“Last year was the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of this course and I can assure you that during this time we have evolved quite a lot,” notes Santa Clara Golf Marbella manager Ignacio Apolinario.

“At the moment we are heavily involved in a significant programme of changes at the club, undergoing some renovations that were very necessary and which, finally, we have been able to make a start on. “In a way, we have taken advantage of the disaster we suffered last year as a result of the flooding caused by the massive storm in May 2011, which burst the banks of the Las Siete Revueltas stream that runs through the course. We suffered some very serious damage.

“When we carried out the most urgent repairs to ease that particular catastrophe, we also began work on other renovations that were required, including changes to the sixth hole, a 173-metre par-three. We’ve rebuilt it completely, positioning it further to the right, as the problem was, if you missed to the left, the ball ended up on the fifth fairway, which is obviously dangerous and also slows down play, one of the players’ main complaints.

“We have also,” adds the Santa Clara manager, “fixed up the ‘jewel in the crown’, the par-five 14th hole, which is ranked number one on the handicap index. We had a serious problem there with the stream that runs along the entire hole and which, in a way, made it an unfair hole: if you hit to the left, the area was marked as casual water, which was annoying because you also lost balls, had to hit again… Now we’ve channelled the stream and in the process also gained 15 metres of width in certain parts of the fairway.

“Apart from all that work, the maintenance schedule at Santa Clara remains 100 per cent operative: we’re changing tees and greens, planting trees, purchasing latest-generation equipment…”

“We have also slightly corrected the idea behind the original design: a parkland layout without rough. We‘ve now started to add a bit, to outline the fairways, and it is much more attractive. Having said that, however, I should stress we don’t want the rough to overly penalise players because our philosophy is for the course to be fun and enjoyable.”

-In spite of the crisis, Santa Clara is a successful course…

–Yes, but like everyone else we’ve had to adapt to the general situation that the country is suffering and we’ve restructured certain things, adapted prices, etc. In this respect we’ve made a major change: separating the green fee from the price of a buggy. They were combined before but now you can choose between walking or taking a buggy, without being obliged to pay the “complete package”.

-During summer you always organise major tournaments…

–In August we host our traditional Gold Cup, five days of golf comprising hugely enjoyable tournaments played under different formats. The first, for the 10th anniversary, is stableford individual. The next day we play the President’s Cup pairs better ball. Then the Santa Clara pairs scramble and finally the Gold Cup, on two consecutive days, individual medal play scratch. The prices for these competitions are going to be very reasonable.

-What is you opinion about the rumour there could be a special tax imposed for golf courses?

–That would be a huge mistake. Commercial courses like ours are suffering seriously from the crisis. Our main markets, the British and Irish, are heavily reduced and others have not replaced them yet. Golf, especially on the Costa del Sol, is so important for tourism. I would compare the courses on the Coast with the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya (ironworks). They dominate the area’s economic activity and have been responsible for easing the seasonal nature of tourism. From October to May people only come here to play golf. We have to look after this industry, and not contribute to its collapse by introducing excessive taxes, because that will make many courses unviable.