LHLThe Luxury Hospitality LibraryOn the record
Register/People/LHL-P-441
PART IX · P9-07-132 · LHL-P-649

David Feherty

David Feherty’s place in this collection rests on a specific design credit: National Golf Club in Belek, jointly attributed to him and David Jones by Regnum Hotels. The familiar television voice belongs to the biography; the course supplies the architectural anchor. [1]

Anchor
LHL-172 · Regnum Hotels Belek, through National Golf Club
Born
13 August 1958 · Bangor, Northern Ireland
Design Credit
David Feherty and David Jones, per Regnum

1 · POSITION

David Feherty’s place in this collection rests on a specific design credit: National Golf Club in Belek, jointly attributed to him and David Jones by Regnum Hotels. The familiar television voice belongs to the biography; the course supplies the architectural anchor. [1]

2 · IDENTITY

David William Feherty was born on 13 August 1958 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. The birth date is retained from the secondary biography; European Tour independently confirms Bangor as his birthplace. [3, 4]

3 · A TRAVEL CONNECTION

European Tour describes him as the son of a Bangor travel agent. That is a biographical connection with travel, rather than evidence that he inherited, founded or operated a tourism company. [3]

4 · AN EARLY PERFORMANCE BACKGROUND

The tour profile also records training as an opera singer before golf became his profession. The detail places performance within his early interests without turning it into an invented explanation for his later broadcasting style. [3]

5 · TURNING PROFESSIONAL

The secondary career record dates his professional start to 1976. National’s opening came much later, while he was still playing competitively: the course credit should not be described simply as a postretirement occupation. [2, 4]

6 · EUROPEAN SUCCESS

European Tour confirms five victories on its circuit. His inclusion in golf architecture is consequently supported by substantial playing experience, although success as a player alone cannot establish the quality or extent of a design contribution. [3]

7 · IRELAND’S CAPTAIN

He captained Ireland’s winning team in the 1990 Alfred Dunhill Cup. The official tour biography places that achievement alongside his individual results, documenting a role in team competition as well as tournament play. [3]

8 · THE RYDER CUP

He represented Europe in 1991 and defeated Payne Stewart in singles. These are the specific Ryder Cup facts confirmed by his tour profile; they should not be enlarged into a longer Ryder Cup playing record. [3]

9 · MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

His best Open Championship finish was tied fourth in 1994, according to the secondary results record. That year also supplies an instructive overlap with National’s opening, rather than a proven causal connection between the two events. [2, 4]

10 · THE AMERICAN CHAPTER

The secondary biography records a move into American tour competition late in his playing career. It then dates the transition to CBS broadcasting to 1997. These are successive professional roles, not evidence of a continuing design office. [4]

11 · TELEVISION

His CBS period ran from 1997 to 2015; NBC followed in 2016. His interview programme began on Golf Channel in 2011, and a move to LIV’s broadcast team was announced in July 2022. These are historical milestones, not verification of a current contract. [4]

12 · WRITING

European Tour lists writing among his interests and characterises him as an unusually witty commentator. The written and spoken work forms a second public contribution alongside the playing record. [3]

13 · AN ARCHITECTURAL QUESTION

For this master, the decisive question is what his name means at National. A broadcaster’s reputation cannot substitute for a design attribution. Here, the operator names both Feherty and Jones explicitly. [1]

14 · THE JOINT CREDIT

Use David Feherty and David Jones when identifying National’s designers. Omitting Jones would change the attribution supplied by Regnum. The personal card can focus on Feherty while preserving the collaborator in the principal credit. [1]

15 · THE DIVISION OF WORK

No signed contract, drawing set or detailed account allocating design tasks between the two men was inspected. The available credit supports co-design; it does not establish equal hours, individual hole authorship or responsibility for every construction decision.

16 · THE OPENING

Regnum dates National’s opening to 1994 and describes it as Belek’s first golf club. The geographical scope matters: a claim about Belek should not become an unsupported claim that golf began in Türkiye there. [2]

17 · A DESTINATION TAKES SHAPE

National’s early position in Belek gives the design credit a destination-history dimension. Editorially, a substantial sporting facility can help give visitors a reason to stay. No visitor-growth figure is attributed to Feherty personally.

18 · THE REGNUM RELATIONSHIP

The current Regnum golf overview presents National and Carya as part of its guest offer. This establishes the relationship used for LHL-172. It does not establish that the present operator commissioned National in 1994. [1]

19 · THE OTHER COURSE

The same overview assigns Carya to Peter Thomson and Thomson Perrett & Lobb. Feherty’s card must therefore refer to National, even when the hotel or booking material carries the Regnum Carya name. [1]

20 · NAMES THAT NEED CARE

Regnum Carya, Carya Golf Club and National Golf Club are not interchangeable labels. Keeping the hotel identity and individual course names visible prevents one designer’s biography from being attached to another designer’s work.

21 · THE PUBLISHED ROUND

Regnum describes National’s present offer as an eighteen-hole layout. That is the configuration described by the consulted page. A complete account of any additional holes, former routing or later extensions requires further course records. [2]

22 · EVENING PLAY

The operator reports illumination on the final four holes. That is a specific feature, distinct from the fullcourse lighting associated with neighbouring Carya. It should not be converted into a promise of a fully floodlit National round. [2]

23 · LIGHTING AUTHORSHIP

The reviewed material does not attribute that installation to Feherty or date his involvement in it. Original course design and later operating improvements therefore remain separate strands of the account.

