After a substantial investment in the modernization of its facilities, it consolidates its privileged position as a members’ club on the Costa del Sol.
If in June 2013, when the works began, someone had said that the Real Club de Golf Guadalmina would have concluded in just one year one of the most ambitious and important investment and improvement programs in memory on the Costa del Sol, probably no one would have believed it.
“The responsibility and the workload that came upon us as a society, as a club, would have made us very nervous,” says the director of the renowned Marbella club, Ignacio del Cuvillo, “because it is not very often that a club as old, with so much tradition, so much tradition, so consolidated as Guadalmina, considers making investments of such magnitude”.
We are talking about a new and modern maintenance building, a new clubhouse with adequate facilities for the demand of a club of almost two thousand members, a store with a caddy master that includes a modification in the management model of the store, now managed directly by the company, the total refurbishment of the club offices, the new gym, wellness rooms and children’s area.
All this in a period of twelve months. “We weren’t nervous, but we were anxious,” says Del Cuvillo, recalling the times when the work began.
One of the reasons why all the work was undertaken at the same time was that, due to the situation resulting from the crisis, construction costs were significantly lower than in previous years. “We seized the opportunity,” he says. Thanks to this and to good financing conditions that paid for a large part of the work, it was not necessary to request an extraordinary financial contribution from the members, “as is common in other clubs when improvement works are undertaken”.
This investment effort at a time when most golf clubs were keeping their operating costs to a minimum has put Guadalmina in a very advantageous position in the sector’s recovery process. “While other clubs were going through this great desert called crisis,” says Del Cuvillo, “Guadalmina invested to improve and expand its offer. This has caused a call effect for those people who are interested in becoming members of a club and enjoying modern facilities”.
The completion of all the works listed above has been “a great joy and satisfaction” for the members of this emblematic club, which has two 18-hole courses (North and South) and another 9-hole pitch and putt course.
Apart from all its sports facilities, its golf courses, its large swimming pool, its tennis and paddle tennis courts, its gym, children’s area, its clubhouse and its restaurant, the RCG Guadalmina offers another great attraction to its members: its intense and lively social and sports life, “the most attractive of the Costa del Sol and even of all Andalusia”, says the club’s director.
“We are talking about a very international club, with 18 nationalities represented, with a very active social mass that participates regularly in the weekly competitions that are held, with a very active summer, since the activity does not decrease compared to winter, but even increases. Today, the social and sporting offer of Guadalmina has no comparison with any other club in the area. And all this is thanks to the members and the different sports sections within the club”.
Another very important aspect for which Guadalmina stands out is its unconditional support to family golf, children’s golf, nursery school, support to young players. Sometimes the children are attracted by the parents and other times it is the other way around. “We make sure that the children have a suitable environment to practice golf,” says Del Cuvillo.
In addition to the golf courses, the racquet center and the swimming pool, members will be able to enjoy the gymnasium-wellness center and children’s area for members with small children, which will be available in a few weeks and will have a room for cardiovascular exercise machines, another for weight training and another for multiple activities such as pilates, aerobics, etc., as well as others for chiropractic and relaxing massages. Next to these rooms is a playroom for children. “All this is an added incentive to become a member of the club,” says its director.
In this regard, he points out that, even having made the large investment in the works of the last year, Guadalmina continues to maintain an excellent quality/price ratio to become a member of the club. To do so, it is necessary to acquire a family share of Guadalmina S.A., which includes father, mother and children. An offer is currently in effect, valid for the remainder of the year, which consists of exempting the spouse from the membership fee. For 2015, the spouse will have to pay a reduced joining fee of around 600 euros to become a member. The joining fee for the full member is €4,450.
Regarding the shares, Del Cuvillo says that “right now they are at a very interesting price in relation to the shares of other clubs in the area”.
Fees are “very competitive” and are available on the club’s website (www.guadalminagolf.com).
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