Royal Guadalmina Golf Club can be proud of many things: its two great 18-hole

golf courses (plus a short nine-hole layout), its long and glorious history,

its wonderful atmosphere and multinational membership, its extensive calendar

of competitions… and its key involvement in Marbella’s summer charity activities.

The summer season at the club is highlighted by numerous sports and social activities that attract a large number of golfers as well as other guests who don’t play the game.

Royal Guadalmina is enjoying a period of splendour thanks to several factors, including major investments undertaken by the club in 2013 and 2014 to upgrade its amenities, such as a new pro shop, caddy master’s office and clubs storage room, new maintenance warehouse and fitness centre, as well as improvements to the existing amenities and services for members and visitors. In addition, of course, the club is always committed to maintenance of the highest standard (new equipment has also been purchased) to ensure the course is in immaculate condition.

All of this, together with the spirit that reigns at Royal Guadalmina Golf Club – where the staff want to make sure people “feel at home”, in the words of club manager Ignacio del Cuvillo – has resulted in a significant increase in the number of new members joining in recent months.

“It’s been amazing: from January to April nearly 90 have joined, and expectations are that we will end 2015 with more members than in 2014, which represents the consolidation of a trend evident from last year and which puts a brake on the negative trend that began in 2010 with the loss of between 50 and 60 members annually. So at the end of this year we will have around 1,900 members, which is a considerable amount.”

One of the highlights of the early part of the year was the designation, by popular acclaim, of a new club executive committee.

The candidature, known as “Guadalmina Unidos” (“Guadalmina United”) and headed by Juan Ramón Martínez Landazábal, was officially proclaimed on 2 April, and since then it has been working intensively to develop the club’s social and sporting life. The candidature brought together nearly all the nationalities represented at the club. The president is Spanish, the vice president British and the treasurer Swedish, and (in addition to Spaniards) the committee also includes Dutch, German and Irish members. It is a truly international executive committee that has attracted the general support of members.

Recent initiatives at the club include a wellness and fitness centre that has been very well received by members and which will offer the services of Ricardo Fernández Ochoa, brother of famous Spanish Olympic skiers Blanca and Francisco. Ricardo will be in charge of overseeing the electro-stimulation exercise equipment.

 

Charity Commitment

During the summer season, the club’s full agenda of sporting and social events will be highlighted by one intrinsically important aspect for Royal Guadalmina: a firm commitment to philanthropy.

The first competition, on 21 June, will be a fund-raising tournament for Adana (Association for the Protection of Abandoned Animals), which has its headquarters in Estepona and looks after more than 200 dogs. Following the tournament there will be an evening party with dinner around the club’s pool.

On 19 July, another charity competition will be held to raise funds for Aspandem, an association that works on behalf of people with disabilities.

The Norberto Goizueta Memorial will be held from 30 July to 2 August. This year it will also be a counting event for the world rankings, which means it has been extended from the customary two to four days of competition.

On 2 August, after the prize-giving ceremony for the Norberto Goizueta Memorial, Royal Guadalmina will be the venue for the Spanish Fight Against Cancer Association’s annual gala dinner, one of Marbella’s main charity events. This gala dinner is now a tradition at the club, which has been offering the use of its amenities for several years.

Scheduled for mid-August is Guadalmina’s “Semana Grande”, comprising seven tournaments, one for each day. The first event, held on Monday 17 August, will be sponsored by Ping; the second one on the 18th, sponsored by Alvear bodegas and Iberian products company Belloterra; on the 19th, by Reale Seguros; on the 20th, by LeClub, followed by a prize-giving ceremony for the four tournaments held up till then; on the 21st and 22nd, the Royal Guadalmina Teams Championship, concluding with a dinner on the second day; and on the 23rd, the Children’s Championship.

“The Big Week is a success year after year,” says del Cuvillo, “and in fact we have had to limit the number of participants, because we’ve ended up with waiting lists for all the competitions.”

Another charity event planned for summer, in addition to those for Adana and Aspandem, will be played on 8 August, to raise funds for the San Filippo Foundation, which supports children suffering from sanfilippo syndrome – their life expectancy is under two years unless they are treated with hugely expensive medicines.

 

On 12 August, Royal Guadalmina members will once again be asked to support a fund-raising event for the San Pedro Children’s Sports Association, which works tirelessly on behalf of youngsters; and on 29 August a tournament will be held in aid of the San Pedro Rotary Club and its impressive social work.

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