Ignacio Apolinario Zárate is one of the veteran and experienced golf course managers on the Costa del Sol. With a degree in Economics and Business Studies, he entered the world of golf more than two decades ago, first as director at Las Brisas and later in the same position at another of Marbella’s great clubs: Santa Clara Golf. In this interview he talks about the qualities of this course and various issues related to golf in Costa del Sol.
-What makes Santa Clara Golf better than other golf courses, what are its particularities?
-It is a commercial course that is very close to Marbella, the club has great facilities and what I would especially highlight is that the course is exceptionally well maintained and has always been characterized by having fast greens. It is a course that we like very much, which has its challenges but is not excessively complicated. The course has a great balance and I would highlight holes 11, 12 and 13, the Amen Comen de Santa Clara, a par 4, a par 3 and a par 5 that are a great challenge for the players. And we are in a fantastic environment, next to Marbella and the Costa del Sol Hospital, so it is a relief to know that health care is so close in case something happens.
What other golf facilities does Santa Clara have besides the 18-hole course?
-We have a magnificent practice facility, with a very large driving range with tees at each end. At the top of the driving range is the Santa Clara Golf School, which is run by David Guasch, and the lower part is open to all players. In this area everything is grass, while the upper part of the driving range has carpets and a roofed area.
-Apart from green fees, are there any kind of subscriptions to play frequently at Santa Clara?
We used to have monthly, semi-annual or annual subscribers, but this has changed and we are now a purely commercial green fee course.
-The company that owns Santa Clara Golf has courses in Cadiz, Granada and Malaga, three very different golf areas. What are the fundamental differences between them?
-The truth is that they are three completely different golf courses. The Santa Clara Group is one of the few companies in Andalusia that has very diversified investments in golf. The Marbella course is purely commercial, green fees, as I said, while Santa Clara Golf Granada is a members’ course, where the activity is focused on attracting clients from the city. The course is fantastic, long, with very large greens, with wonderful views below the Sierra Nevada. The third, Montenmedio, is a very special course, in an environment of holm oaks, cork oaks, you don’t see a house in the surroundings? is a beautiful countryside. There is also a very varied fauna. It is curious because there is a protected species, some ibis, and even staff from the Junta de Andalucía comes with radars to monitor them. Apart from the ibis, there are deer, wild boars… The truth is that it is an exceptional environment, a real paradise. And it also has a small rural hotel, swimming pool, tennis, paddle tennis, equestrian facilities…
-In recent times, golf in Costa del Sol has been improving a lot and registering good occupancy figures. How has the year started for Santa Clara and what are your forecasts?
-Last year was fantastic for golf on the Costa del Sol, not only for Santa Clara, which was very good and we returned again to the path of profits after many years of crisis, and for this year the prospects are very good. We have started the year the same as last year, at the same level of turnover and players, and the prospects are very promising. The international political situation, with all the problems in other countries, has greatly benefited our destination and what we have to do now is to maintain it through quality, good services and competitive prices. What is clear is that we have to keep fighting hard, and the truth is that on the Costa del Sol things are being done very well with the Costa del Sol Tourist Board and Turismo Andaluz.
-What would the Costa del Sol be like from October to May, when it’s not beach season, if we didn’t have golf?
-It would be a complicated situation because many businesses live thanks to golf, they are totally complementary and dependent on us. I have always said that what the Altos Hornos were for Vizcaya is golf for the Costa del Sol. Here the sun and beach tourism model obviously ends in the month of October, and then thanks to golf many people continue coming to stay in hotels or apartments, continue consuming in restaurants, shopping in stores, and obviously this makes the local economy benefit.
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