24 · ARCHITECTURE IN USE

A golf course is encountered through a sequence of shots, walks and decisions. The architectural reading should ask how hazards and approaches organise play. This master does not manufacture a hole-by-hole review from a general promotional description.

25 · THE EVIDENCE NEEDED

Routing plans and dated course photographs would allow a more exact account of National’s original design. Interviews with its designers or project team could establish how the partnership worked. Those remain research needs rather than implied evidence already consulted.

26 · CHAMPIONSHIP CONTEXT

Regnum’s 2026 announcement identifies National as the venue for that year’s Turkish Airlines Open. It distinguishes the move from earlier editions staged at Carya, preserving the identity of the two courses. [5]

27 · THE PUBLISHED DATES

The announcement gives 30 April to 3 May 2026 and a prize fund of US$2.75 million. These are the announced event particulars. This master does not use that advance notice alone as proof of final results. [5]

28 · TOUR CONFIRMATION

The DP World Tour’s 2026 tournament course page independently identifies National GC, Belek, Antalya, Türkiye. It supports the venue connection, although the retrieved page does not provide a full architectural history or detailed scorecard. [6]

29 · A LATER CHAPTER

An event staged decades after the original opening belongs to the course’s continuing life. Its organisation and preparation involve later operators and staff. Historical co-design does not give Feherty personal credit for all subsequent tournament work.

30 · THE GUEST PERSPECTIVE

The operator’s description places National within a year-round golf setting. For an individual stay, the useful question remains practical availability on the intended dates, not the general prominence of the club. [2]

31 · LVXVRY VISIT PLANNING

A National-centred stay should specify National by name when requesting golf arrangements. Confirm tee times, course maintenance, handicap requirements, equipment and transport with the operator. A hotel reservation should not be treated as confirmation of a particular round.

32 · ACCOMPANYING TRAVELLERS

Editorially, a golf trip has two timetables: the player’s round and the accompanying traveller’s day. Good planning connects them through confirmed timings. No particular transfer duration or non-golf package is asserted in this biographical record.

33 · THE CONTEMPORARY OPERATOR

Service, maintenance and access conditions are present-day operating responsibilities. They influence how a visitor experiences the design but require their own assessment. The historical credit is not an endorsement of every current service claim.

34 · A SECOND INSTITUTION

Feherty also co-founded Troops First Foundation with Rick Kell. The foundation dates incorporation to August 2008 and explains its origins in Kell’s visits to injured service members and subsequent programme development. [7]

35 · SHARED FOUNDING

Kell’s role should remain explicit, just as Jones’s does at National. The foundation’s own history describes a collaboration. A named public figure does not absorb the preparatory work and leadership of a co-founder. [7]

36 · A DIFFERENT PURPOSE

The foundation’s work concerns support for service members and reintegration. It belongs in the biography as civic activity, with no claim that it is a luxury hospitality business or part of the Regnum relationship. [7]

37 · OPERATION PROPER EXIT

The foundation describes a programme enabling selected injured service members to return to places where they served, including sites of injury. Its published account dates the initiative’s launch to June 2009. [8]

38 · THE PROGRAMME BOUNDARY

This is reported as the foundation’s stated programme, not as independent proof of therapeutic outcomes. Nor does co-founding the organisation establish Feherty’s personal attendance on every journey or authorship of each itinerary.

39 · A HOUSING INITIATIVE

Leroy Petry Village of Honor is described as seven accessible single-family homes near Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The foundation presents it as transitional accommodation for injured service members and their families. [9]

40 · ACCOMMODATION AND CARE

That housing initiative gives a concrete example of the organisation’s support beyond public events. It is discussed in its stated social purpose; no architectural credit for the houses is assigned to Feherty. [9]

41 · THE PUBLIC PERSONA

Playing, broadcasting and philanthropy have made Feherty visible in different settings. The editorial task is to distinguish those contributions. Familiarity on television is context for the person, while National remains the work supporting this category.

42 · SOURCE HIERARCHY

European Tour supports the sporting profile. Regnum supplies the explicit design credit and club history. The foundation supplies its institutional history and programme descriptions. The secondary biography is used for selected dates and the media chronology.

43 · INDEPENDENCE OF EVIDENCE

Several sources belong to the same operator or foundation. They document different subjects but are not independent corroboration of one another. The number of links should not be mistaken for the number of separate witnesses to National’s commission.

44 · RELATED PEOPLE

David Jones is the strongest related People candidate because the anchor’s operator directly names him as co-designer. He requires a separate card and duplicate check. Rick Kell is relevant to the philanthropic biography but needs his own admission case.

45 · THE UNRESOLVED ARCHIVE

The principal gap is the original commission record: client, contract date, routing evolution and division of labour. Resolving it would deepen the entry. It would not justify discarding the published joint attribution while the archive remains unavailable.

46 · CANDOUR

The co-design credit is explicit but rests on the operator’s account; original project documents were not inspected. Individual responsibilities, later alterations and lighting authorship remain unresolved. Media dates use a secondary biography. Foundation descriptions are self-reported, and the 2026 event announcement is distinguished from a results record.

47 · CLOSING POSITION

Feherty’s architectural entry is strongest when specific: a credited co-designer of National Golf Club, alongside David Jones. His wider life explains the recognisable name; the named course, collaborator and verified resort relationship make the entry useful.