Seve…

Like football’s Pele, the name Seve is all that’s required to recognize one of the most iconic figures in world golf.
Last year, I read Seve’s auto-biography.  Last week, I read Ollie Brown’s interview with Seve at his home in Pedreña.
I was saddened by his autobiography, surprised that such phenomenal success was blighted with self-pity, imagined slights against him, especially by the hierarchy of the U.S.P.G.A. and a general feeling that the world had failed to appreciate his genius.  Ollie Brown’s harrowing interview for the Daily Telegraph put all of Seve’s grievances into perspective, following as it did only a few months after his devestating illness with a brain tumour. The self-pity was still in evidence, but with some justification, as it was clear that Seve felt he was nearing the end of his life.
Since his life had always revolved round golf, a game he could no longer pursue, it is easy to imagine that life as he had always known it, was indeed, over. His fans will regret, as Seve clearly does, his inability to travel to St. Andrews during the Open this week. Perhaps he will recover sufficiently to leave the solitude of his home and play some sort of role in golf. At the relatively young age of 53, with memories of Major victories and Ryder Cup triumphs as player and captain, Seve has much to offer the game which he helped to transform into one of the most universally popular sports.
Long live Seve.

Tags: Football

New Studs Please…

After the England team’s debacle in South Africa many footy fans may be thinking it was high time some of the England team hung up their boots and called it a day. Instead, why don’t they take it a step further and put those idle afternoons on the golf course to good use and try to excel with a smaller ball between their feet? For swerve read power fade….
Here is a list of some of the better football golfers around. Jimmy Bullard enjoys the distinction of holding the lowest handicap (1) of a current footballer. Must be all that free time not playing for Hull? Indeed, he is quoted as saying,” I’d like to become a serious player in the future.” The jury is still out on your footballing skills Jimmy.
My back four would be the BBC punditry team of Shearer, Dixon, Lineker and Hansen playing off a combined handicap of 18; a real ‘Texas’ scramble in the goal mouth. Hansen’s first love was actually golf and he made the Scottish Boys squad in 1972 playing against a certain Sandy Lyle in the England team. This, before the latter ‘found’ a Scottish grandmother.
Ex-footballers who tried to join the professional golfing ranks include Roy Wegerle and Julian Dicks. The ‘Terminator’ actually took up golf to recover from a long-term knee injury whilst at West Ham. However, reverting to type admitted, ”I tended to lose my rag when I fluffed a shot…ended up smashing lots of my clubs. That’s me though. I like to do things properly.” Quite.
Seen a footballer playing golf on the Costa del Sol? Taken a fiver off him? Let the EWN Golf Page know.

Tags: England team, South Africa

Website of the week

www.rfegolf.es – a new website provided by the Spanish Golf Federation, and designed to assist Spanish-based golfers consult relevant golf news, is now up and running. Unfortunately, it is only in Spanish but is fairly straight-forward to negotiate. Aside from up to date golf news sub-scribers have the oppor-tunity to enter national competitions and consult their handicaps. Regarding the latter there is a section dedicated to becoming a federated golfer in Spain – currently around 350,000 golfers – which, if you read the smallprint, appears compulsory for residents (not holidaymakers I hasten to add). The annual cost effectively pays for itself as it includes basic civil liability insurance covering you against accidents occurring during a round of golf on RFEG courses. The policy will not pay up for a round of drinks in the event of a hole in one but may offer peace of mind when shouting ‘bola.’

Tags: rfegolf, website

The rise and rise of Cabell Robinson

I first met Cabell in 1987, when Julie and I opened an office rental business in Fuengirola. Cabell was our first tenant, when he resigned as Robert Trent Jones’s European director to branch out on his own. Having already been heavily involved in many of the Trent Jones designed courses on the Costa del Sol, his first solo effort in Spain was the La Cala Golf Resort. I remember accompanying Cabell on his first visit to the site as we viewed what appeared to be a lunar landscape and I couldn’t see any way that a decent golf course could be constructed there. Cabell, however, could envisage three 18 hole courses, which he duly achieved, making La Cala Andalucia’s biggest golf resort.  Since then, Cabell has been acknowledged as Europe’s best golf architect, following the successful opening of Finca Cortesin and more recently, Valle Romano, two courses of the highest quality.  Although  Cabell has earned kudos for his ability to create such gems on difficult terrain, he was chosen to design the Santana course a few years ago enjoying the opportunity to work with what was probably the last piece of relatively flat land on the coast.
But for all his prowess, Julie and I remember Cabell best for his help and understanding when his office and our business was left completely submerged for several weeks during the notorious floods in 1989, when the Fuengirola river burst its banks, devastating many businesses and taking the lives of several people. Long may his success continue.

