"Finca Cortesín is a resort that adds value to the Costa del Sol"
Born in León, with academic studies in the United States and professional experience at golf clubs in Spain, Portugal, the U.S. and Panama in an already hugely successful curriculum, Nacho Olea is now embarking on an exciting new challenge – as director of golf at one of the most prestigious courses in Europe: Finca Cortesín.
Since graduating in marketing and management, with a major in professional golf management from Coastal Carolina University in 2005, Olea has also accumulated numerous additional qualifications, including Class A professional status from the PGA of America. His career began at Wild Wing Plantation (South Carolina) and continued as general manager at Quinta do Vale (Portugal), Desert Springs and Valle del Este (both in Almería) and Santa Maria Golf (Panama), before moving to Finca Cortesín.
Married, the father of a boy and a girl, José Ignacio Olea Zorita (to give him his full formal name), conveys confidence and serenity with his cautious, thoughtful conversation and calm manner.
What does it mean for you to take on this new professional challenge at a club with Finca Cortesín’s international prestige?
Returning to Spain and coming to the Costa del Sol and to a club like Finca Cortesín is a tremendous joy. Both professionally and personally, to be able to work on a project of this calibre and in such a special place fills me with satisfaction. It gives me tremendous pride and is a privilege to belong to the Finca Cortesín team, and I am very excited to be able to take over the baton from a great professional like Francisco de Lancastre and continue to develop and capitalise on the exposure that the Solheim Cup has given us.
What objectives have you set for yourself in the short and medium term as the resort's director of golf?
There is something very remarkable about the Finca Cortesín management and that is its commitment to having a consistent strategic vision. Finca Cortesín is a special place that, over the years, has maintained a very well-aligned and transparent vision. That is why my strategy and my objective is to continue along these lines of maintaining the high standards that represent us and the maximum quality of the facilities, and to ensure that interest in getting to know us and playing our course continues to grow..
What makes Finca Cortesín different from other great golf courses and internationally renowned resorts?
I think it is very important to highlight three reasons that make us different from other venues. The first is a commitment to excellence by all our staff. From arrival until departure, our primary goal is to make sure that the client has a truly unique experience, and we work very hard to achieve that. The second point has a lot to do with innovation and sustainability. All the initiatives that our superintendent Íñigo Soto and his team have been undertaking over the years are a true reflection of our commitment to be leaders and to be fully aware of the challenges arising from climate change in our country. Not only because of the change in grass types or the achievement of obtaining various certifications, but also because our customary environmental practices make us a reference point, and we are very proud to continue leading the way. And finally, we have a real commitment to the state of the facilities, with the maintenance of our course throughout the year. Finca Cortesín is a course that has very high standards of play all 12 months of the year and I think that is something that makes us different from other resorts.
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How are the effects of hosting the Solheim Cup being felt at Finca Cortesín?
Hosting the Solheim Cup has been the culmination of work that has been going on for years. From the moment Finca Cortesín was announced in 2020 as the venue for the Solheim Cup, we began to see a palpable increase in interest in our property, our course and our services. And, of course, after the tournament, through the direct exposure we had during that week in September, we are seeing an increase in people’s interest in visiting Finca Cortesín, in getting to know our facilities and, above all, in living the experience we give all our clients at the resort.
The impact of the Solheim Cup on Finca Cortesín is tangible and very positive, not only for us but for the whole region. We are a resort that adds value to the Costa del Sol. We do feel – and people from outside Spain tell us this – that the effort that is being made on the Coast, with the number of professional tournaments and the enormous exposure that different courses are attracting (us with the Solheim Cup, LIV at Valderrama, European Tour at Royal Sotogrande, Ladies European Tour at Royal Las Brisas...), is setting the bar very high for the Costa del Sol.
We really are a magnificent showcase for promoting this destination abroad, the quality of the facilities is constantly improving, and our clients tell us that the state of play at courses they come to when they are here in Spain is very good and getting better every year.
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It is no surprise then that the Costa del Sol is the leading golf tourism destination in Europe and one of the best in the world?
That is definitely true, and I think that perhaps a misconception we had was that we felt that the Costa del Sol was a very good golf destination because of its climate, the quality of life, the gastronomy and the level of Spanish service, but I think that is just a half-truth. We really should also add and value the quality of the golf courses, and the professionalism of their managers and teams, who are increasingly better prepared, qualified and specialised in our industry. In the past, clients from northern European countries came here for our climate and to play golf, but today we have world-class resorts, courses and managers.
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What nationalities predominate among the golfers who play at Finca Cortesín?
Here we have quite a varied mix of nationalities, but we could especially mention the United Kingdom, and the United States as an emerging country as well, and then we obviously have a national clientele and also clients from many other European countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden...
Why do you think Finca Cortesín can irrigate the whole course with only recycled water while other courses do not?
Finca Cortesín has been doing this for a long time: that is, preparing for the context of the water restrictions that we have already seen in recent years. Finca Cortesin was the first resort to plant Bermuda – in this case mini green – on its greens, and we can say that we irrigate the entire course 100 per cent with recycled water and this is a practice we will, of course, continue in the future.
