Hale Irwin Celebrates Opening of Lodestone Golf Club

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(MCHENRY, MD) -- An area of Western Maryland known as the "Lake Tahoe of the Atlantic" recently celebrated the opening of a new 18-hole private golf course called Lodestone Golf Club.

The 18-hole facility, which opened June 5, is a Hale Irwin Signature design in collaboration with golf architect Todd Schoeder. The golf course sits in the sits in the mountainous region above Deep Creek Lake and the well known Wisp Resort.

The par-72 Lodestone plays 7,507 yards from the 'Irwin Tees' and features bentgrass greens, tees and fairways. Lodestone Golf Club is a truly natural mountain golf course highlighted by bold, tree-lined fairways, eye-catching bunker complexes and dramatic rock outcroppings. Native fescue grasses frame many of the course's scenic holes enhancing its natural feel. Not only does Lodestone have the highest elevation of any course in Maryland at 2,973 feet above sea level, but this premier club boasts several eye-opening elevation changes and sweeping views of the mountainous region that sits above Deep Creek Lake.

"We knew that Lodestone was going to be a challenge to present nature without over powering the golf (and vice versa)," said three-time U.S. Open Champion Hale Irwin. "We really worked extremely hard to uncover and highlight the many attributes that the site was blessed with in the first hand...to bring out the land, bring out the natural topography, highlight the dramatic views. I feel we accomplished that quite nicely and that both Lodestone members and guests will find the course exciting, fun filled and memorable. They will definitely have bragging rights over any other club in the region."

Schoeder, who helped design the Wisp Resort golf course, agrees.

"We were careful to site the golf course to minimize disturbance while at the same time taking advantage of the dramatic rock outcroppings, topography, creeks and vegetation," Schoeder added.

"Lodestone Golf Club will certainly be one of the more celebrated openings this summer," stated Dave Goff, vice president of OB Sports Golf Management, the Arizona company responsible for operating the club's day-to-day operations and marketing. "This highly anticipated opening will certainly make a splash not only in the Mid-Atlantic region but also throughout the United States as the layout, views and course design will be unparalleled and unlike any other in the area."

While the club will eventually be private, Lodestone Golf Club is now accessible via 'discovery golf packages' and via access from preferred lodging partners in the Deep Creek Lake region. In addition, Lodestone recently unveiled a new trial use privilege opportunity that allow for interested parties to preview a membership at Lodestone Golf Club. Lodestone's 2010 Trial Use Privilege program offers a host of benefits including playing privileges, complimentary use of the practice facility, guest privileges, travel benefits at other OB Sports-managed facilities, among other value added benefits. The 2010 Trial Use offering starts at $2,000 for individuals, $3,000 for an individual plus a spouse/partner and $3,600 for a family.

Lodestone Golf Club is located just two hours from Pittsburgh and three hours from Baltimore and Washington D.C. A limited number of custom homesites are now available at Lodestone. Many of the homesites and townhomes feature ski-in/ski-out convenience; others offer sweepingly panoramic views of mountains, valley and Deep Creek Lake. Wisp Resort is Maryland's only four-season ski, golf and recreational destination resort.

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