“Some of the golf courses in Andalucía are not needed”

Salvador Álvarez – Varo to his many friends – is, in spite of not being all that old, a stalwart of golf in Andalucía. Manager of Guadalhorce Golf Club for more than 20 years, he has dedicated a significant proportion of his professional life to teaching, making sure the university is fully versed in every item of information necessary to manage such an important industry as golf. For several years he has been the president of the Andalucian Association of Golf Managers (AGGA) – now converted into the Spanish association.

- How many managers are there in the association?

- In Andalucía there are 96 and shortly, as the association has recently been expanded into a national body, we hope to have 170 or 180. - In Andalucía nearly all the managers are members of the association… - That’s right, most of the courses are represented.

- Are these kinds of associations useful?

- Yes, definitely. I believe managers should have an association because we are the “golfing bureaucracy”, those who are responsible for making sure everything works properly. With the IT possibilities we have these days, communication, etc., this association puts in our hands an infinite range of options for interconnection, for exchanging experiences and opinions.

Through our manager, Manuel Lozano, who brings us all together, we have set up some very valuable working tools. Also, as members of an association, people take more notice of us, we have more weight, they value us a bit more, both the federations and the authorities, as well as our club presidents. We are the only golf employees who don’t disconnect from work the whole 24 hours in a day. I don’t know of any manager who, on arriving home, doesn’t still think about problems back at the club, and how to solve them.

- Is the association a kind of union?

- Yes and no. We don’t have a sense that we should fight for our interests but we do represent a group that offers mutual support. We are corporative, in one way or another. Let’s say I have a problem – management, bad grass, etc. I consult the membership and within a few minutes I have answers and solutions for everything. The association also enables us to get to know each other, to forge relationships.

- What do you believe are the bad aspects of golf in Andalucía?

- We’ve gone a bit crazy. Golf in Andalucía is living in a similar bubble to the real estate one. The sport of golf has broken out with a lot of spots – and those spots are the bricks and mortar. Is golf as a sport exclusively commercial? No. So where is the business? In the bricks and mortar. What’s happened is that too many bad courses have been built, without thinking about anything more than the real estate side of things. By building courses simply to justify the sale of houses we have wrecked the magnificent destination we used to have. Unfortunately, in many countries these third-rate, and even fourth-rate, courses are smearing our image.

- What would you do to, at least, solve these problems you mention?

- To answer that question without offending anyone, I should make it clear that when I refer to a bricks and mortar course I mean all those that, from the drawing board, have been created to accompany and embellish a development and that, right from the start their owners care little what happens to them, to the extent they either hand them over to someone else or manage them poorly. However, there are courses associated with developments where the owners remain committed to their maintenance and to resolving the daily problems that occur by having homes so close. They deserve our utmost respect. If a golf course is managed by its own developer, there is more of a chance that these problems will be solved and the course will end up among those considered to offer an acceptable level of quality.

There are few solutions to the golf courses bricks and mortar problem. I hope that the advent of the bubble will mean that many mayors will realise that golf, in any form, is not the “magic wand” to guarantee elite sales – nor to create substantial employment opportunities. And, as for promotion, I believe the politicians and public authorities should become more involved. Because up till now it’s the golf courses that have contributed most, both ideas and resources.

I believe we have to change the promotional methods, not continue what’s been done the last few years. Use latest technologies, set up a central bookings facility… There are many things that can be done in the IT area. Take the bull by the horns and invest in that. And, of course, if we still allow golf courses/bricks and mortar, or golf courses/gardens, to be built we will continue to create a false image of what’s available. Not amenities for playing golf, but another sport.

I would also like to mention a subject that I believe is important, one that I have been fighting for nearly 20 years: sign-posting on the main roads for golf courses. Why can’t we have sign-posting for golf courses, when we do for many beaches that are a real embarrassment, and hotels and other establishments? People get lost. There’s nothing that indicates the turn-off to this or that course. Don’t put the name if they don’t want to, but at least indicate that there is a golf course there. For any tourist, merely passing by a sign on the road highlights the quality of the courses we have. How can we call this the “Costa del Golf” and have no sign-posts on the main road for golf courses?

- Are there too many golf courses in Andalucía?

- Yes, I believe there are too many. No one’s going to accept that the one we don’t need is theirs. But yes, I believe we have too many courses. Those that I spoke about before. There should have been fewer courses, and better ones, those that truly are courses for sport and for playing golf. Also, they are courses (bricks and mortar) that don’t create jobs. I know of some with three or four employees, while a course that you value will have between 30 and 40. Are there too many courses? Well look: if they don’t create jobs, use precious water, set prices that encourage unfair competition, then yes, we don’t need them. You know what courses I believe we don’t need? All of those that, when they were building them, they were just looking for someone to take them over, because they were simply an obligation or an excuse to construct a certain number of houses. I would require those who build courses to run them for 20 years, and I’m sure they would look after them more, as they should. However, if right from the start they ignore them, then they have it easy, they can save money, squeeze in the fairways, create playing areas that you can’t call a complete golf course.

- Do we provide good service to golfers?

- I believe so, in general. Now, as always, it depends on the number of employees at the club, if there are enough, or not, to ensure good maintenance, a good restaurant, that the reception area functions well, etc. Of course, everything can be improved.

- Do the public authorities have sufficient knowledge about, and understand, golf?

- They are seriously ignorant about golf, I would say. With exceptions, of course, but they are in the minority.