Tags: Cabell Robinson, Costa del Sol

Rose wilts then blooms in US heat

JUSTIN Rose has battled to secure his passage to The Open later this month by winning two out of his last three tournaments in the US. After stumbling to a final round five over 75 in the Travelers Championship. (A one over 71 would have sufficed to win) he was obliged to enter the ‘AT & National’ needing a high finish to retain the lead in the cumulative money list that allows non-exempt players a chance to qualify before 04 July. (Failing that it would have been through the final stages at tough venues like Kingbarns).  Taking a four shot lead into the final round he played solidly to win by one and kept the European Tour Roadshow alive and kicking on the other side of the pond. This, after a few hiccups, could be the season when Rose finally comes of age. Blessed with one of the more technically sound swings on tour which was borne out by his maiden victory at the Jack Nicklaus endorsed Memorial event; at the 162nd attempt I hasten to add. This, however, was still not enough to gain automatic entry into the US Open which led to some raised eyebrows over the classification process. Back in the hunt for his first Major, Rose has a good record at St. Andrews and may be worth a flutter each way?

Tags: Championship, US tournaments

“Braking” news from Estepona Golf

Estepona Golf has recently taken delivery of a new fleet of 36 EZGO buggies ensuring that, even if your swing is out of sorts, a smooth drive will be guaranteed around the course. Being electric they enjoy certain advantages over their petrol counterparts; foremost amongst them with noise levels reduced to a minimum. They are also very safe to drive with no parking brake regardless of being left down or uphill. As they can be also taken onto the fairways at 90 degrees this is the ideal way to play the course at a reasonable pace. (see the ad on this page for a fantastic two including buggy summer offer valid at anytime).

The club is also running a Competition Series throughout 2010 which may appeal to the more competitive and social golfers alike? In association with BFBS (British Forces Radio, Gibraltar) approximately 2,500 euros was raised for charity during the recent ‘Big Salute’ Texas Scamble Day. Twenty teams took part – including several from the Combined Services – and the winning group of Marcus Bergstrom, James Boardman, Nick Senior and Rory Leader posted a magnificent score of 56.7 shots. Local knowledge methinks?

Tags: Estepona Gofl

The way ahead

For the next few weeks, resident and visiting golfers will be enjoying the pleasures of affordable golf, as green fees have been substantially reduced for the summer low season. In many cases, these green fees have included the shared use of a buggy, essential during the heat of the day.  Ironically, despite the ongoing effects of the global recession, the signs are that this summer will prove to be the busiest for most courses for the last decade.

Obviously, lower green fees are the reason for this relative success, so the obvious conclusion must be that a similar adjustment of green fees for the coming high season should encourage missing golf tourists to return to the Costa del Golf for their winter break. After all, our original advantages remain the same; easy access from the rest of Europe, the probability of great weather (what climate change?), unparalleled choice of great golf courses and now, a significant increase in the exchange rate of sterling to euros.
Recent conversations with clients who have chosen to return from flirtations with golf resorts elsewhere has revealed that the only reason for deserting the Costa del Golf during the past two or three years has been the lower cost of playing golf at other destinations. Nowhere else can match the combination of benefits which I have listed above.  At the moment, golf tourism, like most other businesses, is having to ensure survival. Already, Doña Julia, one of the more recent additions to our already burgeoning portfolio, we have heard are experiencing problems.  As our courses learn to survive while charging green fees that are acceptable to golfers who are becoming used to operating within revised budgets, the solution to current problems has already been made clear. Green fees for the coming winter season are due to be announced soon. They will make interesting reading.

Tags: Golfers, green fees

A date for your 2011 diary?

