Los Naranjos Golf Club, one of the most prestigious golf courses in Costa del Sol, has just signed Julián Romaguera as managing director. Despite his youth, 29 years old, he has a great experience in golf course management, which he has developed both in Asia and America.
Romaguera has a degree in Business Management & Administration in the United States with a specialization in business management related to the world of golf. After these studies, and also in Florida, he completed a master’s degree in golf course management. In recent years he has lived in Asia (Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia) and Mexico, working in the golf industry, especially in golf course management and sales marketing. In addition to Spanish, she is fluent in English and has a good command of French. Having traveled to so many countries during his professional growth has allowed him to learn some basic language skills such as Khmer (Cambodian), Chinese and Thai.
His last professional performance before ‘landing’ at Los Naranjos in Marbella was the management of Riviera Maya Golf Club, the first course of the Bahia Principe Luxury Hotels group in Mexico, where in addition to leading the entire management of the golf club, he supported the residential phase and the new construction of the group’s golf courses in other destinations.l
“When the Sofitel hotel chain offered me to go to Cambodia, which at first glance does not seem the ideal destination, I found it a very appealing challenge, and in the end it turned out to be a unique experience, both professionally and in terms of life. Going to such an underdeveloped country, where I was going to have to take all the initiative, do absolutely everything and train others from practically zero, also helped me to grow professionally and enjoy my work very much”.
“There,” he continues, “I managed a spectacular course that has hosted the Cambodian Open, the Asian Tour, for several years. It was a very rewarding and enriching stage, because suddenly I found myself immersed in a different culture, a different way of thinking, and this brings a lot.”
-From there it went to Mexico…
-Yes, to the Mexican Caribbean, near Tulum, 30 minutes from Playa del Carmen, with the Bahia Principe hotel chain. I went to a really outstanding course, the Riviera Maya Golf Club, a 27-hole Robert Trent Jones junior design. I spent almost two years there.
But the time came when Julián had to consider finding a balance between his personal and professional life, and he decided, after almost ten years away, to return to Spain, as close as possible to his family environment. “I was lucky because the opportunity of Los Naranjos came up, and this has been something providential because this club meets my expectations in all aspects, including being closer to home” -he assures.
-I guess the experiences he has had as a golf director in Southeast Asia and Mexico will be very different from what he might have here?
-The fundamental difference is the markets. Having been in so many different places has allowed me to get to know and adapt to very different issuing markets. This gives you a lot of versatility. In Mexico it was mainly Canadians and North Americans, in Cambodia Koreans, Chinese and Japanese. Here the market is essentially European, but knowing others gives you the opportunity to try to work with them from here.
-Is the level of our fields inferior or superior to those places you have been to?
-We have enviable countryside, which added to the climate, gastronomy, safety, proximity to each other, etc., gives us an enviable destination.
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