UGOLF Iberia is the Spanish subsidiary of French group UGOLF SAS. A company belonging to the Duval Group, UGOLF SAS operates at golf courses under different business formats: purchase, lease or management, for both private and public owners.
With over 30 years of experience, UGOLF is a leader in golf course management in Europe, managing more than 50 golf courses. It is also the first golf academy in France to have more than 100 professionals on the payroll, and offers services in all areas of the golf sector: planning, construction, maintenance, auditing, operations and management.
UGOLF Iberia entered the Murcia market in 2019 through the management of Mar Menor Golf Resort, Saurines de la Torre and Hacienda del Álamo Golf Resort golf courses. In March 2019, UGOLF Iberia brought on board Eduardo Ruiz, an experienced golf club manager, as the new UGOLF area director. Ruiz’s impeccable career trajectory includes established periods at such prestigious clubs Finca Cortesín, La Quinta Golf & Country Club, Royal Valderrama Club and La Manga Club. Now he is committed to leading this ambitious project managing several golf courses in the Murcia region.
“After four years at La Manga Club,” says Eduardo Ruiz, “initially as director of golf and later as general director of sports, I wanted to continue my career with a new challenge… and UGOLF fit perfectly with this profile. UGOLF Iberia took over the management of Mar Menor, Saurines and Hacienda del Álamo at the beginning of the year and now they have entrusted them to me for my experience with major projects, my relationship with large tour operator accounts and my knowledge of the Murcia region as a golf destination. The main idea is to position the golf courses and resorts at the highest level possible in terms of quality and service, as well as to promote the practice of golf in the region, from the base up, and to make the courses we manage better known.
“Mar Menor is an 18-hole course designed by Nicklaus Design that generates more than 50,000 annual rounds, a significant figure. Saurines is a visual spectacle (perhaps the best-created “desert” course in Spain), also the work of Nicklaus Design, with extraordinary shaping. Hacienda del Álamo is the work of Dave/Paul Thomas, a long and wide championship course from the back markers with a large number of bunkers defending expansive greens. It has a first-class academy, with six holes for practice, and a clubhouse, huge and modern in accordance with the overall club facilities.”
HACIENDA DEL ÁLAMO
Considered one of the best courses in Murcia, Hacienda del Álamo, a par-72 of 6,724 metres designed by Dave Thomas, has a main 18-hole course perfectly integrated into the natural terrain, with wide greens and strategically placed hazards for golf to be a fun challenge.
There are six short holes perfectly designed for all types of handicaps, a bunker area, a chipping area, a large putting green and a practice area with the possibility of playing from mats or natural grass. The spacious and comfortable clubhouse is the ideal place to relax and cool off after a few hours of play, offering spectacular views over the course.
Open since August 2018, the four-star Sheraton Hotel, with 145 rooms and one, two and three-bedroom apartments, offers great options to stay beside the course and close to all the other golf courses in the region. The opening earlier this year of Corvera Airport, just 10 minutes from the course, will undoubtedly be a great boost for golf development at this resort.
SAURINES DE LA TORRE GOLF
The design of the Saurines Golf course has great similarities with the desert courses of Las Vegas and Arizona. It was also designed by Jack Nicklaus but with the philosophy of linked holes. This par-72 of 6,498 metres is characterised by undulating fairways between sand dunes and greens, with impressively moulded slopes, few bunkers and a large central lake. Since its inauguration in 2011 it has already become a benchmark in the area.
MAR MENOR GOLF RESORT
The first nine holes were designed by Dave Thomas, par-37 extending over 3,275 metres, and the second nine by Nicklaus Design, par-35, 2,878 metres, with wide fairways and a great diversity of designs. In total... par-72 and 6,153 metres.
The magnificent practice facilities at Mar Menor Golf include, in addition to a driving range, putting green and chipping green, a practice and coaching hole. Next to the course is the five-star Hotel Caleia Mar Menor Golf & Spa Resort, with 64 rooms and The Residences apartments, one, two and three bedrooms and offering a wide range of accommodation options for short or long stays.
LECLUB GOLF & AGWC
LUGOLF Iberia also develops the LeClub Golf network in Spain and The Amateur Golf World Cup.
The LeClub Golf network, with more than 900 associated courses in the world (40 in Spain) was one of the first golf course networks in the world. Its objective is to develop synergies for associated courses in sales, purchases and communication, and to build a community of players thanks to its loyalty program.
The Amateur Golf World Cup (AGWC), one of the most important amateur golf circuits in the world, has just celebrated its International Final at Hacienda del Álamo Golf Resort.
Holding this event for the first time in Murcia region showcases the global appeal of the Costa Cálida as a golf destination and the firm commitment of Hacienda del Álamo Golf to be an international benchmark for this sport.
“A little over two months ago,” says UGOLF Iberia area director Eduardo Ruiz, “the AGWC organisation contacted us and asked us if we would host the conclusion of their circuit, following the attacks that occurred in Sri Lanka, where this event was initially going to be held – and possibly return to in a couple of years. For us it was a big surprise that Hacienda del Álamo was the first option for the organisation, but we accepted without hesitating for a moment. These types of events position you internationally and we could not miss this opportunity.
“After accepting the offer to be the venue for the world final we created a plan and a work team similar to that used for major events on the European Tour. In fact, our idea is to prepare the team with large amateur events with the aim of trying to sign up a major professional event in the coming years. The team comprises all the company's head greenkeepers (supervising and monitoring all the processes and maintenance care of the course, before and during the event), the chief of operations for the Murcia area (responsible for coordinating all teams involved), the group’s commercial and marketing manager, F&B and Sheraton accommodation, and me as director of the UGOLF Iberia Area.”