Homes by Deltona Participates in Reopening Festivities at Spa Laterra at World Golf Village

The Spa Laterra at World Golf Village recently held reopening festivities. Located adjacent to the King & Bear golf course, the destination day spa offers a full complement of massages, facials, body scrubs, wraps, makeup artistry, hair care and nail services.

Spa Laterra was purchased last summer by Laterra Spa Partners, which retained beauty and wellness visionary Juanita Wright of The Wright Touch Spa in Washington D.C. DC to makeover the spa and its services. She has developed a number of new signature treatments, including gold, diamond and caviar facials.

Karen Palmer, general sales manager at Homes by Deltona, won a spa treatment package at the recent Spa Laterra reopening event. “I love winning prizes – especially to such a beautiful and pampering spa. The new owners have given the spa a fresh appearance and the new treatments are magnificent,” said Palmer. “The spa is such a wonderful benefit for World Golf Village residents and visitors.”

The 9,000-square-foot spa facility was designed by renowned spa architect Robert D. Henry, noted for designing The Spa at Wynn Las Vegas, The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Waikoloa Spa and Beach Club, and Canyon Ranch Living in Chicago. In addition to premier facials, the full-service spa also offers a wide variety of massages, body services, hand and foot rituals, and customized treatments specifically designed for golfers.

Spa Laterra offers 11 treatment rooms, including two couple’s retreats; a complete beauty salon with hair, manicure and pedicure stations; women’s and men’s private waiting room, locker areas, changing facilities, showers and steam rooms; a circular relaxation lounge with a rain shower feature; and an outdoor garden sanctuary with a koi pond, Jacuzzi and floating cabana treatment rooms.

Spa Laterra is located at 955 Registry Blvd. in World Golf Village. For more information, visit. www.spalaterra.com.

Source http://www.pr.com/press-release/307963

The 2011 Masters: Augusta National Golf Club’s Early Years

In exactly one month from today (April 7, 2011), the 2011 Masters Tournament is set to tee-off at one of the most heralded and recognizable courses in the history of golf: Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. Defending champion Phil Mickelson will join some of the best players in the world to once again compete for the ever-important Green Jacket... and not to mention a hefty share of the $7.5 million purse. Perhaps the only aspect of the Masters that can surpass the history of the event is the course itself, which will once again host this year's installment as it has since 1934.

Known as the "Augusta National Invitation" in that year, Horton Smith captured the first official Masters title at Augusta which earned him $1000 out of a $5000 total purse. In 1939 the name of the tournament was permanently changed to "The Masters". In the early years of the event, players at Augusta National began their round on the 10th hole and finished on the 9th. However, in 1935 the switch to the course's original layout was made permanent and continues to this day.

The history of the course itself, however, dates back to 1930 in the form of a vision dreamt by Bobby Jones just prior to his retirement from championship golf. As the story is reported on the Masters' website, Jones teamed up with Clifford Roberts, whom he had met many times throughout the 1920s and who shared Jones' vision of building a world-class golf course. After a few brief conversations between the two men, a mutual agreement was reached to construct the course in Augusta, Georgia.

Jones and Roberts decided that instead of littering the grounds of what would become Augusta National with bunkers and other hazards, they would make the most out of the property's natural landscape which includes a vast number of mounds, hills, and valleys. Jones wanted this concept of golf course architecture to "make a contribution to the game as well as give expression to his ideas about golf course design". Original plans for the golf club were to only have it open for play during the winter months.

The property itself was originally named Fruitland Nurseries and was purchased from owner Thomas Barrett, Jr. As the Masters website explains, this property was once an Indigo plantation purchased by a Belgian Baron named Louis Mathieu Edouard Berckmans in 1857. In 1858, Berckmans and his son formed a partnership that would eventually bring numerous trees and plants from all over the globe and placed them throughout the property while still a nursery. Included in this project were thousands of magnolia plants which would ultimately become a staple of the Augusta National history and one of the most recognizable aspects of the grounds in present-day.

At the selling price of $70,000, Jones and Roberts purchased the land and decided to begin construction with renowned Scottish course architect Dr. Alister Mackenzie, especially since he shared the views of Jones in regard to allowing the national landscape and contours define the shape and look of the course. Mackenzie had also sparked Jones' attention by already having two impressive course designs under his belt in California: Cypress Point and Pasatiempo. In 1933, the course was complete and opened for play.

Source http://www.waggleroom.com/2011/3/7/2036714/the-2011-masters-augusta-national-golf-clubs-early-years