The president of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation (RFGA), Pablo Mansilla, has addressed the following letter to the federated golfers of the autonomous community:
Dear members:
Just a few lines to convey to you, on my behalf and on behalf of all of us who make up the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation family, all our affection and all the encouragement in the world to face the time of quarantine that we still have to fulfill with enthusiasm. I sincerely hope that all of you who read me now, as well as your families, feel well and that those of you who have been more directly affected by this COVID-19 crisis will have comfort and a speedy recovery.
I know that these have been difficult and uncertain times for everyone. Therefore, the federation has tried to keep you promptly informed -through our website and social networks- of the different decisions we have been taking during the last few weeks, starting with the suspension of all federative activity, competitions and events, inside and outside Andalusia, which we adopted last March 10, and the subsequent recommendation to clubs and courses to act in the same way, without there still being certainty about how we should act.
With the declaration of the State of Alarm and the beginning of the confinement, we have seen how the more than one hundred Andalusian golf courses have had to close their doors, with the immense uncertainty that this entails. Even so, every day we see them making an effort, not only to invest this time of social isolation in caring for and improving their facilities, but also to contribute, to the extent of their possibilities, to overcome this crisis together.
Thus, there have been many Andalusian golf courses that have made themselves available to their municipalities to collaborate with them in the work that the municipalities may need. In our social networks you have been able to read news and see images of operators and machinery of our golf courses in Benahavís, Marbella, Islantilla, the coast of Almería and many others, carrying out cleaning and disinfection tasks of the streets, urbanizations and public spaces of their municipalities. This is an initiative that has also been extended to the rest of Spain.
At the same time, and in spite of the reinforced isolation measures, the courses redouble their efforts to take care of their turf, to wait in the best conditions for the players to return. In this sense, I must thank the magnificent coordinated work done by all the institutions involved in golf, regional federations, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the Spanish Golf Courses Association, the Spanish Association of Greenkeepers and many others, and the help provided by the various regional governments, with special mention to the government of the Junta de Andalucía, and other State institutions, such as the Consejo Superior de Deportes or the Secretaria de Estado para el Turismo, who have made their efforts to ensure the minimum maintenance of the golf courses, thus avoiding a deterioration that would be difficult to repair.
Now it is time to continue to be extremely responsible, to stay at home as long as necessary, to take care of our loved ones, especially the elderly, and to take care of each one of us, thus taking care of everyone. But, little by little, blow by blow, and picking up the right stick at each moment, we will get out of this.
Sooner than we imagine, this will have happened. But, even then, when we have managed to turn the corner, start to get out of the health crisis, and can also leave home, we will need to remain united and support each other to, between all of us, mitigate the effects of this time of economic freeze.
To you, to our more than 45,000 Andalusian golf federates, I encourage you to accumulate a lot of desire during these days of quarantine to return to our courses with a lot of hunger for golf. It will be the best way for us to support our courses and thank them for the effort they are making now, to be ready to welcome us when it is all over. And it will be the best way for all of us to continue to strengthen our industry after this hard blow.
Nor do I want to forget our teachers and golf professionals -most of them self-employed- who, in this situation, are suffering a serious deterioration of their economy. When we return to normality, and after this hiatus, let’s think that we can use a few classes to put us back in the game… and that they will do us a lot of good.
Sooner or later everything will go back to normal, we will go back to our courses, to meet up with our playing partners, to think that that missed putt on the 7th was the key, to want to tell the whole cafeteria about the good round we have done, to go up on the outside, or too much on the inside, and to get pissed off because there is no way to close the ball or to make a damn putt.
But for that to return, for us to continue to enjoy and suffer with our sport, we all have to be united in supporting our courses and all the workers in the golf industry.
A big hug to everyone and lots of encouragement,
Pablo Mansilla Garcia
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