcupmeath.ie or www.solheimcup.com
• For more information on Killeen Castle, go to www.killeencastle.com.
• For more information on County Meath, go to www.meath.ie
• For more information on accommodation and activities in County Meath, go to www.meathtourism.ie.
• For more information on golf packages to the Solheim Cup in Meath in 2011, go to www.discoverireland.ie/Golf/The-Solheim-Cup-2011.aspx