If there is any one single person the Andalucian golf industry should be especially appreciative of – for his invaluable work in promoting the region on the international stage – that man is Jaime Ortiz-Patiño. The demiurge of Valderrama was the driving force behind Andalucía hosting the first Ryder Cup to be held in continental Europe.

It was also Ortiz-Patiño who brought the first, and to date only, World Golf Championships to Spain, and who made an indispensable contribution to the creation and splendour of such a spectacular tournament as the Volvo Masters… Don Jaime is the incomparable figure who, more than anyone else, has helped elevate Andalucian golf.

Now 82 (he was born in Paris on 20 June 1930), he doesn’t have the same vitality as before, the impressive vigour that enabled him to rise before dawn to inspect the correct state of the greens and the rest of the course during the Volvo Masters, but his thoughts remain lucid and his enthusiasm undimmed for a golf project that he began work on several years ago: the Castellar course just a short distance from Valderrama.

The son of Bolivians, great grandson of Spaniards and grandson of Simón Patiño, who was known as the “King of Tin” in Bolivia and was that country’s ambassador to France, Valderrama’s honorary president now spends most of his time in Geneva, with occasional getaways to his home in Sotogrande.

In this interview, held at one of his properties, Los Patios de Valderrama, he recalls the wonderful experiences bestowed on him by his famous golf course.

- In mid-1987 we had a meeting with you to discuss our plan to produce a golf magazine and take it to the United States for that year’s Ryder Cup. You said straight away that you would help us, and from that moment you never stopped doing so while you were president of Valderrama. You had bought Las Aves (Valderrama’s original name) shortly before. What memories do you have from that period?

- In 1982 I decided to retire and I sold my interests in the family mining companies – of which I was chairman. I have always loved nature and open spaces, and I have always believed that golf is not just a sport but an activity that contributes to the maintenance of green urban areas, and one which has a positive influence on society.

As I had time on my hands, I dedicated more and more hours to golf, to the point that I felt I could help in an ecological way, and at that moment the possibility arose of buying Sotogrande’s second course, known as Sotogrande New or Las Aves.

- You always wanted Valderrama to be a great golf course, transformed into the best in Europe. What did you believe needed to be done to achieve this ambitious objective?

- I thought that if I was able to make Valderrama one of the best golf courses in Andalucía, Spain and even continental Europe, then I was prepared to buy it, always on the condition that I could find some friends willing to become my partners for at least 50 per cent. I spoke to a friend, the great architect Robert Trent Jones, who during his life had built more than 400 courses, of which the first in Europe had been Sotogrande, the second Las Brisas and the third Valderrama. These three courses were designed exclusively by him, with no influence from his technical team, as he still had no office in Spain at the time.

- In your work transforming the course, you were always able to count on Robert Trent Jones’ direct help. Did you become close friends? Did you have a common mutual understanding about what needed to be done at Valderrama?

- I told him I was thinking about buying Valderrama and asked him if it would be possible to turn the course into a spectacular one. He said it was the best layout of all the courses he had designed since the end of World War II, but added that Financiera Sotogrande had given him a very limited budget to construct the course and not enough land.

I told him I would give him an unlimited budget and buy as much land as he needed to build the course in line with his original idea. We agreed that he, and only he, would visit Valderrama every two months, for two weeks, and only he and I would work on the course. He was around 80 at the time and his young technical staff always tried to have some influence over him. I was of the opinion that he didn’t need any influence or help: he knew better than anyone what needed to be done. We always got on very well!

- Almost from the start you were thinking about bringing a major tournament to Valderrama. Was the Ryder Cup the first one that occurred to you? When and how did you begin fighting for the tournament?

-  The remodelling work took three years and the course was looking in such good condition that we both agreed that, once finished, it should host an important tournament. By a stroke of good luck, my friend, later to be general manager of Valderrama, Derek Brown, knew Mel Pyatt very well. To my surprise, Mel Pyatt came to visit me. He had just been named manager of Volvo Event Management, a company set up to organise and promote golf tournaments, together with its partner Ford. Mel asked me if I was prepared to host the first five editions of the Volvo Masters, a tournament that was to be held for the first time in 1988.

I wasn’t ready for this offer. The course wasn’t finished, but I couldn’t deny myself the opportunity. The Volvo Masters was set to be the grand finale of the European Tour season, the third most important event after the Open and PGA Championship. I convinced them that the course would be finished in time and the Volvo board of directors confirmed they would visit Valderrama.

- So the first major tournament held at Valderrama was the Volvo Masters, with 16 of its 21 editions held here. What are your most enduring memories from that time?

- In 1989 Spain applied to be the Ryder Cup venue in 1993, and Spanish golfers were upset when the application was rejected. I have to say that the Spanish Golf Federation, which wanted the Ryder Cup to be held in Madrid, let it be known to me that they would prefer I didn’t bid for the event in 1983. I told them that, in any event, I had no intention of making an offer. Even though I was interested in the 1993 edition the course wasn’t consolidated, the highway wasn’t finished and the infrastructure, in general, wasn’t good, there was not sufficient accommodation, there was no agreement with Algeciras port to berth passenger boats for more than 24 hours… in short, we were not ready to host a Ryder Cup in 1993.

- In 1997 you finally got the Ryder Cup. This was a milestone because it was the first time the tournament was held in continental Europe – that is, outside the British Isles. What emotions came over you at the moment you received word that Valderrama would be the venue?

