PRESS RELEASE October 20, 2003

Phone: (407) 273-GOLF
Website: www.eaglecreekgolf.info

Every once in a while a golf course comes along that people can’t wait to play. There’s a time of anticipation because as it’s being built rumor spreads that this soon-to-open layout promises to be amazingly unique, fair and truly challenging. This new course will call for golfers to play smart to score well, provide a golfing experience unlike any other in the area, and without question will become a must stop for locals and tourists to play.

This December Central Florida golfers will finally be able to play the area’s newest and most anticipated golf venue when Eagle Creek Golf Club opens.

Eagle Creek is currently under construction and when it opens this winter golfers will be treated to a layout that will be a fresh mix of golf holes that will be truly memorable. The new course in the area will be conveniently located just minutes from the Orlando International Airport and near prestigious Lake Nona.

Eagle Creek is a European-inspired design and different from other layouts in the Central Florida area. This type of layout makes golf fun, challenging and different. The course will also have the pure Florida appeal with natural vegetation, wildlife and wonderful course conditions. Players will encounter large sandy waste areas that may cover over one-half acre in size, beachside bunkers (holes 15 and 18), Scottish-style bunkers, and extensive bulkheads placed around strategic water hazards that make golfers play with solid accuracy. Included in the bulkhead design is the island tee box on the par-5, 16th hole. This course also features more than 1,500 trees and numerous plants that line the breathtaking fairways. And due to the sensitivity to protect nature in the area, Eagle Creek has already been characterized as an Audubon International Silver Signature golf course for making habitat enhancement, resource conservation and environmental improvement part of the golf course and community.

The grand entrance to Eagle Creek begins with a short scenic drive on the community’s majestic bridge over a pristine lake that brings you to the forefront of a lifestyle that encompasses the luxury and beauty that makes life simple and easy. From the top of this stack-stoned bridge (the same architecture used in the design of the clubhouse) guests and new residents will be able to see the entire landscape of the community and golf course as the road winds towards the club’s majestic clubhouse. The 20,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse at Eagle Creek will serve as the focal point of the course and community. It’s designed with a vintage New England-style manor with two levels boasting a European flair structure. The impressive stone-built structure has a veranda that will offer guests outstanding views of the first, ninth and 18 holes. The clubhouse will serve breakfast and lunch accommodating up to 120 in the main dining room. It is also available for private functions to be held in the banquet room– which can host up to 150 people. Also, a full golf professional shop will be in the clubhouse as well as ladies and men’s locker rooms with showers.

Eagle Creek Golf Club is a unique collaboration of golf course designers Ron Garl and Howard Swan. Garl is widely known for building some of the state’s best layouts, and Swan is a European designer who has done more than 300 courses throughout Europe. The winning result from the work of these two designers is a European-inspired design with all the amenities you may expect in an outstanding American golf course.

The course’s five tee boxes are all designed in a square shape, the huge practice putting green is known as the “putting lawn,” and the distinctive bunkers that shape some of the course’s holes all portray characteristics of great golf courses from Europe. This type of layout, coupled with the small lakes, undulated greens and the rolling terrain, won’t be found elsewhere in the Central Florida region.

Eagle Creek Golf Club will be the first course in Florida to use a new type of grass for the greens. The course’s putting surfaces will be designed with mini-verde grass, which has more vibrant characteristics than current Bermuda grass greens. The new grass allows for outstanding smooth and fast surfaces throughout the entire year.

In addition, Eagle Creek will offer an Institute of Golf, a two-sided driving range with a practice hole, and a state-of-the-art GPS system on all golf carts that will act as a personal caddy.

“The European flair will be different from courses in Central Florida,” Eagle Creek’s General Manager, Gary Piotrowski said. “With the new technology on the greens and the latest GPS system on the carts, players will experience improved playability, better service on the course, and an improved pace of play.”

Choosing the right set of tees will be the key to a fun-filled round at Eagle Creek. The Tour Black tees will test even the best players. The par-72 layout will extend 7,097 yards from the back location. The Championship Blue tees play 6,760 yards long. The Guest White tees, the location most amateurs will play, extend to a solid 6,311 yards.

Golfers will have nice challenge at Eagle Creek because it will make them play a variety of shots in order to score well. Most of the holes will provide ample room off the tee allowing for some errant tee shots. However, water comes into play on 13 holes and could spell trouble for those wayward drives. The course has, over 90 sand bunkers, which give the holes definition and character. The European-style bunkers with the steep faces are so unique to the area that some golfers may want to hit into one just to see how to play the ball out.

The 17th hole at Eagle Creek will quickly earn its reputation as one of the most beautiful par 3’s in the area. The hole will play 188 yards from the Tour Black location. The tee shot must carry water nearly the entire way to the green, which is raised with bulkhead and is guarded by two sand bunkers short and to the left and right.

The course’s 18th hole is a fantastic closing hole that certainly will prove a true challenge for any player. It’s a par-4 that extends 441 yards from the back tee location and doglegs slightly to the left. A tee shot placed down the right center of the fairway is the ideal position. Aggressive players may try to cut the corner down the left side but they must carry a large series of bunkers to land safely. The approach shot is a beautiful one with the clubhouse in the backdrop, and the green is raised up and protected by a sandy-waste area to the right side.

The golf course is designed to blend with the soon-to-be built homes in the master-planned Eagle Creek Golf Community. Homebuyers will have the option of choosing from different communities that will make up Eagle Creek.

In addition, there will be a community park and recreation center for residents. The Eagle Creek golf course and community are part of the subsidiary of Emerson International, Inc.; the United States division of the United Kingdom based Emerson Group. For more information about Eagle Creek Golf Club, or to schedule a tee time please call (407) 273-GOLF or visit the club’s Web site at www.eaglecreekgolf.com/info.