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Their start in golf was family oriented. The Navarros were members of M\u00e1laga club El Candado and it was there they caught a bug they were never to lose. <\/p>\nTheir start in golf was family oriented. The Navarros were members of M\u00e1laga club El Candado and it was there they caught a bug they were never to lose. <\/p>\n
Luis and Guillermo (Willy), Guillermo and Luis: you could almost say of them the same as the Catholic Monarchs\u2019 motto\u2026 it amounts so, so it amounts (tanto monta, monta tanto monta), because \u2013 always united, neither shines over or wants to shine over the other. Together, they make a unique tandem on the Costa del Sol: two brothers running elite golf clubs, San Roque and Aloha. Both courses have hosted European Tour events, and both are considered among the best in Andaluc\u00eda. <\/p>\n
It is not common for this situation to arise \u2013 neither here nor elsewhere \u2013 which is why Andaluc\u00eda Golf was keen to bring them together in a relaxed and informal interview that, on occasions, did also slip into seriousness. The best thing about the pair is that they do truly interact \u201clike brothers\u201d, which often is a lot to say\u2026 <\/p>\n
\u201cIn fact everything did begin at El Candado,\u201d re- calls Luis, \u201ca magnificent club difficult to replicate because there was a level of services there that in Spain you would not be able to recoup ever. We went sailing, played tennis and golf, etc. \u2013 it was paradise. We were very fortunate to have been raised in that environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
-Golf had a significant influence on you but later you moved in different professional directions? <\/strong><\/p>\n -Guillermo: \u2013 Yes, I studied economics and then moved to Madrid for work. At the time my \u201cbig brother\u201d \u2013 he stresses this so it becomes clear who is younger \u2013 had already begun working in the world of golf and he encouraged me to do the same. <\/p>\n \u2013 Luis: \u2013 I studied agronomy, by family tradition, and I was always interested in the world of golf and everything related to it. In 1994, I did a course maintenance course and a few years later I had the opportunity of joining Alicante Golf as greenkeeper. I left a great job as head of acquisitions in M\u00e1laga \u2013 Siemens\u2019 project for Amena \u2013 and put all my eggs in the one basket. I spent several more years at Alicante Golf as manager. From there I moved to El Bosque, not for very long because then Aloha called. They were looking for a manager with my profile and Don \u00c1ngel de la Riva (president of the Royal Andalucian Golf Federation) kindly spoke about me Richard Katz, at the time president of Aloha. So that\u2019s how I came back seven years ago and I\u2019m very happy here. <\/p>\n -Are you aware of any other brothers running such top-level golf courses as yours? <\/strong><\/p>\n -Neither top-level or low-level, says Guillermo. Look, I travel quite a lot around Europe and other parts of the world but never, never, have I found a similar case, and I\u2019ve looked into it a lot because I\u2019m curious. <\/p>\n -Which of the two courses is the best? (We ask to heat things up a little.) <\/strong><\/p>\n -Of course, says Luis, without a doubt San Roque\u2026 It could be Aloha, counters Guillermo \u2013 both with an ample dose of sarcasm.<\/p>\n -And the best manager of the two? <\/strong><\/p>\n -I don\u2019t know what to say, says Luis.<\/p>\n -We have different profiles, adds Guillermo, in a more serious vein, because my brother I\u2019m sure knows more about maintenance as he\u2019s an agronomy engineer, whereas at San Roque, even though we have a members\u2019 club, I also run the commercial side, and in this area perhaps I\u2019m more ahead of him.<\/p>\n -Different personal profiles, and also very different courses\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n -Yes, that\u2019s possible, says Luis, though we both have very good products which we are familiar with and aim to look after and strengthen. My philosophy on this matter, and here you\u2019ll see my agronomic vein, is that seeds generate harvests. That is to say that, if you look after the basics, you will have results. I also believe \u2013 look how silly this is, he laughs \u2013 that the most important thing about a golf course is the course. In this industry the only way to stand out is by offering quality, so if we look after the key aspects everything else involves doing sensible things. There are a lot of places \u2013 this is not the case with San Roque \u2013 where the course is of secondary importance, and it should be the opposite. Then, how you organize and market it, that\u2019s another matter. If the product is bad there is no way it will prosper. Both us and San