Le Golf National General Manager Paul Armitage [left] with Ricardo Muelas, Regional Sales Manager at Club Car, Jean Lou Charon, President of the French Golf Federation, Marco Natale, Vice President of Club Car in EMEA, Nicolas Le Glas, Sales Manager at ORA Véhicules Electriques and Kevin Hart, Club Car Sales Director Golf in EMEA.
Paris, France: Le Golf National, the 2018 Ryder Cup venue and home of the 100
th Open de France, has renewed its long-term partnership with the world’s largest manufacturer of small-wheel electric vehicles until 2020 and is updating its Club Car fleet ahead of the biennial event.
Through its French distributor, ORA Véhicules Electriques, Club Car – an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation – will be supplying 50 new Precedent i3 vehicles in two phases.
Most will feature the ground-breaking Visage system to provide golfers with precise shot and distance information, flyover video graphics and a live leaderboard during competitions.
The connected mobile golf information system will also enable staff at the European Tour Destination to remotely control each car and optimise course maintenance with ‘no-drive’ zones, as well as monitor pace-of-play.
Paul Armitage, General Manager at Le Golf National, said: “Our new Club Car fleet and the cars’ fully-connected Visage system will be a definite USP for Le Golf National.
“The opportunity for our golfers to have the information on each hole, along with the ability to email themselves their score card to review at home from the golf car, will help to further enhance the on-course experience for all our customers.”
In addition to the 50-strong fleet, Club Car also provided Le Golf National with a commemorative Ryder Cup vehicle, which was to be awarded to anyone recording a hole-in-one during a unique par-three contest the prestigious venue hosted to help launch the new layout of the 2018 Ryder Cup course, L’Albatros 2.0.
“To mark the occasion, we invited 600 guests to take part in a special par-three contest on the renovated 190-yard par-three 11
th hole, which is now protected by a new lake in front of the green and two additional bunkers to the back,” said Armitage.
“Closest to the pin was
Justine Dreher, a Ladies European Tour professional, with a tee shot that finished six centimetres from the hole. Although no hole-in-one was recorded on the day, the par-three contest was a huge success. I’d like to thank Club Car and its official distributor ORA Véhicules Electriques for providing the commemorative Ryder Cup car and for helping to create an unforgettable day for our guests.”
Club Car has a rich history with the Ryder Cup, having been associated with the event since 1999. At the 2014 Ryder Cup, the company supplied its largest ever fleet of more than 540 vehicles, which were used by both Captains, all Vice-Captains, all team and match officials, as well as all on-course television and event logistics.