-  In 1991 the Ryder Cup was held at Kiawah Island, a recently finished Peter Dye design, with the clubhouse half completed and the closest city, Charleston, one and a half hours away. Nevertheless, in spite of all these difficulties, the US PGA decided to hold the Ryder Cup there. I recall very well, at the end of the tournament, after Europe had lost by half a point, in the Johnny Walker hospitality area I commented to my friend and Valderrama member Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth, “If they can hold a Ryder Cup here, we can also do it at Valderrama, and better than here.” He said he would support me and he always did, and I decided to work towards achieving my goal: the 1997 Ryder Cup.

I asked James Stewart to carry out a complete study of what Kiawah Island offered the PGA to convince them to choose the venue for the 1991 Ryder Cup. Such a report was indispensable in order to convince all those involved in the venture that we could do a good job – an even better one.

I remember that Domingo Santo sent a note to the RFEG (Royal Spanish Golf Federation) in 1992 advising them that the next day we would be sending my official offer to the Ryder Cup Committee in London to host the 1997 tournament. I knew the committee had made a promise to the RFEG, after the 1993 incident, that the 1997 Ryder Cup would be held in Spain. Twenty-four months after I made my official offer, in May 1993, it was finally announced that the 1997 edition would definitely be held in Spain. Straight away, five or six Spanish clubs sent their own offers.

Finally, during the 1994 PGA Championship, it was announced that the Ryder Cup would be held at Valderrama in September 1987. I was in Costa Rica at the time with some friends and, even though the news reached us at five in the morning, we celebrated in grand style.

- The 1997 Ryder Cup still remains firmly in the memory of many golf fans around the world. Why do you believe it was so special? How did you feel on the opening day?

- In all modesty, no Ryder Cup had ever been attended by a member of the British royal family, and here in Spain we were able to welcome King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía, their daughter Infanta Elena, Prince Andrew of England, Prince Bernhard of Holland and President George Bush (father), as well as many other government representatives from Spain and numerous other celebrities.

It was also the first time the Ryder Cup had been held outside the British Isles, in continental Europe. Even today, 15 years later, the Ryder Cup has not returned to continental Europe, and it is only scheduled to do so in 2018 – that is, 21 years after being played at Valderrama.

In addition, it was special because we had the honour of Seve Ballesteros being present as captain of the European team.

- After the Ryder Cup, Valderrama was the venue for two American Express World Golf Championships, another great moment for the course. What were the highlights of those events?

- After the Ryder Cup, Tim Finchem (commissioner of the US PGA Tour) invited us – on behalf of the various world tours – to host the 1999 and 2000 editions of the American Express World Golf Championships. Obviously I accepted without any hesitation. Having held nine Volvo Masters, a Ryder Cup and two World Golf Championships, Valderrama gained iconic status at an international level.

Volvo had moved the five editions of the Masters that we were unable to host (1997 to 2001) to Montecastillo but now they wanted to return to Valderrama, and we welcomed them back in 2002. The event remained here to the end, in 2008.

It is interesting to note that, after the first five editions of the Volvo Masters, there was never any contract signed by Volvo Event Management and Valderrama. A handshake between Mel and I was all that was needed, for 15 years, to organise the event that concluded the European Tour season.

- You are a very keen golfer but previously you played other sports, including tennis. Why did golf prove to have a strong attraction that you have dedicated the past 30 years of your life to it so intensely?

- I did play tennis before golf. I was much better at it than golf and I played at competition level until suffering a shoulder injury at 27, which meant I couldn’t continue competing.

- Has golf changed a lot over the past three decades?

-  Obviously golf, the same as other sports, has changed over the past 30 years, but it is interesting to note that Valderrama, just 7,000 yards long, is still rated by the professionals as one of the most difficult courses on the Tour, and that without having carried out any significant modifications to the layout.

- The last 25 years of Andalucía Golf have been very closely associated with your own activities, including our collaboration on all the major tournaments held at Valderrama. Can you tell us what the magazine means to you?

- Andalucía Golf has obviously been a loyal partner over the years, not only for Valderrama but also for all those of us who are associated with the world of golf. You have always reported in a very objective manner and, in many ways, it is thanks to you that the success of tournaments held in Andalucía, and the excellent quality of this region’s golf amenities, are so well known among golfers around the world.

When I arrived here in 1967 there were only four courses and today, 40 years later, there are 50. Personally, and I believe I can also say this in the name of Andalucian golfers in general, I congratulate you and thank you for all your work over the years, and I hope that, in spite of the difficult times we are all experiencing, you continue your wonderful efforts.

 

ADMIRATION AND APPRECIATION

“To conclude,” says Don Jaime, “I would like to express my admiration of and appreciation to Ángel de la Riva, who has been president of the Royal Andalucian Golf Federation for the past 16 years.

“I am not aware of any other person who has done more to promote the sport of golf in Andalucía. He has dedicated all his time to promoting golf in Andalucía’s eight provinces. To a great extent, thanks to his dedication, there is now a huge number of golf courses on the Costa del Sol and more than 100 in Andalucía. When I arrived on the Costa del Sol in 1967 there were only four courses.

“Obviously, this golf expansion could not have happened without the support of the Junta de Andalucía (regional government). However, first of all Ángel de la Riva had to convince the Junta that golf wasn’t an elite sport, but rather an indispensable product to attract golf tourists, who spend four times more than ‘beach’ tourists.

“The federation celebrates elections every four years and I sincerely hope that Ángel de la Riva remains as our president, not only for the four years of the next mandate, but for many more after that.

“I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation to Ángel and his team for everything they have done to promote golf over the past 25 years.”

 

 

Recommended Courses