“OWNING THE CLUB HAS GIVEN MEMBERS A LOT OF PEACE OF MIND AND CONFIDENCE.”
A native of Cascais and an outstanding amateur player, Nuno de Brito e Cunha, Viscount of Pereira Machado, knows very well the ins and outs of the Real Club Valderrama, as he has been a member since shortly after it was acquired by its founder, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño. His love for golf was instilled in him by his father -an outstanding amateur player- almost from the cradle. The young Nuno learned the sport so well that he became Champion of Portugal on more than one occasion and represented his country in World and European championships.
One year before the expiration of his second term at the head of the most famous golf club in Spain, he takes stock of these seven years of presidency, talks about the purchase of the course by the club’s members, the Andalucía Valderrama Masters and his determination to bring back to this emblematic venue one of the best tournaments in the world.
– What was the operation to purchase the Valderrama course from La Zagaleta?
-I will try to explain it as simply as possible. Historically the club and the members have always had a right of first refusal in case the field was sold. When the field was sold to La Zagaleta, this right was not respected. They claimed that they had bought the Swiss holding company that owned the course but we did not agree since the main and almost only asset of the holding company was the golf course. Faced with this situation we decided to initiate arbitration as we disagreed on the interpretation. We had several months of very hard work with our lawyers and in the end I believe that the owners of La Zagaleta saw that we were right. and we reached an agreement whereby we purchased at a reasonable price.
-There is something that everyone would like to know: how much did the members pay for the purchase of the Valderrama course?
-I believe that the price has been published in several media. What I can say very clearly is that it is exactly the same price that La Zagaleta had paid for it.
-What does this acquisition mean for the Real Club Valderrama, will it make any difference to the way the club operates?
-It’s not going to change much. We have full autonomy, we have a private club policy. It was one of the reasons why we didn’t like having an owner of the field because that owner automatically had other interests, which were mostly commercial. We are not a money-making machine: we are here to serve our members and our club. Other entities, who were the owners of the field, were here to make money. And that was against the interests of our members. Now all the members have the peace of mind of knowing that the field is ours and we don’t depend on an owner.
-Another doubt that arises is whether La Zagaleta could use the name of Valderrama, calling for example a future course Valderrama 2?
-No, you can’t. You could call it whatever you want, but Valderrama 2 in no case. That is clear. We bought the course, several plots of land around the course and we also bought the Valderrama Golf brand. The use of the Valderrama brand for any golf-related business is exclusive to us.
-Are these plots buildable?
-They are plots that have buildability but we have no intention of developing them. They are plots that serve as protection for the course and some of them to have extra space during the Valderrama Masters.
-How do you see now, with this new situation, the future of Valderrama?
-I see it very well. In general, Spain is doing much better and, although it has its political problems, economically things have changed for the better, and the same in Europe. We have our full membership quota, with 450 members, which is the maximum we accept here, and we have a fairly large waiting list. Here we need that list because we lose half a dozen members every year, because of age, because they can no longer play golf, etc., and that is why we must always have a reserve of people to cover those casualties.
-Speaking of another subject, the fact that Sergio García won the last edition of the Andalucía Valderrama Masters must have been a source of great pride for this club. What is your assessment of the tournament?
-I think that, although it is a fantastic tournament, in world terms in terms of prizes it is a modest tournament when compared to the Rolex Series, the American Tour, the World Series, etc. However, we are fortunate to have an iconic course that also appears very well on television because visually it is spectacular, and on top of that we have in our club an honorary member like Sergio, who has also been made an honorary member of the European Tour and Real Madrid, who has helped the tournament a lot. He is very affectionate with us and always says all over the world that this is his favorite course.
-And having Jon Rahm, in his first tournament in Spain as a professional, was another great success of the tournament?
-I have rarely seen a golfer at 22 years old with the maturity and sympathy of him. For me, he is really out of this world.
-When will there be a Rolex Series at Valderrama?
-We are working to have it in 2019. I don’t know if it will be possible, but we are working on it. The club has some members who know a lot of people in the business world, and Javier (Reviriego, general manager of Real Club Valderrama), a group of members and I are working very hard for that. We also have the support of very important people like Sergio, and there is also the European Tour and luckily we have a fantastic relationship with them. Keith Pelley (executive director of the Tour) helps us a lot, he comes here when we ask him, he loves Valderrama, and all that helps.
And there is another important factor for the tournament: the players like to come here. Because of the history of this course, they like to win at Valderrama: it’s something they can put on their list of winners.
And of course we have an essential support, that of the Junta de Andalucía, which is a great friend of Valderrama.
I have to say that I would love to have a Rolex Series or even a bigger tournament.
-To have one of the World Golf Championships again?
-Here we had two (the 1999 and 2000 American Express, won by Tiger Woods and Mike Weir respectively), and Europe now has had none for ten years. There are two in the United States, one in China and one in Mexico. In Mexico there is a gentleman, the owner of the main television network there, who has put a lot of millions for the tournament to be played in his country.
-How much money would it take to get one of those tournaments?
-The budget for these tournaments is around thirteen or fourteen million dollars (each one this season will distribute ten million in prize money alone, of which the winner will pocket 1,660,000 dollars). I think Keith Pelley has done a fantastic job for the European Tour with Rolex, which for me is the best-known prestige brand in the world. Now, I don’t know if the big European players have fully responded. It may have been because it was the first year of the Rolex Series. Let’s see how this one is, but in my opinion they have not had the full support of the European players (the president of RC Valderrama refers especially to the most renowned players enrolled in the American Tour). They should never forget that they are Europeans and that they started playing here. They are players who nowadays travel very easily, some even have private jets, and then the great players owe more to the European Tour. Sergio has more than fulfilled (six tournaments on the 2017 European Tour without counting the majors and the World Golf Championships, which are official for the European and American circuits) and Rahm too (five Tour tournaments in addition to the majors and the WGCs), and you have to take into account that he started practically on the American Tour and not on the European Tour. But there are other players who started here and then triumphed in America who, in my opinion, are not doing well on the European Tour.
-What can you tell us about your seven years as president of RC Valderrama?
-When we arrived here (2011), the club was not in a good situation. We had serious cash flow problems and no major investments had been made since the Ryder Cup (1997), the facilities were deteriorated, the clubhouse was leaking, the golf course irrigation pumping equipment was practically unusable, there were leaks and irrigation problems…we, the members, have made a great effort to put absolutely everything in order. We have invested more than five million euros in the improvements and reforms that the course needed, and that investment has been with money generated exclusively by the club and its members, from no one else.
I must emphasize that thanks to the work and skill of our general manager and a board of directors that has supported him unconditionally, we have achieved all that is now visible and we will be able to enjoy a great course for many years to come.
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