In the heart of the Costa del Sol, on the warm Mediterranean, there is a place where nature subtly merges with the sea horizon: Finca Cortesin. This exclusive resort is located in one of the quietest and most promising areas of the Mediterranean coast, in the municipality of Casares, between Marbella and Sotogrande, just 1.5 km from the beach and well connected by freeway to the international airports of Malaga and Gibraltar. The complex is built on an estate of 215 hectares divided into 5 large areas: 150 hectares of golf course and green areas, hotel, spa and sports club, beach club and residential area.
Finca Cortesin is one of the most highly rated Spanish golf courses worldwide by international magazines such as Golf Digest. The course was designed by Cabell B. Robinson in full harmony with the Mediterranean landscape and natural surroundings. The landscaping was the work of Gerald Huggan, who tried to highlight all the natural characteristics of the area where the course is located. The whole ensemble creates a perfect balance between the multitude of varieties of flora and the typical Mediterranean forest.
Inaugurated in 2006, it is a demanding par 72 with a length of 6,802 meters. Large, undulating greens, wide fairways, penalizing rough, extensive tee platforms and numerous strategically placed bunkers make this course a perfect setting for championships of all levels. Finca Cortesin has hosted for three years the Volvo World Match Play Championship, one of the most prestigious professional tournaments in the world.
MORE AFFORDABLE
The tee boxes offer 5 different tee positions, which allows a much more affordable course of 5,884 meters for men and 4,840 meters for ladies, including an “executive gold tee” so that players with higher handicaps or seniors can also enjoy the course. Likewise, the quality of its facilities and the service offered are guaranteed by the ISO 14001, 9000 and Q for Quality Tourism certifications.
The magnificent image projected internationally by Finca Cortesín is largely the fault of the course maintenance team, a small battalion of 22 workers led by greenkeeper Antonio Gálvez and head greenkeeper Ignacio Soto.
On teamwork, Ignacio comments: “The success of a greenkeeper is closely linked to the support of the people around him. The greenkeeper is responsible for creating a good team, and the course, to a large extent, reflects the work of each and every one of the workers”.
“At Finca Cortesín,” he continues, “our workers are very involved with the difficult challenge we face on a daily basis. The key to the smooth running of the maintenance of our course is none other than to be well surrounded. Both my director of golf, Carlos Beautell, and my assistant, Antonio Gálvez, are two fundamental people in this project. They understand perfectly our way of working and are my fundamental support. I feel privileged by the people who surround me at Finca Cortesín.
Regarding the game of golf, Ignacio considers it essential that all employees at the course understand the sport and, if possible, play it. “At Finca Cortesín,” he explains, “we encourage all our employees to play golf: it is a direct way to understand and do their job in the best way.”
Referring to the importance of communication, Ignacio emphasizes that “we try to go out and visit other fields to get ideas and positive details that can be incorporated into our work methodology”. And he adds that “we also learn a lot from our own field staff, as each one is two more eyes that review each area of the field and provide comments and details that favor the work and the daily presentation of the field”.
Since his arrival in 2009 at Finca Cortesín to prepare the course for the first edition of the Volvo World Match Play, Ignacio Soto’s first decisions were focused on naturalness, sustainability and the player’s enjoyment. To achieve this, the course required cleaning and selection of grass varieties suitable for the climate of the course.
FIELD PREPARATION
Ignacio recalls that the preparation of the course for the first edition of the tournament was hard because it was “a young course where the plant was still settling and had a weak appearance, a course with a lot of earth movement, which required more time to establish the turf in all the playing areas”. But the course arrived in good condition for the tournament and the greens responded to expectations and the demanded requirement. The success led to the continuation of the tournament at Finca Cortesín in the following two editions.
Originally the antegreens were a mixture of Festuca arundinacea and Poa pratensis and the Bermuda var. 419 fairways were reseeded with Poa trivialis. Ignacio carried out several tests and decided to simplify the number of grass species present in order to achieve greater homogeneity in all the playing areas. To this end, it was decided to establish Bermuda var. 419 as the only main variety in all the playing areas, with the exception of the greens.