ONE event that will not be returning to Spain this year is the Volvo World Matchplay Championship at Finca Cortesin. The inaugural event was held in October last year won, ironically enough, by Wentworth local boy  Ross Fisher in its first foray from its spiritual home. Despite being well received by both players and spectators some eyebrows were raised concerning the quality of the field and lack of sponsorship on the regional government’s part. Notable absentees included multiple winner Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington who opted to play in the conflicting Singapore Open instead. In fact, Els went even further choosing the ill-chosen, if remarkably frank remark in this PC age, that it was time to ”push the wheelbarrow out.” i.e they were being paid enormous sums to appear in the Far East.   The new dates from 19 – 22 May have been secured for the following four years and fall a week before one of the European Tour’s flagship events: the BMW PGA Championship. Organisers and sponsors alike are hoping that an event of this stature will attract many of world’s best players to remain on the Old Continent for an extra week. The format has also been modified with the field now numbering twenty four players, comprising eight groups of three.  This will help avoid any dead rubbers as only two players from each group will progress to the last sixteen. My maths make that a total of thirty nine matches to be contested? Prize money has also been increased with the winner guaranteed to land a cool
800,000€ cheque out of a 4 million € purse, guaranteed to be one of the highest pots outside the Majors and Race to Dubai finale. Time to get  your private jet out, Ernie? One question for IMG. Does their personal invitation to star client, Tiger Woods, remain unanswered?

Tags: Championship, Spain, Volvo World Matchplay

Yummy Mummy Golf

HAVING previously worked in the USA for renowned golf teacher Jim Mclean, he of the ‘18 Step Swing’ book, X Factor fame and voted PGA Instructor of the Year, Juan Carlos Agúero and Jaime Bercena have left their native Pedraña in northern Spain to set up their first golf academy at El Chaparral: ‘A & B Golf School.’

In a laudable attempt to attract new players to the sport, the pair, in association with support from Mijas Town Hall, have been instrumental in setting up a  Summer mums school for local residents and holidaymakers throughout the whole of July and August. The aim is to give group lessons to complete beginners and game improvers alike in a relaxed environment where all equipment  is provided. Juan and Jaime are both bilingual and classes can be conducted in Spanish and English. All aspects of the game will be covered – short game, long game, putting – using the very latest training aids and video swing analysis. The players will get the chance to play a hole at El Chaparral on the final day in a mini-competition. One advantage of the range is that players can choose from hitting balls from the covered two-tiered artificial grass bays or the real thing.

The timetable has also been designed so that mothers can bring their children aged between 4 – 16 to El Chaparral and participate in a corresponding course. The children will be given commemorative photos and an end of course competition. There are two possible schedules with the courses lasting a week and 10 hours in duration: 10.00 -  12.00 or 12.00 – 14.00. The price for mothers is 150€ and 100€ for children. Please contact this page for further details and to book. It is as easy as ‘A,B..’

Tags: el chaparral golf, Golf Teacher, swing

Comedy of errors at Pebble Beach

…..but Graeme McDowell, the man with the best sense of humour, had the last laugh. As ever, the U.S. Open produced plenty of drama, as is the norm with all four majors.  Usually, the fireworks begin over Sunday’s final nine holes, but at Pebble Beach, overnight leader Dustin Johnson’s unexpected collapse came as early as the 2nd. hole. This triggered a series of elementary errors from all the main contenders except Gregory Havret and McDowell, both of whom just played steady, unspectacular golf on a scary golf course, made scarier by the poor condition of the greens. This is not to say that neither was capable of producing great shots when required – McDowell in particular proved his credentials just a couple of weeks previously in the Wales Open – but both kept their heads when golf’s greats – Woods, Mickelson and Els included – lost theirs’.  It’s strange that McDowell should be the first European in 40 years to win the U.S. Open when such illuminaries as Ballesteros, Faldo and Montgomerie have all had so many tilts at it.  But with (arguably) more talented players such as Westwood, Casey and Poulter ahead of him in the betting as possible winners, McDowell proved that talent alone is not enough to win under pressure, and pressure cannot be more intense than on the final day of one of the four Majors.  McDowell has now secured his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup side and can look forward to furthering his career on the other side of the pond, where he obviously feels at home. It couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.

Tags: US Open