Roque make an effort to ensure the product keeps improving: quality and services are the key to everything. <\/p>\n \u2013 Together you could almost set up a lobby, an unbeatable team\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 We would complement each other very well, Luis continues. Guillermo has more commercial vision, and possibly economic, and my speciality is perhaps something else. We complement each other perfectly, interrupts Guillermo, and we help each other mutually. When in doubt, or when there is a problem, I consult my brother, and when I have an idea I also mention it to him. Rather than a lobby we could set up a consulting service, because when we\u2019re together we don\u2019t stop \u201csolving problems and coming up with ideas\u201d\u2026 and that\u2019s with us being a fair way away from each other. If we were closer we could put into place initiatives that we believe would improve management practices. Ideas that you can only see through to fruition with a high level of confidence\u2026 And with my brother I have that (laughs). <\/p>\n \u2013 Should we talk about the crisis or let it go? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Certainly at Aloha (Luis) the crisis has affected us only slightly, because we are a members\u2019 club and our members are not willing to give up their passion, and what keeps us alive and active. We are a little on the margin of all this. <\/p>\n It\u2019s affecting me a little more, says Guillermo, because, even though I have my members, I also have a second commercial course. In any event, I believe that the crisis has enabled clubs to re-dimension themselves appropriately so there is no wastage of economic resources or lack of a coherent attitude in managing the situation. As for a return to the previous \u201cfigures\u201d, as seems to be happening, we will be more efficient and competitive. <\/p>\n It\u2019s affecting me a little more,\u201d Guillermo points out, \u201cbecause, although I have my members, I also have a second commercial field. In any case,\u201d he continues, \u201cI think that the crisis has helped the clubs to be sized properly and to avoid economic waste and little coherence when it comes to managing them. As soon as the numbers come back, as it seems to be happening, we will be more efficient and competitive. <\/p>\n \u2013 Are you optimists? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Completely, completely, says Luis.<\/p>\n \u2013 Guillermo notes, the crisis will enable us to learn from many of our mistakes of the past. When it passes, and it will pass when we regain confidence and are prepared to invest once again in quality of life, we will be stronger. <\/p>\n \u2013 What needs to be done to boost the flow of visitors, if we in fact need that to happen? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 Without a doubt, says Guillermo, we have to provide service and quality to make us stand out from other destinations. And in these moments, adds Luis, when everything is so tough we should not stop our promotion initiatives. Returning to the analogy of the seed: we have to carry on and on because everything isn\u2019t done yet. We have to consolidate the destination, train people\u2026 <\/p>\n \u2013 In the end we\u2019ve become serious. When you meet up at home, at Christmas time for example, do you never stop talking about golf and tourism? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 To be honest that\u2019s what we do (Guillermo). Our work can only be understood by another manager, and that\u2019s what you are 24 hours a day. To have a friendly shoulder, and brother, with whom you can pour your heart out to and let off steam, that\u2019s a great thing. <\/p>\n \u2013 And what do they think about all this at home? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u2013 They know us now. They know what we do and what our passion is. On the other hand, even though among the group of managers we get on very well and share experiences, ideas, etc., with your brother it always gives you more of a sense of confidence (Luis). And it makes us both better people, concludes Guillermo. <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2013 Should we talk about the crisis or let it go? \u2013 Certainly at Aloha (Luis) the crisis has affected us only slightly, because we are a members\u2019 club and our members are not willing to give up their passion, and what keeps us alive and active. We are a little on the margin of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14539","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\/14539","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andaluciagolf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"%5C%22images\/stories\/Entrevistas\/120816.LuisyGuillermo1.jpg%5C%22\")
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