Unfortunately it is very difficult that, in Spain at the present time, courses like the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande are built again. We are not at the beginning of the decade of the 60s of the last century, when the Costa del Sol was beginning its tourist development and there were large virgin estates of buildings, nor do we have a businessman with the entrepreneurial initiative and vision of Joseph McMicking, founder of the Sotogrande urbanization.
It was McMicking who told the then-famous designer Robert Trent Jones Senior to personally choose the land on which to build a large 18-hole course without any limitations.
It was the legendary designer’s first work in Europe and marked a milestone in the construction of courses on this side of the Atlantic, not only for the superb design he created, but also for the innovations surrounding the project, as it was the first course in Europe to be sown with Bermuda 419 and the first to install a fully automated irrigation system.
With more than half a century behind it (it was inaugurated in 1964), the RCG Sotogrande needed an update and between 2015 and 2016 the renovation works were carried out, which meant in practice the restoration of the entire course. The original Robert Trent Jones design was respected, with the exception of the 8th hole, which was very long, so it was shortened and made more noble. In 2017 the short game area was renovated, with three large greens and bunkers, and in 2018 the driving range was refurbished, with target greens and bunkers, and the renovation of the 9-hole short course began, which was completed in July last year.
“It has been four years of very intense works and the member now has to enjoy it,” says the director of the RCG Sotogrande, Agustín Mazarrasa, who emphasizes that, since the reform of the 18 holes was completed in 2016, “the course in this time is maturing very well, has a spectacular drainage and responds wonderfully even in situations of heavy rains.”
“There hasn’t been a single day,” he illustrates, “that we haven’t been able to play in buggies: the buggies have always been out, whether 70 or 100 liters have fallen, which shows the quality of the reform.”
On the other hand, “the Bermuda grass has consolidated a lot, it is very mature, and the truth is that we are reaching a very high level of maintenance, which was the objective. The greens are very fast and are always in perfect condition. We are very happy with the result.
When asked why he believes his club deserves a place among Spain’s greats, Mazarrasa argued the following: “I think Sotogrande is a unique course in our country: there is no similar project. It is a very American design, with very wide fairways, with excellent maintenance, and it is difficult to find such a unique place, with such a beautiful estate next to the sea. It brings together a series of conditions that are difficult to find not only in Spain but worldwide. And above all, what people who play this course emphasize is that they have a lot of fun, because from the tee it is very straightforward. It is a course that is not so demanding from the tee, although the strategy is also important, but it demands a lot on the greens, and then the wind is also a factor that affects a lot. People enjoy the course very much, which is something difficult when we talk about golf”.
Regarding the most outstanding holes on the course, the club’s director comments that the star holes are 7 and 15, “although I also like 16 and 18 very much,” he says. “The truth is that it is difficult to choose just one,” he adds, “and I would say that now, after the renovation, the 18 holes are very good.
Regarding the future he sees for the RCG Sotogrande, Mazarrasa is very optimistic, especially because the club has about 2,000 members, and also 450 children and adolescents under 18 years, “so the future is quite guaranteed.
“We are a club with a family spirit,” he explains, “and we encourage families to come in and enjoy the club together. There are 27 nationalities, with 60 percent Spanish and 25 percent British.”
“The future is very good,” he stresses, “because we have greatly improved the facilities, because we have a large social mass and because, although it is a private club, we are also open to visitors and attract golfers from all over the world.
“We have,” continues Mazarrasa, “a very consolidated destination created together with Valderrama, La Reserva and San Roque Club, and every year thousands of players come, and that is something that will last over time.”
In his opinion, the key to success is to maintain a high level of services, which have been greatly improved at the club in recent years. For both members and visitors, the experience at Real Club de Golf Sotogrande has improved significantly.
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MEMORABLE DATES
1966 In 1966, the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande experienced its first great appointment with the best players in Europe. It was the Spanish Open, won by Roberto de Vicenzo with 279 strokes. Only one year later and at the age of 44, the Argentinean became the oldest player to win the British Open, after an exciting duel with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
1970 In 1970 the Jerez Cup was born, origin of the current European Championship of Nations Real Club de Golf Sotogrande Cup, which receives every year the best amateurs from twenty European countries and has in its list of winners the likes of Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, or Rory McIlroy. In 1973 the VII European Women’s Amateur Championship was held in Sotogrande, where the English team was proclaimed winner, followed by France, Sweden and Spain.
