Those were different times when, at the beginning of the 1960s, the founder of the Sotogrande urbanization, Joseph McMicking, told the then famous designer Robert Trent Jones to personally choose the land on which to build a large 18-hole course without any limitations.
It was the designer’s first work in Europe and marked a milestone in the construction of courses on this side of the Atlantic, not only because of the superb design, but also because of the innovations surrounding the project, as it was the first course in Europe to be planted with Bermuda 419 and the first to install a fully automated irrigation system.
With half a century behind it (it was inaugurated in 1964), the RCG Sotogrande needed an update and in 2015, in order to bring the course up to date, renovation work began which, in two phases, was completed in July last year.
To celebrate, a re-inauguration tournament was held with the participation of more than 400 members and attended by the president of the Spanish Federation, Gonzaga Escuriaza, who made the kick-off together with the president of the RCG Sotogrande, Felipe Oriol. The day ended with a great dinner that brought together more than half a thousand members.
The club’s director, Agustín Mazarrasa, explains why the renovation was undertaken: “The field was already half a century old and needed to be updated. It is a great field, but like all old fields it had its problems: it lacked drainage, the Bermuda grass, which was the original turf, had been lost, and it also had shortcomings in terms of design, although our objective has always been to carry out a restoration, to maintain the original design. That’s why we hired Roger Rulewich – a disciple of Robert Trent Jones for 35 years – and his partner David Fleury, to make sure we preserved that design and at the same time updated it, especially the molding of the bunkers and recovering the original designs of the greens, because almost 40 percent of the surface had been lost.”
The actual work was carried out by the club’s own contracted personnel. Forty-four kilometers of high quality and efficient drainage pipes were installed along the entire length of the course. The greens were sodded with A4 Agrostis, and the fairways with certified Bermuda 419. In total, 37 hectares were sodded.
“One very important thing in the reform,” explains Mazarrasa, “is that half of the holes were clayey soil, so we had to make a very considerable contribution of silica sand, a total of 71,000 tons throughout the course, 64,600 for fairways and 6,400 for greens”.
Feedback on the outcome of the refurbishment has been very positive. “The truth is that everyone in general is very happy with the restoration,” says the club director, “and we have really gone back to the origin of the course. Many members who have been with the club all their lives, since the beginning, tell us daily, that the course now really reminds them of the Sotogrande of the beginning, with the Bermuda grass, with the original greens, a course with little rough, with the lakes more in play… All that reminds them a lot of the origin, and above all what we have gained is an impressive quality of maintenance, and every month that goes by we are getting better.”
MORE IMPROVEMENTS
The improvements of the RCG Sotogrande have not ended with the reform of the 18-hole course, but continue and will affect the rest of the golf facilities. Thus, on April 17 began work on the putting green next to the 1st tee, the short game area and all the green areas near the clubhouse. The putting green had become too small and was already contaminated with weeds.
“We want to build it to the same specifications as the greens on the course,” explains the club director. The green areas are going to be leveled and teed with certified Bermuda 419. As for the short game area, Rulewich and Fleury have made a more contemporary design by optimizing the available space. There will be a very large chipping green area with two greens: a large one with three bunkers that will allow for a wide variety of shots, and another chipping green to get out of the bunker. The practice area will also have a large putting green.
“It’s going to be a very attractive area to train,” says Mazarrasa, “just like the putting green on 1, also Rulewich and Fleury design.” The opening of these renovated facilities is scheduled for July 15.
But the reforms do not end there, as in the coming years the club plans to renovate the driving range, make a short game area at the back of the driving range and restore the entire 9-hole short course with the same specifications as the long course. “With this we would conclude the plan of golf reforms,” says the director of RCG Sotogrande.
A GREAT TOURNAMENT
In 1966 the Open de España was played on this course, which was the first major international professional tournament hosted by the Costa del Sol, and the club’s Board of Directors is keen for the RCG de Sotogrande to host a European Tour competition again. “We would like it very much,” says Mazarrasa. “Our objective now is that the course settles down, and between now and August it will take a huge leap in quality because now Bermuda is growing and will take a very good quality. And as soon as the course has a little bit of definition we will be ready to host a tournament in the future if the opportunity arises and the members want it. It is not our objective, but if it comes up we will study it”.
The club has 1,950 members, of which 27 nationalities are represented, with a majority of Spanish (around 60%) and British (around 25%).
RANKINGS
The RCG Sotogrande came to appear years ago as number one in Spain in the main international rankings, an honor that later fell to Valderrama. “The rankings are very subjective,” says Mazarrasa, “but I think we are in the top three in Spain, and we are one of the best parklands in Europe, for sure”.
“It’s complicated to say which one is better than another,” he adds. “I’m from Pedreña, for example, and for me Pedreña is in the top five. And Neguri is also another great course, and they almost never appear in the rankings, and for me they are two of the best courses in Spain. El Saler has an impressive design, … Sotogrande in the end is a unique course in Spain, it is an American course, very wide, there is no course as wide as this one, what happens is that it has very fast greens and the wind is a key factor … it is different from everything else.
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