The Real Club de Golf Guadalmina can boast of many things: its two great 18-hole golf courses (it also has a 9-hole short course), its long and glorious history, its great atmosphere and social plurinationality, its extensive calendar of competitions … and its undoubtedly solidary role in the summer of Marbella.
During the summer season, the club is the scene of numerous sporting and social activities that attract every year a large number of fans and other people who do not play golf.
The RCG Guadalmina is experiencing a period of splendor as a result of several factors, among which are the major investments that have been undertaken in the club in 2013 and 2014 to build new facilities, such as the new proshop, caddy master and club room, the new maintenance building and fitness center, and improve existing and services provided to members and visitors, in addition, of course, to turn as always in the maintenance of the field of play (new machinery has been purchased) so that it is always in immaculate condition.
All this, together with the spirit that reigns at the Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, where its staff wants to “make you feel at home”, in the words of the club’s director, Ignacio del Cuvillo, has had an impact on the strong increase in new members that has been registered in recent months. “It has been impressive: from January to April, nearly 90 have joined, and the expectations are to end 2015 with more members than in 2014, which is to consolidate a trend that began last year and that meant halting the negative trend that began in 2010 of losing between 50 and 60 members per year. So by the end of the year we would be around 1,900 members, which is a very considerable figure”.
One of the highlights of this beginning of the year has been the appointment by acclamation of a new Board of Directors of the club. The candidacy, called Guadalmina Unidos headed by Juan Ramón Martínez Landazábal, was proclaimed on April 2. Since then it has been working intensively for the development of the social and sporting life of the club. The candidacy brought together practically all the nationalities represented in the club. Thus, the President is Spanish, the Vice-President is British, the Treasurer is Swedish and among the members, besides Spaniards, there are Dutch, Germans, Irish, etc. It is an international Board of Directors that has received the general support of the members.
Among the club’s recent developments is the Wellness and Fitness Center, which is being very well received by members and will incorporate the services of Ricardo Fernández Ochoa, brother of the famous Spanish Olympic skiers Blanca and Francisco. Ricardo will be in charge of monitoring an electro-stimulation machine for exercise.
Solidarity aspect
With respect to the summer, the club has a season full of sporting and social events, taking into account an intrinsic aspect of the RCG Guadalmina: solidarity.
The first competition, on June 21, will be a tournament to raise funds for the Association for the Rights of Abandoned Animals, Adana, which is based in Estepona and cares for more than two hundred dogs. After the tournament there will be a party night, with dinner around the club’s swimming pool.
On July 19, another solidarity competition will be played in favor of Aspandem, an association that works for people with disabilities.
The Norberto Goizueta Memorial will be held from July 30 to August 2, which this year has the particularity of being a scoring event for the World Ranking, so it will consist of four days instead of the two that were usual in previous editions.
On August 2, after the awards ceremony of the Norberto Goizuela Memorial, the RCG Guadalmina will host the Annual Gala Dinner of the Spanish Association for Cancer Relief, one of the most important charity events held in Marbella. The celebration of this gala has become a tradition for the club, which has offered its facilities for this purpose for many years.
The Big Week
The Guadalmina Big Week is scheduled for mid-August, consisting of seven tournaments, one each day. On Monday 17 will be played the first one, sponsored by the Ping company; on 18 will be played the one sponsored by the Alvear wineries and the Iberian products company Belloterra; on 19, the Reale Insurance; on 20, the LeClub and will also proceed to the awards ceremony of the four competitions played until then; on 21 and 22 will be the turn of the RCG Guadalmina Team Championship, which will conclude with a dinner on the second day; and on 23 will be played the Children’s Championship.
“The Semana Grande is a success year after year,” says Del Cuvillo, “and in fact we have had to limit the number of participants, since in all competitions we are left with a waiting list.”
Another solidarity tournament of the summer, in addition to those of Adana and Aspandem, will be played on August 8 and its purpose is to raise funds for the San Filipo Foundation, in favor of children with the disease that gives its name to the foundation, whose life expectancy does not exceed 2 years unless they are treated with a medication that has a very high cost.
On August 12, the members of the RCG Guadalmina will again be asked for their support in order to raise funds for the support of the San Pedro Youth Sports Association, which does a great job among young people; and on August 29, a tournament will be played in favor of the Rotary Club of San Pedro and its great social work.
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