“Finca Cortesín is a resort that adds value to the Costa del Sol”
Born in Leon, trained academically in Uncle Sam’s America and professionally in golf courses in Spain, Portugal, the United States and Panama, Olea faces an exciting new challenge in his successful career as a manager in the world of golf: to direct one of the most prestigious courses in Europe: Finca Cortesín.
Since graduating in Marketing and Management, with a major in Professional Golf Management, from Coastal Carolina University in 2005, Olea has also received numerous qualifications, including Class A Professional status from the PGA of America. His career began at Wild Wing Plantation (South Carolina) and continued as Managing Director at Quinta do Vale (Portugal), Desert Springs and Valle del Este (both in Almeria) and Santa Maria Golf (Panama), before landing now at Finca Cortesin.
Married, father of a boy and a girl, José Ignacio Olea Zorita is a person who transmits confidence and serenity with his slow, thoughtful conversation and calm manner.
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-What does it mean for you to face this new professional stage in a club with the international prestige of Finca Cortesín?
-Returning to Spain and coming to the Costa del Sol and to a club like Finca Cortesin is a tremendous joy. Both professionally and personally, to be able to work on a project of this caliber and in such a special place fills me with satisfaction. It is a tremendous pride and a privilege to belong to the Finca Cortesín team and I am very excited to be able to pick up the baton from a great professional such as Francisco de Lancastre and continue to develop and capitalize on the exposure that the Solheim Cup has meant for us.
What are your short- and medium-term goals as the resort’s Golf Director?
-There is something very remarkable about Finca Cortesín’s management and that is their commitment to having a consistent strategic vision. Finca Cortesín is a very special venue, which over the years has maintained a very aligned and transparent vision. That is why my strategy and my objective is to continue in that line of maintaining the high standards that represent us and the maximum quality of the facilities and to keep growing the interest in getting to know us and playing our course.
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-What makes Finca Cortesín different from other great golf courses and resorts of international fame?
-I think it is very important to highlight three reasons that make us different from other venues. The first is the commitment to excellence that all of our staff has. From the arrival to the departure of the client, our priority objective is for that person to have a truly unique experience, and we work very hard to achieve that. The second point has a lot to do with innovation and sustainability. All the actions that our superintendent Íñigo Soto and all his team have been doing over the years are a true reflection of our commitment to be leaders and to be aware of the challenges that are arising as a result of climate change in our country, not only because of the change of grass or the achievement of different certifications, but because our usual environmental practices make us a reference, and we are very proud to continue leading that way. And finally, we have a real commitment with the state of the facilities, with the maintenance of our course throughout the year. Finca Cortesín is a course that has very high standards of play during the twelve months of the year and I think that is something that makes us different from other resorts.
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-How are the effects of hosting the Solheim Cup being felt at Finca Cortesín?
-The celebration of the Solheim Cup has been the culmination of work that has been going on for years. From the moment Finca Cortesin was announced in 2020 as the venue for the Solheim Cup, we already started to have a palpable increase in interest in our property, in our course, in our services. And, of course, after the tournament, through the direct exposure we had in that week in September, we are seeing a growth in interest in coming to Finca Cortesín, in getting to know our facilities and above all in living the experience we give to all our clients at the resort.
The impact of the Solheim Cup on Finca Cortesín is real and very positive, but not only for us but for the whole region. We are a resort that brings value to the Costa del Sol. We do feel, and from abroad they confirm to us, that the effort that is being made on the Costa, that the number of professional tournaments, that the enormous exposure that different courses are having (us with the Solheim Cup, LIV in Valderrama, European Tour at RCG Sotogrande, Ladies European Tour in Las Brisas…) is setting the bar very high on the Costa del Sol. We are really being a magnificent showcase to promote this destination both in Spain and internationally; the quality of the facilities is constantly improving, and our customers tell us that the state of play of the courses they come to when they are here in Spain is very good and getting better every year.
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Not for nothing is the Costa del Sol the leading golf tourism destination in Europe and one of the best in the world…
-Of course, and I think that perhaps a misconception we had was that we felt that the Costa del Sol was a very good golf destination because of its climate, the quality of life, the gastronomy and the Spanish service, but I think that is a half-truth. To that we have to add and value the quality of the courses and the professionalism of their leaders and teams, who every year are more trained and specialized in our industry. In the past, clients from northern European countries came here for our climate and for playing golf, but today we have resorts, courses and managers of the highest level in the world.
What nationalities predominate among the golfers who play at Finca Cortesín?
-Here we have quite a varied mix of nationalities, but we could mention the United Kingdom and the United States as an emerging figure as well, and then we would obviously have a national clientele and also from many other European countries such as Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden….
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-Why do you think Finca Cortesín can irrigate the entire field with only recycled water while other fields do not?
-It is a work that Finca Cortesin has been doing for a long time, which is to prepare for the context of water restrictions that we are already seeing in these years. Finca Cortesín was the first resort to plant Bermuda, in this case the mini green, on its greens and we can say that we irrigate the entire course 100% with recycled water and it is a practice that we will of course continue in the future.
What role do golf members play at Finca Cortesin?
-For several years now, Finca Cortesin has been successfully developing at its golf club a sporting and social structure designed to carefully serve our distinctive
members. Today the club is already a cornerstone of the operation, and is enjoying steady growth as more and more clients identify Finca Cortesin as the ideal community in which to socialize, play golf and, of course, live.
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