{"id":14460,"date":"2017-06-13T11:41:02","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T11:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/agustin-mazarrasa-general-manager-of-royal-sotogrande\/"},"modified":"2017-06-13T11:41:02","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T11:41:02","slug":"agustin-mazarrasa-general-manager-of-royal-sotogrande","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/agustin-mazarrasa-general-manager-of-royal-sotogrande\/","title":{"rendered":"Agust\u00edn Mazarrasa: General Manager of Royal Sotogrande"},"content":{"rendered":"

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They were different times when, in the early 1960s, Sotogrande founder Joseph McMicking told renowned designer Robert Trent Jones that he could personally choose the land to build a prime 18-hole course \u2013 with no restrictions or restraints. It was Jones\u2019 first project in Europe, and it marked a milestone in golf course construction on this side of the Atlantic, not only for his superb design but also for the innovations surrounding the project. It was the first course in Europe to be seeded with Bermuda 419 grass and the first to install a fully automated irrigation system. <\/p>\n

Half a century later (the course was inaugurated in 1964), Royal Sotogrande Golf Club required an upgrade, and in 2015 renovation work began on two phases that were eventually completed in July 2016.<\/p>\n

To celebrate this significant event, a re-inauguration tournament was held, with 400 members taking part and Royal Spanish Golf Federation president Gonzago Escuriaza hitting the honorary first tee shot together with Royal Sotogrande president Felipe Oriol. The day\u2019s play was followed by a magnificent dinner that brought together 500 members. <\/p>\n

Club general manager Agust\u00edn Mazarrasa explains why the renovation work was undertaken: \u201cThe course was half a century old and needed an upgrade. It\u2019s a great course but, like all old courses, it had its problems: lack of drainage and loss of the original Bermuda grass. There were also aspects lacking in the design, although our objective has always been to carry out a restoration and retain the original design. That\u2019s why we hired Roger Rulewich \u2013 a Jones prot\u00e9g\u00e9 for 35 years \u2013 and his partner David Fleury, to ensure this design was preserved while at the same time upgrading it, especially the shape of the bunkers, and restoring the original designs of the greens \u2013 because 40 per cent of the surface area had been lost.\u201d <\/p>\n

The actual work was carried out by people contracted by the club. Forty-four kilometers of high quality and efficiency piping was installed throughout the course. The greens were re-turfed with certified Bermuda 419 \u2013 In total, 37 hectares. \u201cOne very important aspect of the renovation,\u201d notes Mazarrasa, \u201cis that half of the holes were clay soil, which meant a considerable quantity of siliceous sand had to be provided, in total 71,000 tonnes for the whole layout, 64,600 for the fairways and 6,400 for the greens.\u201d <\/p>\n

Comments about the finished result have been hugely positive. \u201cEveryone in general is very pleased with the renovation work, and we have truly returned the course to its origins. Many of the members who have been involved with the club right from the start tell us every day that the course now really reminds them of Sotogrande at the beginning, with Bermuda grass, the original greens, a course with little rough, the lakes coming into play more often\u2026 All of these factors remind them of its origins. What we have gained above all else is an impressive level of quality when it comes to maintenance \u2013 and each month that passes this will become even better. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Further Improvements<\/strong><\/p>\n

The improvement work at Royal Sotogrande hasn\u2019t ended with the renovation of the 18-hole course, but rather is ongoing and will involve the rest of the club\u2019s golf amenities. In April, for example, work began on the putting green next to the first tee, the short game practice area and all the green areas near the clubhouse. The putting green had become very small and had also been contaminated by weeds. \u201cWe want to build it with the same specifications as the greens on the course,\u201d says Mazarrasa. The green areas will be levelled out and re-turfed with certified Bermuda 419. As for the short game area, Rulewich and Fleury have completed an upgraded design optimizing the available space. There will be an expansive chipping area with two greens: one large one with three bunkers, to facilitate an extensive range of shots; and another chipping green for bunker shots. This practice area will also have a substantial putting green, \u201cthe same as the green on the first hole, also designed by Rulewich and Fleury\u201d. <\/p>\n

These revamped amenities are scheduled to be opened on July 15, but the improvements don\u2019t just end there. Over the next few years, the club plans to renovate the practice range, create a short game practice area at the back of the practice range and renew the entire nine-hole layout with the same specifications as the main course. \u201cThat will then complete the renovation project,\u201d says Mazarrasa. <\/p>\n

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A Major Tournament<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1966, the Spanish Open was held at the Sotogrande course, the first major professional tournament played on the Costa del Sol, and the club\u2019s executive committee is disposed to once again host a European Tour event. \u201cWe would like that a lot,\u201d says Mazarrasa. \u201cOur immediate aim is for the course to flatten out and settle down, and from now to August there\u2019s going to be a huge improvement because the Bermuda is growing and eventually is going to be of a particularly high quality. And as soon as the course has a little more definition we will be ready to host a tournament if the occasion arises and the members are in favor. It\u2019s not our objective, but if it arises we\u2019ll study the proposal.\u201d <\/p>\n

The club has 1,950 members, representing 27 different nationalities, most of them Spanish (around 60 per cent) and British (25 per cent more or less).<\/p>\n

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Rankings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Years ago Royal Sotogrande Golf Club held down number one spot in Spain in the main international rankings, an honor that was passed on to Valderrama. \u201cAll this with the rankings is very subjective,\u201d observes Mazarrasa, \u201cbut I believe we are in the top-three in Spain, and I\u2019m sure we are one of the best parkland courses in Europe. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult to say which course is better than another one. I, for example, am from Pedre\u00f1a, and for me Pedre\u00f1a is in the top-five. Neguri is another magnificent course, but hardly ever appears in the rankings, and for me they are two of the best courses in Spain. El Saler has an amazing design\u2026 Sotogrande is an exceptional course in Spain, an American-style course, very wide \u2013 no other course is as wide as this one. It also has very fast greens and wind is a key factor\u2026 so all this sets it apart from others. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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They were different times when, in the early 1960s, Sotogrande founder Joseph McMicking told renowned designer Robert Trent Jones that he could personally choose the land to build a prime 18-hole course \u2013 with no restrictions or restraints. It was Jones\u2019 first project in Europe, and it marked a milestone in golf course construction on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-destinations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}