237 Santa María Golf 2.qxp_206 Las Cimas de Almenara 24/10/16 16:47 Página 16
SANTA MARÍA GOLF
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The authorities are not consistent, especially when it comes to planning and development, and this is annoying investors because they don’t know what to do. They make plans and then a new mayor or a new government comes along and they cancel it and prepare a new plan. Marbella is one of Europe’s most renowned golf destinations, and the jewel in the crown of Spanish golf – in fact, the municipality with the highest number of courses in Spain. How have you observed its evolution over the past 25 years? In what
GOLF COURSES
ways has it improved, and what have been some of the downsides? The infrastructure has improved considerably – especially the main road access – and there are also more visitors and residents at the higher end, which is good for golf. On the downside, the bureaucratic issues I mentioned before. And the future? The crisis is not over yet, especially in the financial sector. Banks are still suffering because they have financed many of the projects and haven’t recovered all their money. This will take some time. Of course it is not only Spain, as most of Europe has been going through difficult times. If you compare them at the moment, Spain is doing better than Greece, Italy and other places, but they still need to rectify some of the old errors.
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“The golf high season starts now in autumn, so hopefully we will see some improvement. Maybe, if the euro becomes weaker, more nouveau riche will also come to play.” The Costa del Sol had a significant increase this summer in the number of tourists but not so much for golfers, because most of the visitors were just sightseeing or going to the beach. The golf high season starts now in autumn, so hopefully we will see some improvement. Maybe, if the euro becomes weaker, more nouveau riche will also come to play. And specifically for Santa María? Over the next five years, for example, in the lead up to the club’s 30th anniversary? We will certainly maintain the quality and hope that things improve. I think improvement will come, maybe for future generations if not for us. There will be ongoing growth, nobody can stop that, but the question is how it will affect golf. Several years ago the town hall overturned its initial approval for an additional nine holes at Santa María (making 27 holes in all) and a practice range. Will you be able to return to that project? If they reclassify the land there, yes, we’ll do it. It is part of our plan. We spent three million euros just to build a road there, then they said we were killing insects and they wanted to protect them. On the non-golfing side, do you have more land available to develop? The whole Santa María project is 500 hectares, and 250 of it is classified as rustic, or rural. Unless there is a boom and the town hall needs more land for property, they will probably leave it classified as rustic. But maybe there comes a time in the future when they will allow us a space, a percentage to develop, 20 per cent for example. Finally, what about your own golfing game? These days a shoulder tendon injury prevents me from playing, and I’m also getting old (laughs)! But I’m still fully committed to my annual President’s Trophy, which was held for a 10th year in September in conjunction with the 25th anniversary dinner for members and their families. ■
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