"Santa Clara Golf Marbella stands out for its exceptional maintenance"
Ignacio Apolinario Zárate is one of the Costa del Sol’s veteran and most experienced golf club managers. He has a degree in economics and business administration, and has been working in the golf sector for more than two decades: first as manager at Las Brisas and later in that same position for another leading Marbella club: Santa Clara Golf. In this interview he talks about the course’s main qualities and about issues related to golf on the Costa del Sol.
What does Santa Clara Golf offer that is better than other golf courses? What are its special features?
It is a commercial course that is very close to Marbella. The club has some great facilities and what I would especially emphasise is the course’s exceptional maintenance and its renowned fast greens. It is a course that players like a lot: it has its challenges but is not excessively difficult. The layout offers a great balance and I would particularly highlight the 11th, 12th and 13th holes, Santa Clara’s “Amen Corner”: a par-4, par-3 and par-5 that are a great challenge for players. Also we are in a fantastic setting, next to Marbella and the Costa del Sol Hospital, so it is reassuring to know that health services are so close in case something happens.
What other golf amenities does Santa Clara have in addition to the 18-hole course?
We have great practice amenities, including an expansive driving range with tees at each end. At the top of the driving range is the Santa Clara Golf School, run by David Guasch, and the lower part is open to all players. In this area everything is grass, while in the upper part the driving range has mats and a covered area.
Apart from green fees, do you offer other kinds of season tickets for those who want to play regularly at Santa Clara?
We used to have monthly, half-yearly and annual season tickets, but this has changed and now we are a purely commercial course with green fees.
The company that owns Santa Clara Golf also has courses in Cádiz, Granada and Málaga, three very distinctive golfing areas. What are the fundamental differences between them?
They are really three completely different golf courses. The Santa Clara Group is one of the few companies in Andalucía that has very diversified investments in golf. The Marbella course is purely commercial, with green fees, as I have noted, while Santa Clara Golf Granada is a members’ club, with the aim of attracting clients from that city. The layout is fantastic: long, with very large greens, and wonderful views looking up to the Sierra Nevada mountains. The third club, Montenmedio, is a very special course, in a setting of holm oak and cork oak trees, and not a house in sight. It truly is a beautiful course. There is also a wide variety of fauna, including a protected species of ibis, with staff from the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) even visiting with radars to follow their movements. Apart from ibis, there are deer, wild boar... It actually is an exceptional environment, a true paradise. And it also has a small rustic hotel, with a swimming pool, tennis, paddle tennis and equestrian facilities.
In recent times, the Costa del Sol golf sector has been improving significantly, with clubs reporting good figures. How has the year begun for Santa Clara and what are your forecasts?
Last year was fantastic for golf on the Costa del Sol, not only for Santa Clara, which was very good as we returned to profit after many years of crisis – and for this year the prospects are also extremely good. We started the year just like the past one, at the same levels of turnover and player numbers, and the outlook is very bright. The international political situation, with all the problems that exist in other countries, has greatly benefited our destination and what needs to be done now is to maintain this through quality, good services and competitive prices. What is clear is that we have to keep fighting hard, and the truth is that things are going very well on the Costa del Sol in that respect with the (provincial) Patronato and (regional) Andalucian Tourism boards.
What would the Costa del Sol be like from October to May, during the beach season, if we did not have golf?
It would be a complicated situation because many businesses survive thanks to golf: they are totally complementary to and dependent on us. I have often noted that what the Altos Hornos (ironworks) were for Vizcaya, golf is for the Costa del Sol. Here the tourist model of sun and beach obviously ends in October, and afterwards, thanks to golf, a lot of people still come here. They stay in hotels or apartments, continue to dine in restaurants and make purchases in stores, and obviously this benefits the local economy.
