He began his professional career in golf club management in 2008 in Santa Clara Golf Granada, as director. In 2017 he joined Lauro Golf with the same functions, thus returning to his native province of Malaga. He remained at that club for three years, until last June when he was hired as director by Santa Clara Golf Marbella.
It’s been like coming home,” he says, referring to the fact that he is working again for the same property where he began his golfing career in the city of the Alhambra.
He has only been at the helm of the Marbella club for a few days when we conduct this interview. In spite of the effects that the pandemic has caused in the tourist occupation in general and of the golf courses in particular, Santos is optimistic about the recovery of the activity in the short term.
“We have a leading golf destination, with a range of courses second to none, a climate that allows golf to be played twelve months of the year and a leisure offering that is hard to match, so the waters will soon return to normal as the overall situation normalizes.”
About his new work “home”, this Malaga native with an extroverted and jovial character says that “Santa Clara Golf Marbella is a great course that has many things to offer for players to enjoy a pleasant experience”. He speaks in this regard of the course design, the presentation of the course, the sea views, the location of the cub -only four kilometers from the urban center of Marbella-, its convenient access from the Costa del Sol highway, the delicious dishes at the clubhouse restaurant, whose prices are surprisingly economical….
Santos also highlights the high level of maintenance carried out on the course, since a few months ago under the supervision of a new greenkeeper, Pedro Montero, who had also previously worked at Santa Clara Golf Granada. “A fantastic job is being done, which is reflected in the spectacular state of the course,” emphasizes the club’s director.
In order to try to attract visitors to the course at this time of the year, the Marbella golf course is marketing a wide variety of offers. “We have subscriptions of five, ten, fifteen, twenty green fees, fortnightly, monthly, for the whole summer…, and with a particularity: all the subscriptions include unlimited golf, so you can play for example 18 holes in the morning and then in the afternoon another 9 or whatever”. Santos is convinced that, “in spite of the hard situation we have been going through, the national public can respond very well”.
Among the objectives set by the new director of the club, is the recovery of a remarkable activity of competitions. “In a very important thing, the return to have here good tournaments with good sponsors and then also, of course, official championships through the Andalusian and Spanish Federation”.
He also highlights the fact that Santa Clara Golf Marbella is one of the courses in the RFGA’s Junior Golf program. “It’s fantastic because kids under 15 can play for 5 euros for 18 holes as long as they are accompanied by an adult, and then from 15 to 30 years old for 30 euros.” He describes the program, which is in force all year round, as “highly positive because we have to contribute to making a quarry and to promote golf among children and young people”.
The strengthening of the club’s Golf Academy, directed by David Guarch, is another of Santos’ objectives. “We offer very interesting products, many of which are endorsed by the Spanish Federation, such as golf in groups or in schools, and classes and programs for beginners and advanced players.”
Another of Santos’ objectives for Santa Clara Golf Marbella is the recovery and promotion of what they call Select members, on an annual or biannual basis, “adapting to the particular needs of each person, because there are residents who live here all year round, but it is also true that there are many foreign clients who only stay for several months”.
Almost 20 years
In 2001 Santa Clara Golf Marbella was inaugurated, an 18-hole par 71 course of 5,922 meters designed by Enrique Canales Busquets and located a few minutes from the center of the city, in front of the Hotel Los Monteros, behind the Hospital de la Costa del Sol.
The course, with spectacular sea views, was designed respecting the natural environment of native fauna and vegetation.
Santa Clara Golf presents a technically difficult course, but at the same time fair and pleasant, with wide fairways and few roughs and open greens without too steep slopes, with the Santa Clara Corner, formed by holes 12, 13 and 14, a perfect combination of pars 3, 4 and 5, which requires the player to make long and precise shots.
The driving range is one of the best in Marbella and has two independent practice tees with 15 places on each.
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