SOURCE: Fortune Bay Resort Casino
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March 10, 2008 12:23 ET
Golf Minnesota Names Wilderness Golf Course '2008 Resort of the Year'
Award Recognizes First-Rate Course and Full-Service Resort, Advancing a Stunning Track Record
TOWER, MN--(Marketwire - March 10, 2008) - It's one thing to impress at the outset, turning
heads and landing awards. It's another thing to sustain high quality,
continually winning admirers and awards. That's a feat Fortune Bay's
Wilderness Golf Course now can claim with confidence, thanks to Golf
Minnesota's new award naming it the 2008 Resort of the Year.
Shortly after nationally renowned golf course architect Jeffrey D. Brauer
unveiled The Wilderness, awards started trickling in. Golf Magazine named
it Top 10 Best New Places to Play. Golf Digest named it among America's
Best New Upscale Public Courses. Travel & Leisure Golf named it 10 Best New
Public/Resort Courses in America.
The adjective "new" has since faded, but the adjective "best" has remained.
The Wilderness' awards now bear even more weight: the ability to stand out
among well-established, time-honored courses. Several months ago, Golf
Digest named The Wilderness the second best casino golf course in the
nation. This distinction was conferred after the Golf Digest Course Ranking
Panel, a team of more than 800 low-handicap players, scoured the country's
casino golf courses and winnowed their findings down to the top 40. Now
Golf Minnesota has named the course 2008 Resort of the Year. "The golf
course is truly designed as both a championship test for good players and a
course anyone can enjoy," the magazine notes. These awards signal that
something special, something serious and something long-term is at work.
They beg the question: Why does this course up north keep winning awards?
The first reason is superb grounds keeping. (That's a story in itself. Come
watch the award-winning crew in action this spring! You'll be enlightened.)
The second reason is the course's pristine setting. Set atop high granite
ridges, The Wilderness weaves its way through 7,210 yards of majestic pine
forests, hugging the curving shores of Lake Vermilion. Wildlife abounds,
from bald eagles to white-tailed deer, and even an occasional moose.
Golfers see these animals in their natural environment and their natural
interactions -- a privilege you cannot enjoy at an urban course.
"We golf to get away from it all," said The Wilderness General Manager Tom
Beaudry. "There is no better place to escape than on these lush, scenic
fairways."
Even if you have business to do in Tower, the golf will clear your mind and
Fortune Bay will facilitate your productivity. It has a complete conference
center, and every room comes with complimentary WiFi access and voicemail.
In those short intervals between work and golf, there's the indoor heated
pool, whirlpool, exercise room and sauna -- which taps into the third
reason for The Wilderness' ongoing acclaim.
"We deliver a first-rate experience because we operate within a first-rate
resort," Beaudry humbly said. "When you're part of such a diverse,
award-winning team, you keep improving each other -- supporting each other,
teaching each other, continually raising the bar."
Golf Minnesota noted the breadth of Fortune Bay's offerings. "In addition
to the extremely impressive golf, the Fortune Bay property offers
everything you would look for in a casino resort," the magazine states,
noting the full-service marina, exercise room, action-packed casino and
five on-site places to dine or drink. "Minnesota golfers are fortunate to
have The Wilderness at Fortune Bay," the article concludes.
To hear additional commentary on today's news, visit
http://www.fortunebay.com/pressroom/archives.php?id=53 for sound bites from
Gregg Wires, publisher of Golf Minnesota, and Tom Beaudry, manager and golf
pro at The Wilderness.
The Wilderness, located three hours north of Minneapolis in northeast
Minnesota, was unveiled in 2004 by nationally renowned golf course
architect Jeffrey D. Brauer. The 18-hole Wilderness has garnered multiple
major awards since it opened, including Best Course You Can Play In
Minnesota 2007 by Golfweek. The Wilderness is owned and operated by the
Bois Forte Band of the Chippewa. More information on the Bois Forte Band
and the Wilderness Golf Course is available at www.fortunebay.com.