May 2010

SPECIAL SHOTGUN SHOOTS ONTO RYDER CUP STAGE

Commemorative gun to go on display at Celtic Manor showpiece

A specially commissioned shotgun will go on display at this year’s Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales to celebrate the sporting links between shooting and golf.

The Ryder Cup, a biennial shootout between the top golfers of Europe and America, has grown into one of the biggest events in world sport with a potential global television audience of one billion viewers.

To mark its first ever staging in Wales this October, specialist gunmaker Holloway & Naughton® was commissioned to create the bespoke 12-bore game gun.

The gun features intricate engravings from the world-renowned Welsh engraver, Phil Coggan. His images include a detailed portrait of Samuel Ryder, the seed merchant who created The Ryder Cup back in 1927. Also, depicted in gold, is a Welsh dragon, national symbol of Wales and a bald eagle to represent the American visitors. The Ryder Cup itself is featured on the top lever in the finest detail. A striking European flag is blued onto the trigger guard accentuated by gold stars.

As well as its decorative appeal, however, the finished product is also a sporting shotgun of exceptional quality.

“It’s a work of art but also a fully functioning sporting gun hand-built to the very highest specifications,” said Andrew Harvison, managing director of Holloway & Naughton®. The gun represents more than a twelve hundred man-hours of effort in its production.

“There is a beautiful feel to the gun which has been enhanced by the wonderful, detailed artwork of Phil Coggan. It was a real honour to have been granted this commission and we are very proud of the end result, the sort of quality shotgun that is not made very often, these days.”

Featuring a 12-guage sidelock action and a single inertia trigger, the shotgun has demiblock 30-inch barrels and a tapering solid rib.

The gun will be put on display during The Ryder Cup, which takes place from October 1-3 at Celtic Manor, the five-star resort in South Wales.

Simon Gibson OBE, Chief Executive of Wesley Clover, the holding company that owns the resort, said: “Celtic Manor’s reputation as a world-class golfing venue will be cemented when it stages The Ryder Cup, but shooting is another popular outdoor pursuit we offer our leisure and corporate clients.

“Many people enjoy both sports and there are certainly similarities between the two. The importance of technique and maintaining your powers of concentration are key elements of shooting and golf.

“The gun is a celebration of Wales hosting The Ryder Cup for the first time and the Welsh and British craftsmen involved in its design and construction have created a truly magnificent shotgun worthy of the occasion.”

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About The Celtic Manor Golf Resort

Host venue for The Ryder Cup in 2010, the five-star Celtic Manor Resort is set in more than 1,400 acres of panoramic parkland at the gateway to Wales. With two hotels – a 330-room luxury Resort Hotel and an historic 19th century Manor House with 70 rooms – two exceptional spas, two state-of-the-art health clubs, a shooting school, fishing, tennis courts, mountain biking, walking trails and five outstanding restaurants, The Celtic Manor Resort provides a complete experience for business, leisure and golf travellers.

The Resort has been voted the Number One Conference Hotel by readers of Conference and Incentive Travel Magazine for three years running from 2007 to 2009. It is the home of The Celtic Manor Wales Open, one of the premier events on The European Tour, and offers the challenge of three 18-hole championship golf courses, including the new Twenty Ten course, the first course in history to be designed and built specifically to host The Ryder Cup.

About Holloway & Naughton® Gunmakers

Holloway & Naughton® is a traditional bespoke handmade gun maker, whose origins date back to 1909. The Company has an enviable reputation, equalling if not exceeding the leading London gun houses. In 1995, Andrew Harvison began designing a complete new range of guns, driven by an acute attention to mechanical detail, along with visual design, and achieved by expert craftsmen. This translates into guns with exceptional handling characteristics, combined with extreme artistic beauty. His efforts were recognised by the industry, when Holloway & Naughton® was awarded the Highly Commended, Best New Gun 2006 at the Shooting Industry Awards. With new product launches imminent, the international presence of the Company will undoubtedly continue to expand.

For more information about The Celtic Manor Resort, please contact:
Paul Williams
PR Manager, The Celtic Manor Resort, Coldra Woods, Newport,
South Wales, NP18 1HQ, United Kingdom

T: + 44 (0) 1633 410288
M: + 44 (0) 7920 058251
E: paulwilliams@celtic-manor.com

For more information about the whole range of Holloway & Naughton® guns, please contact:
Andrew Harvison
Holloway & Naughton ® Gunmakers, Turners Barn Farm, Kibworth Road, Three Gates, Billesdon, Leicestershire, LE7 9EQ, United Kingdom.
T: +44 (0) 116 259 6592
E: afharvison@hollowaynaughton.co.uk 
Web: www.hollowaynaughton.co.uk 
 

PRESS RELEASE NOVEMBER 2008

HOLLOWAY & NAUGHTON ® COMMISSIONED TO
CREATE COMMEMORATIVE SHOTGUN FOR RYDER CUP VENUE