1987 In 1987 the Club witnessed the victory of the brilliant Seve Ballesteros in the Spanish Professional Championship. The player from Pedreña was then number two in the world ranking and had four majors – British Open 1979 and 1982 and Masters 1980 and 1983 – which did not prevent him from fighting a close duel with Pepín Rivero to win the Championship. Seve left good examples of his unequalled talent, such as the shot he hit on the 16th hole on the last day, holing from the bunker to practically seal the victory.
1994 In 1994, His Majesty King Juan Carlos I granted Sotogrande the title of Royal. Since its origin, the club has had six presidents, Alfredo Melián (1964-1979), Emma Villacieros de García-Ogara (1979-1989), Walter Rodríguez Figueroa (1989-1997), José Antonio Polanco (1997-2005), Antonio Martín Urquijo (2005-2010), Felipe Oriol Díaz de Bustamante (2010-2018) and the current president, Jaime Salaverri Aguilar.
2016 July 30, 2016 was another memorable date for the RCG Sotogrande, as on that day the 18-hole course was reopened – one could almost say reopened – after a complete renovation that lasted two years. The president of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Gonzaga Escauriaza, proceeded to give the stroke of honor.
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RCG SOTOGRANDE CUP: A QUARRY OF STARS
The RCG Sotogrande has always encouraged a lot of competition, mainly amateur. It is true that in 1966 the Spanish Open was played here, which was a great international promotion of the club -opened two years earlier- and was won by Roberto de Vicenzo, who at that time was one of the best players in the world. He beat Ramón Sota, who curiously was a teacher of the current director of the RCG Sotogrande, Agustín Mazarrasa.
“It was a very good tournament,” says Mazarrasa, “and from there came the Spanish Professional Championship, which Severiano Ballesteros won over Pepín Rivero, and then we have had many Spanish Amateur Championships, a Spanish International won by Olazábal, and above all our flagship tournament is the Sotogrande Cup, which has been played since 1970.”
For 25 years, it was called Copa Jerez because the sponsor was the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Vinos de Jerez. Emma Villacieros, who presided over the RCG Sogorande for a decade, was the promoter of the tournament and thanks to the sponsorship of Sherry Wines the best amateurs in Europe began to come, until it became what it is today, “one of the four best amateur tournaments in Europe, as evidenced by its track record,” says Mazarrasa.
“Although it may not be the best amateur tournament in Europe,” he adds, “because the British Amateur or the European Individual Championship gives you access to play the British Open or the Masters at Augusta, I would point out that the Sotogrande Cup has the best track record in terms of winners who have later succeeded as professionals.”
“If you look at the British Amateur record, you might be familiar with four or five in history, but our tournament has produced champions like Sergio Garcia, who won it twice, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry, Marcel Siem, Carlota Ciganda…. Jon Rahm lost in playoff in 2012, which shows how difficult it is to win this tournament.”
“There have been players,” continues the director of the RCG Sotogrande, “who also failed to win it, like Justin Rose or Tommy Fleetwood. Tom Lewis came to play it, in 2011, did not win and a few weeks later he turned professional and won the Portugal Open, which belongs to the European Tour. Matthew Fitzpatrick, for example, in 2014, before turning professional was here among the last, and the following week he played a tournament on the American Tour and passed the cut. All this shows the level of the tournament.
As captain of the national teams, Mazarrasa attended this tournament in 2008 and 2009 “and it was, and still is, a beautiful competition (it is held in April and its full name is Copa Real Club de Golf de Sotogrande, European Nations Championship). We put a lot of enthusiasm and dedication: it is a tournament that has a blackboard on the 1st tee with all the results, we put live scoring around the course with volunteers every three holes with blackboards, speaker on the 1st tee, we have many details, it is organized as a professional tournament, and the amateurs who come from all over Europe enjoy a lot here”.
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