That the maintenance of Finca Cortesín Golf Club is exceptional is something that no one doubts. Since it opened for play a little more than five years ago, the ownership of this course has been determined that this is one of the aspects that make the difference in this golf resort that will host the Volvo World Match Play Championship for the third time next May.
To lead this essential and delicate task, Finca Cortesin signed Ignacio Soto, a young greenkeeper with a great background, shortly before the first tournament sponsored by Volvo. Finca Cortesin wanted to shine before his big bet and undoubtedly got it right.
Soto began working at Atalaya Golf in 1995, where he spent four years, followed by eight years at the Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande, and another three years at Jersa (a golf course construction company).
-This will be the third Volvo World Match Play Championship to be played at Finca Cortesín and you have never given an inch in terms of your level of maintenance…
-We have not only not relaxed with the maintenance, but we are continually improving it, with the same staff as always. The ownership has decided that there will be no cutbacks or reductions in this. We have made significant improvements on the course in recent times: we have the bunkers perfectly fixed, the greens are in very good shape…. And we are taking advantage of this winter, unfortunately so dry, to make other reforms, such as leveling tees, fixing drainage, etc.
-In the last three years, has the field consolidated?
-This field has matured very quickly. It seems incredible that after only five years of life it is as it is. You see it and you think it is a much older course than it really is. It needs, of course, to settle down a little more, but everyone who plays here leaves with the feeling of having played on an older course. The original commitment to maintain and increase the native vegetation means that the course is very integrated into the environment and that the feeling is of being in a much more mature and natural place.
-What would you highlight about the course, the greens perhaps?
-As a player I find it a very demanding course, especially around the green. The greens are very shaped, very fast and with complicated approach areas. On the other hand, to compensate, there are very wide fairways, even if they are a bit long for the amateur. That is why we have five tees on each hole that adapt to all circumstances.
-Being a course that requires a certain level of play also gives charisma and a lot of class, especially when it comes to hosting professional tournaments….
–Ofcourse.
–Which player do you remember the highest praise on the field?
-I was struck by what Sergio Garcia said about the greens at Finca Cortesin having nothing to envy to Augusta, that he had been reminded of them a lot. Ross Fisher, the first winner of the tournament, also said that they were some of the best greens he had ever played on.
-Your maintenance of the field is also sustainable, ecological…
-Yes, yes. Three years ago we opted for special maintenance in that sense. This course was previously reseeded in winter and we decided to stop doing it, to keep it in a more natural way, improving the drainage and changing a winter grass, fescue, which we had in the greens. We put everything in bermuda and now we have a course practically from wall to wall with bermuda 419, except for the greens, of course. This allows us to have easier and more uniform maintenance. We reseed practically nothing and keep the grass as clean as possible so that in early spring it greens up quickly. This way we have a very pure lawn in perfect playing conditions.
-In addition, for several years now we have been implementing an ISO 14001 quality and environmental system that allows us to perform sustainable maintenance, with important environmental and quality controls. Our idea is to create a high-quality maintenance model with options for consulting in other fields in the future.
-This winter has been very cold and that’s why the grass is yellowing more, but that doesn’t mean it’s in bad condition, on the contrary?
-The hybrid Bermuda, the 419, is a grass that below six or eight degrees begins to lose color and is said to “sleep”, to lose its chlorophyll function. It does not turn green, but it is perfect. Even better than at other times because there is no growth. The playing conditions are better, the ball on the fairway rolls more …
-Does this “going to sleep” favor the weed?
-Yes, because for its maintenance weed control is better, because they are greener than bermudagrass and can not camouflage. On the other hand, as there is no growth, there is a big saving of pesticides, fertilizers, etc., and there is also much less watering. Aesthetically it is also beautiful.
-You have installed powerful water cannons around the streets to save, in case of fire, the whole area, which has intense natural vegetation….
-As I have pointed out, most of the field is surrounded by very dense native flora, also between street and street, of high ecological value. That is why the property insisted that we study an anti-fire system in case a fire should break out. These “cannons”, with a range of 50 meters, also serve to irrigate these areas a little when there are years of drought, like this one.
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