Why has Valderrama been considered for many years, and still is, as the number one course in Continental Europe? There are certainly three fundamental reasons: the design of the legendary American architect, Robert Trent Jones; a maintenance that borders on perfection; and a history, forged over the last 25 years, that very few clubs in the world can boast.
Many things can be highlighted about this course that allow it to maintain the status from which it has not yet been unseated. In addition to the design, carried out at the height of its maturity by one of the most prestigious architects in the world, on a spectacular estate and with a very varied course, its maintenance is especially noteworthy, because it is in this aspect that Valderrama began to forge its prestige and set the path that European golf would follow from then on. At the time, the levels of demand that this course imposed on itself and that it still maintains was an absolute novelty in the Old Continent. Something innovative in its time.
Until then, in the late eighties and early nineties, nothing like it had ever been seen before and that made Valderrama become a benchmark for other European courses, and from then on everyone sought excellence in terms of “manicure” and presentation of the course: fairways and greens of the Cadiz club became the example to be imitated by all.
This, however, was already common in the United States. Augusta, although there were many more, was surely the most significant example, and was possibly the inspiration for Jaime Ortiz-Patiño to try to turn his course into what it is today.
A good level of maintenance, like Valderrama’s, is based on three fundamental elements. First, of course, in the knowledge of what is being done, of the turf on which we are working. You have to have an academic base to be able to achieve optimum results in its care. Then, you have to have the right personnel, both in number and in training; and finally, you have to have the right machinery and well “greased” to be able to work.
All these requirements are and have always been met in this field that was opened to the public in 1974 under the name of Las Aves.
ROBERT TRENT JONES
When the course was acquired by Jaime Ortiz-Patiño in 1985, he again called Robert Trent Jones to redesign the course. After this second intervention, the American always considered Valderrama as one of his greatest works; and when the philosophy of taking maintenance to its maximum level was established, the devotion for his work in the south of Spain, which he would visit frequently, was even more accentuated.
HEART-POUNDING CURRICULUM VITAE
The great courses of the world,” says Javier Reviriego, general manager of the club, “base part of their prestige on the fact that great events have been held there. And in this respect, Valderrama is hardly surpassed by any course in the British Isles, and by none on the Continent.
Neither Augusta, nor Pebble Beach, nor Olympic, would be what they are today if the tournaments they have hosted had not been played there.
The major professional competitions, in which the best players in the world participate, serve to increase the prestige of the field, especially if they are televised and followed by millions of spectators who can appreciate and see the field of play down to its smallest details.
Volvo Masters was the first of the major tournaments to be hosted by the Cadiz club, and its association with Valderrama was fully satisfactory for both parties and the basis on which the myth of this course would be built.
Volvo Masters was also a pioneer in Europe in many aspects, and not only for being the competition that closed the circuit with great prizes. It was also for the way the tournament was managed.
Again, the key word is “excellence”. Nothing like it was being done in Europe at the time and, like the field, it served as a benchmark for all.
The expense in logistics, its organizational rigor, the treatment given to the guests, to the players… all contributed to forge the magnificent image of the tournament and to make it the example to follow.
If we add to this the fact that from the beginning the course was presented with conditions very similar to those of Augusta, we can understand the enormous level that the event achieved.
There were 16 Volvo Masters that took place here. In two stages, from 88 to 96 and from 2002 to 2007. One of the great contributions was that, from the beginning and until the end, the tournament had its own newspaper, which was always carried out by Andalucía Golf. This had never been done in the world until then, and then very rarely.
Between 1996 and 2002 two Amex World Championships were played, and the tournament that definitively elevated the course to legendary status: the 1997 Ryder Cup.
“This was,” says Reviriego, “the big spark that put Valderrama definitively on the world golf map.”
If the Volvo Masters had turned this club from Costa del Sol into the most prestigious in Europe, the Ryder Cup definitively placed it at a clearly superior level.
In fact, Valderrama is one of the best known brands in the USA related to golf. Any American golf fan recognizes and appreciates it.
And this is something very difficult to achieve; it can only be achieved by doing a good job, polishing the product a lot, and being very demanding.
DIFFICULT TIMES
Although Valderrama will be forever linked to the history of Andalusian and European golf, there are bad times to repeat the great events that have taken place here.
But even so, they are already thinking about the future, and its general manager points out that “although we are a private course, which does not have the imperative need to have a tournament every year, and with a very consolidated brand, it is a tradition in our club to host major events, and in that sense we are working to have a big tournament soon”.
“I know it’s not easy right now,” he continues, “but we’re not ruling out any options for the future, probably 2014.”
INTERNATIONAL CLUB
Valderrama is also defined by its social mass, very international and undoubtedly of high level. This is a well-known fact. The club has fifty or so nationalities among its members and is visited by people from all over the world. It is not very normal for a Spanish club to have such a great variety in the origin of its members. And that is one of its great riches. That people from so many different countries want to belong to an entity so far away, sometimes, from their place of residence, can only be due to one thing: the enormous worldwide prestige that Valderrama has achieved.
There may be people living in the United States, for example, who come only once a year, and the experience of playing this course makes it worthwhile for them to become a member. It is a course that continues to be an object of desire for any golfer visiting Spain. That is why we continue to maintain the policy of allocating two hours a day to give outings to visitors.
SOTOGRANDE ENGINE
Another aspect not to be underestimated, and very important to take into account, is that the club has undoubtedly been an economic engine of the area, of the entire Sotogrande environment.
Of course this urbanization is and was very well known, it is a resort of the highest level, there is nothing like it in Europe, but it is very clear that, especially after the Ryder Cup, Sotogrande took off as a brand due to the influence of Valderrama.
As for the houses around the course, none of them affect the game. The course is “very protected” by the vegetation and by the generous margins that were left in its construction. And this is also a luxury now. When playing you can hardly see a house.
In short, there are many reasons to continue to consider Valderrama as the number one course in Europe and one of the best in the world, and here are some of them.
“There are several rankings,” Reviriego points out, “but the most prestigious are three: Golf Digest, Golf Monthly and Golf Magazine. Of these, in two of them we are considered the number one in continental Europe. So we have a legitimate right to say that we are”.
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