“OUR CLUB IS ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE IN SPAIN”.
Marcos Lería was very clear from a young age what he wanted to be when he grew up: director of a golf course. The now manager of the Valencian Golf Club Escorpión knew it since he turned 16. A decade later, after his degree in Economics and many hours dedicated to the golf industry from different areas, he saw his dream come true.
Ce began his professional career as manager at the Club de Campo y Deportivo de Córdoba, better known at that time as Club de Golf Los Villares. Two years later he landed at the Club de Golf Playa Serena, his club of all his life, where he spent three years, combining his work with various positions in the Andalusian Golf Federation in the Promotion, Commercial and Professional Committees. In 1999, Altorreal was his next professional challenge, for one year, and in 2000 he was appointed general manager of La Quinta Golf, a position he held for eight years. He was also fortunate enough to operate a 9-hole golf course for a few months in 2010. This allowed him to broaden his experience in the sector, having managed social clubs, golf resorts, mixed courses and golf academies of 9, 18 and 27 holes. Since 2010 he has been the manager of Escorpión Golf Club.
-The Escorpión Golf Club is probably one of the most attractive in Spain. Could you tell us why, from your point of view?
-It is the consolidated reference golf club of the Valencian society, conceived by and for its members, and probably that is its greatest attraction. Its well-kept facilities, where the luxury of space is breathed everywhere, the manor of the clubhouse and the state of the course are also highly valued. I believe that, indeed, our club is one of the most attractive in Spain.
-With 27 holes and three very different courses, this course offers many possibilities. How would you describe each of these courses?
-The Masía course, closest to the clubhouse, is characterized by its flat terrain. They are the most comfortable 9 holes, which makes them the most popular and at the same time the most fun to play, since it has 7 doglegs, with multiple possible strategies. The Lagos course is characterized by water hazards on 5 holes, in some cases in a very threatening way, as in “the demoni”, a par 3 of 169 meters, in which the par tastes like a birdie. The fairways, however, are generous, although dotted with woods and the greens are somewhat more lively than those of Masía. The course of Nuevos, built in 2000, has a more lively orography, with larger and undulating greens, with fairways also generous, but longer than those of the traditional 18 holes, which makes it the most demanding of the three courses. The course is surrounded and protected by a dense forest mass, which facilitates the presence of numerous animals, where squirrels are the real protagonists, along with rabbits, ducks, magpies and parrots. We must also mention that we have 9 short holes built in 2005, which stand out for their beauty, design and exigency, since the greens are small, very moving and well protected, with the particularity that they can host competitions of both par three or pitch & putt.
Many high-level competitions have been played in your field. Which ones would you highlight?
-The original design by Ron Kirby has hosted the Spanish Professional Championship (1976), the Spanish Open (1980) and the Turespaña Open Mediterranea (1995), and after the enlargement, four editions of the Peugeot Tour (2008-2011) and the Banesto Tour Final (2012) have been played, from the professional point of view. And in the amateur field, numerous Spanish Championships of all categories. In a few days the Spanish Benjamin and Alevín Championships will be held, and in 2016 we will host the Her Majesty The Queen’s Cup.
-What arguments would you give to Spanish and other European fans to visit your club?
-El Escorpión completes the golf offer in Valencia, in an estate of 100 hectares with 27 holes plus 9 short ones, where golfers, beyond the mere practice of their favorite sport, have a multitude of rooms and spaces in which to enjoy the peace and tranquility in the countryside, coupled with a careful gastronomic offer after the incorporation in 2013 of the Genuí Golf Escorpión Restaurant. All this seasoned by a clear vocation to meet the needs of our members, trying to exceed as far as possible their expectations, in a sector, the leisure, in which there is an increasingly demanding, which requires a permanent updating of our management and not lose touch with what happens in the “outside”.
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