The changes proved successful and the course now maintains a uniform aesthetic and definition with a maintenance schedule designed to avoid reseeding. This was a decision based on the constructive characteristics of the course, such as: an adequate soil base, a well-established design of slopes and water falls, a well-functioning drainage network, an open course with no large trees, greens exposed to sunlight, etc. All these conditions, together with the climatology of the area, make it possible to manage and maintain the Bermuda surface in optimal conditions for golf practice throughout the year without the need to incorporate any other grass species during the dormant months of Bermuda. The driving range, on the other hand, is the only area of the course that is reseeded with Lolium perenne.
The maintenance team values and takes into account the opinion of members and guest players who come to the course. Surveys are conducted after the games to get their impressions and to assess the maintenance work done and the need for future improvements. Last winter they suffered quite adverse weather conditions, with very cold temperatures and even night frosts that made daily work difficult. However, they were able to overcome the adversities and carry out the work adequately, as reflected in the general satisfaction of all the players who have attended the course this past year. The degree of uniformity and firmness of all the playing surfaces, as well as the level of ‘manicuring’ in the profiling of paths, cleaning of chests and sprinklers, distance markings, etc., are some of the aspects most highly valued by the players.
RENOVATION OF GREENS
The greens, wide and undulating, with marked drops and surrounded by bunkers, demand great precision from the player to ensure a feasible putt. The proposal of the maintenance team in the short-medium term is to renovate the greens that over time have been colonized by Poa annua.
The project would only involve removing the current surface of the greens, grading and cleaning the surface layer to oxygenate it and placing the new sod on top of it.
The USGA profile that was designed during construction is still working properly and at the moment it would not need to be renewed, but it does need to be renewed. The greens, wide and undulating, with marked drops and surrounded by bunkers, demand great precision from the player.
The surface containing the seed bank of Poa annua that needs to be removed to prevent further spread.
The greens are Agrostis stolonifera var. L-93 and the renovation would be focused on going to new Agrostis varieties such as A1, A4, 007, Tyee, etc., more aggressive and with greater resistance to diseases and salinity levels.
To this end, tests will be carried out with different varieties to determine which one best suits the conditions demanded by the field and the maintenance team.
BERMUDA MANAGEMENT
One of the main purposes and first maintenance measures that Ignacio imposed since his arrival at Finca Cortesín was the importance of keeping the Bermuda as clean as possible throughout the year.
For this purpose, localized treatments are carried out, as well as pre-emergent treatments to prevent the appearance of weeds and contamination by Poa annua.
Not replanting is an environmental sustainability consideration that also represents an economic saving in terms of direct and indirect costs that can be reinvested in other tasks such as field manicuring.
IRRIGATION SYSTEM
The wastewater used for irrigation comes from the Manilva treatment plant with a filtering and tertiary system that provides good quality water. The limited amount of water provided by the treatment plant on a daily basis requires them to perfectly adjust the volume applied to efficiently meet the real demand of the lawn.
The field has two interconnected lakes, one is the main lake from which water is pumped through the collector, and the other is used as a reserve lake to pump water to the main lake when necessary.
System audits are conducted every year, checking sprinklers and nozzles for coverage, uniformity and flow rate.
The pumping system consists of five vertical pumps, all of them with frequency variator installed to regulate start-up and provide the necessary pressure at the sprinkler head at each point along the route.
STUDENT INTERNSHIPS
In the summer, Finca Cortesín has been organizing an internship program for several years to reinforce the maintenance team.
The program consists of incorporating up to four students from different training programs for national and international greenkeepers during the summer months, through which the students acquire practical knowledge that complements their academic training and the field is favored with an extra contribution of personnel and work.
Students are provided with accommodation and are also given the opportunity to visit other fields in the area to learn about different situations and working methods.
Undoubtedly a very useful and productive initiative for the golf sector.
Fernando Expósito Muñoz
Agricultural Engineer. Technical collaborator of the AEdG (Spanish Association of Greenkeepers).
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