Gleneagles Hotel | |
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General information | |
Status | Completed |
Type | Hotel |
Architectural style | Georgian |
Address | Auchterarder Perthshire PH3 1NF |
Country | Scotland |
Coordinates | 56°17′09″N3°44′51″W / 56.28583°N 3.74750°W |
Construction started | 1913 (paused 1914 – 1922) |
Completed | 1924 |
Opened | 7 June 1924 |
Owner | Ennismore |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 3-storey with attics |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Matthew Adam |
Architecture firm | Caledonian Railway Divisional Engineer |
Developer | Caledonian Railway |
Other designers | Charles W. Swanson (interior designer) |
Other information | |
Number of rooms | 232 |
Number of restaurants | 6 (The Strathearn; Andrew Fairlie; The Birnam; The Dormy; Glendevon; Garden Cafe) |
Number of bars | 4 (Auchterader 70; The Century Bar; The American Bar; Inglenook) |
Public transit access | Gleneagles |
Website | |
gleneagles | |
Listed Building – Category B | |
Official name | Gleneagles Hotel |
Designated | 8 April 1980 |
Reference no. | LB4570 |
Club information | |
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Location | Auchterarder, Scotland, UK |
Established | 1924 |
Type | Private |
Owned by | Ennismore |
Total holes | 63 |
Events hosted | Ryder Cup, Johnnie Walker Championship |
Website | www |
King's Course | |
Designed by | James Braid |
Par | 71 |
Length | 6,790 yards |
Queen's Course | |
Designed by | James Braid |
Par | 68 |
Length | 5,965 yards |
PGA Centenary Course | |
Designed by | Jack Nicklaus |
Par | 73 |
Length | 7,320 yards |
Wee Course (9 holes) | |
Designed by | George Alexander |
Par | 27 |
Length | 1481 yards |
Gleneagles Hotel is a hotel near Auchterarder, Scotland. It was commissioned by the Caledonian Railway and opened in 1924. The bandleader Henry Hall performed at the hotel before the Second World War during which it served as a military hospital. There are three tournament-standard golf courses in the grounds and the hotel was redeveloped for the 40th Ryder Cup in 2014. Significant conferences at the hotel have included the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1977 and the 31st G8 summit in July 2005. It is a Category B listed building. [1]
Construction of the hotel was commenced by the Caledonian Railway (CR), which also built the nearby Gleneagles railway station. However, by the time it opened in 1924, the CR had been absorbed by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS). It was equipped with its own dedicated railway branch line. [2] An up-and-coming dance band leader named Henry Hall was involved in buying their pianos, and organising the dance band entertainment. He decided that radio broadcasts would be an ideal way to advertise the new hotel, so was given permission to move his Trafford Band from Manchester's Midland Hotel to the Gleneagles and form a new band in Manchester. The hotel's opening night was celebrated with Scotland's first ever outside broadcast on 7 June 1924. [3]
After the season ended, the band moved to the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. Summer 1925 saw the band return to Gleneagles, although their commercial recordings were made in Manchester, and the winter seasons were in Liverpool. [4]
During World War II, as with many large country hotels, it was converted into Gleneagles Hospital [5] under the charge of Dr Thomas Ferguson as Medical Superintendent. [6] In 1948 ownership of the hotel passed from LMS to the British Transport Commission and in 1963 to British Transport Hotels. [7]
In 1980 the hotel was designated as a Category B listed building. [1] In 1981, British Transport Hotels sold Gleneagles to a newly established private sector operator, Gleneagles Hotels plc. [8] In 1984 it was acquired by Arthur Bell & Sons, [9] which came into the ownership of Guinness in 1985 and Diageo in 1997. [10]
Between 1982 and 1986, £11 million was spent on renovation and since 1982 the hotel has been open all year round. In 1986, and every year since, the hotel has been awarded five red stars by the AA. The hotel remained owned by Diageo, until it was sold to a private investment company Ennismore in 2015. [11]
The hotel was redeveloped in preparation for hosting the 40th Ryder Cup in 2014 played on the PGA Centenary Course. [12]
Gleneagles has three golf courses: the King's Course, Queen's Course and PGA Centenary Course, previously known as the Monarch's Course. There is also a nine-hole course called the PGA National Academy Course, informally known as the Wee Course. Gleneagles Golf Academy opened in 1994 and in 2010 was re-branded to The PGA National Academy for Scotland. [13] The Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course opened in 1993 and hosted the Ryder Cup in 2014. When asked about his work, Nicklaus said, "It's the finest parcel of land in the world I have ever been given to work with." [14]
Tournaments that have taken place at Gleneagles include: [15]
The British School of Falconry has been located at Gleneagles since 1992. [16]
The village of Glenmor has holiday homes set within the grounds of the hotel. [17]
Conferences have included:
Gleneagles Hotel has won/holds various awards, [21] including:
Arnold Daniel Palmer was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed "The King", Palmer was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named after the English businessman Samuel Ryder who donated the trophy. The event is jointly administered by the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe, the latter a joint venture of the PGA European Tour (60%), the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland (20%), and the PGAs of Europe (20%).
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Trump Turnberry is a golf resort on the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. It comprises three links golf courses, a golf academy, a five-star James Miller-designed hotel from 1906, along with lodge and cottage accommodations.
The Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles was a European Tour golf tournament which was played at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. The tournament was founded in 1999 as the Scottish PGA Championship, and despite maintaining the same sponsor, has since changed name on several occasions, as Diageo has looked to promote different brands. It was last contested over the PGA Centenary Course, formerly called the Monarch's Course, venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup matches. It was last played in 2013
Gleneagles railway station serves the town of Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
Brian George Charles Huggett, is a Welsh professional golfer. He won 16 events on the European circuit between 1962 and 1978, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in 1972. In 1968 he won the Harry Vardon Trophy for leading the Order of Merit and he was in third place in 1969, 1970 and 1972. He won 10 times on the European Seniors Tour between 1992 and 2000, including the 1998 Senior British Open.
Peter Joseph Butler was an English professional golfer. He was one of the leading British golfers of the 1960s and early 1970s. He won a number of important tournaments including the 1963 PGA Close Championship and the 1968 French Open. He played in four Ryder Cup matches between 1965 and 1973 and three times in the World Cup. He played in the Open Championship 23 times, with two top-10 finishes, and seven successive times in the Masters from 1964 to 1970.
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George Duncan Will was a Scottish professional golfer.
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