RFGA, holds the meeting
The Royal Andalusian Golf Federation has held this Monday and Tuesday its traditional annual meetings of golf course directors and sales representatives. In order to facilitate the attendance of the largest number of golf course representatives, and as is also tradition, the meeting was held in two areas and on consecutive days.
On Monday, the headquarters of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation in Malaga welcomed fif ty directors and sales managers of golf courses in Malaga, Granada, Almeria, Jaen and Sotogrande. For its part, on Tuesday morning, the Real Club Sevilla Golf received another thirty managers from Seville, Huelva and the Atlantic area of Cadiz.
The meeting in Malaga was inaugurated by Pablo Mansilla, President of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation, who thanked all the attendees for their presence and, in particular, Miguel Guerrero and Placido Sierra -on behalf of Turismo y Planificación Costa del Sol- and Susana Borrego, representing Turismo Andaluz, both entities that collaborate closely with the federation in favor of golf in our region.
The balance sheet of the RFGA
He then took stock of the current situation of Andalusian golf, which starts 2025 with more than 51,000 golf licenses, representing ayear-on-year increase of 2.1%. During 2024, the region continued to consolidate its position as the venue for major professional golf events, such as the Andalusia LIV, the Andalusia Masters, the Women’s Open, as well as events on the Alps Tour, Challenge Tour and Legends Tour. These events have contributed to continue positioning golf as one of Andalusia’s main tourist attractions.
PGR, your industry is growing
Afterwards, Carlos Pitarch, president of the Golf Courses Commercial Committee of the federation, took the floor to highlight the growth of the sector and presented data from the study “Golf as a catalyst for economic activity – Magnitudes for Andalusia”, promoted jointly with the Spanish Golf Courses Association, the Royal Spanish Golf Federation and prepared by IE University. Among the most relevant data, he highlighted the notable increase in investment in second homes by golf tourists, with more than 123,000 homes owned and a combined value of 30,100 million euros.
This phenomenon reflects how Andalusia is managing to convert many of its golf tourists into residents, a clear indicator of the attractiveness and quality of life offered by the region.
Action plan presented at the RFGA meeting
In the balance of the action plan of the Golf Courses Commercial Committee During 2024, the participation of the Royal Andalusian Golf Federation in some twenty commercial actions in the main European markets, aimed at both the end public and specialized golf operators, was highlighted. Among the novelties, the incorporation of a golf simulator in several promotional actions stands out, which has proved to be a great attraction for the public, facilitating the gathering of data from potential visitors interested in Andalusia. Due to the success of this initiative, it has been decided to maintain the use of the simulator as a criterion for participation in future events during 2025.
New products presented at the RFGA
For his part, Ignacio Pérez Benito, head of IT support and digital development at the federation, took the floor to present the main innovations introduced in NextCaddy -the RFGA’s competition management program- in terms of course cards, time control and the inclusion of out-of-competition results in the software.
On the other hand, he reported the imminent integration of Andalucía Golf Hub – the tool developed by the RFGA to give Andalusian golf courses a single point of sale – within the portal www.andalucia.org. The RFGA is working with other institutions, tourism boards and town councils so that, as Turismo Andaluz has done, they can implement this booking engine within their websites and thus provide new points of sale for Andalusian golf courses.
This year’s end of the RFGA annual meetings
Finally, the meetings addressed issues of common interest to golf courses, including aspects related tocadastral valuations, water regulations, drought management and the use of reclaimed water. The RFGA continues to work in these areas, in collaboration with the Spanish Golf Courses Association and other bodies, with the aim of strengthening the sector and ensuring its long-term sustainability.
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