NEWPORT, Wales -- The Celtic Manor Resort has opened its Twenty Ten Course, which will stage the Ryder Cup in 2010, resort officials have announced. The new course -- the third championship layout at the luxury golf and spa resort in South Wales -- is the first in history to be designed and built specifically for the Ryder Cup.

The new Twenty Ten Course is part of a $32 million construction project at Celtic Manor. (Photo: Celtic Manor)

"They've done a really good job on the new holes," said Ian Woosnam, the victorious Welsh captain at the 2006 Ryder Cup and an ambassador for Ryder Cup Wales 2010. "They have been designed especially for the Ryder Cup and should provide plenty of drama which is exactly what you need.

"The closing stretch is fantastic. Just as matches will be heading towards their climax, you've got two great match-play par 4s at the 14th and the 15th," he noted. "Then the 18th is a really cracking par 5 to finish. You are going to be standing there, thinking shall I or shan't I go for it?"

The course also has been constructed with spectators in mind, and the huge hillsides lining the closing holes offer the best views ever seen of the decisive action at a Ryder Cup, as well as the chance to keep up with play on several of the earlier holes below.

More than $32 million has been invested in the course and a luxurious new clubhouse, which features Rafters Restaurant, with its floor-to-ceiling cedar beams and modern European dining; a members lounge with leather chesterfields, high-backed chairs and a warming open hearth; and luxurious, oak-paneled locker rooms from where it will be possible to order a drink from the spike bar.

The Twenty Ten Club has been launched as a private club, but overseas and other visiting golfers will be able to play the new course as a limited number of tee times have been reserved for their use, with special rates for hotel residents.

The course joins the existing Roman Road Course, home to the Celtic Manor Wales Open on the European Tour for the last three years, and another new championship layout at the resort known as the Montgomerie Course. Designed by the Ryder Cup star Colin Montgomerie as his first design project in Great Britain, the Montgomerie features deep pot bunkers and other traditional touches which lend the course a links-like feel.

Set in 1,400 acres of beautiful parkland, the Celtic Manor Experience also includes two hotels -- the five-star, 330-room Resort Hotel and the historic 19th-century Manor House with 70 rooms -- two exceptional spas, two state-of-the-art health clubs, shooting, fishing, tennis courts, mountain biking, walking trails and five restaurants.

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