Golf course managers highlight the good figures recorded in 2014 and predict a significant increase in the number of rounds played in 2015.

February 25, 2015 – Most of the Costa del Sol’s golf course managers are predicting a significant increase in the number of rounds played in 2015, with an improvement on the figures for 2014 – which was the best year for golf since the start of the crisis in 2009.

According to the IAGTO, Spain is the preferred destination for Europeans wanting to play golf, especially the Britons, Germans, Scandinavians and French, and within Spain the Costa del Sol continues to lead the way among European golfers’ preferences.

This privileged situation for the Costa del Sol, as Europe’s premier destination, is confirmed by almost all golf course managers in the area, who noticed an improving trend last year and envisage good prospects for 2015.

JAVIER RIVIRIEGO, general manager of Royal Valderrama Golf Club, says 2014 was clearly the best of the last six years, with an 18 per cent increase in revenue in comparison with 2013. In addition to more visitors, this rise was influenced by a higher average green fee and more sales in the shop. For 2015, the perspectives are “very good,” as the rate of bookings is even higher than in 2014.

LUIS NAVARRO, manager of Rio Real Golf, the Marbella club which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, estimates an increase of 10 per cent in 2015, in both number of green fees and revenue, in comparison with 2014. Last year an increase of 6.6 and 6.7 per cent, respectively, was recorded in relation to 2013.

ULF SVENDSEN, manager of Los Arqueros, says revenue for 2014 was higher than for the previous four years, and the number of rounds also increased, to more than 36,000. For the current year, the perspectives are “even better”.

ANDRÉS SÁNCHEZ, manager of Atalaya Golf, indicates that in 2014 his club’s revenues rose by six per cent, and there were five per cent more rounds played at the two courses. As far as 2015 is concerned, he is optimistic. “The perspectives are good and we are hoping for two per cent higher revenue than in 2014.”

DAVID RAMOS BUTTERWORTH, manager of El Paraiso, notes that 2014 was “much better” than 2013, which had been a great year for the club, with revenue similar to that recorded in the years before the crisis. The perspectives for 2015 are “even better”.

MELISSA GALLARDO, commercial manager at Lauro Golf, says 2014 was a “year of recovery”, with an increase in the number European golfers compensating a fall in Spanish numbers. For the current year, the perspectives “are good for a boost to golf tourism”, although she is concerned about the construction of 15 golf courses in Morocco, “which is why we believe that only the application of appropriate tax measures -she is referring to IVAVAT- will enable us to remain a competitive market”.

MARCO POLACCI, official representative in Spain of the IAGTO, notes that “without a doubt 2014 was a better year than the previous one, with rises in general of three to six per cent in the number of golfers travelling to Spain. Golf tourism has been recovering since 2012, with small increases each year, and the same trend is forecast for 2015. There are areas in Andalucía which still haven’t recorded these rises and they need a little more time to reach sustainable levels.”

IGNACIO DEL CUVILLO, manager of Royal Guadalmina Golf Club, reports that in 2014 this Marbella club – with two 18-hole courses and one nine-hole short layout – recorded an increase of six per cent in the number of players in comparison with 2013. For this year, he predicts a 10 per cent rise in foreign golfer totals and five per cent in Spaniards.

ANDREAS HAGEMANN, international sales manager at Villa Padierna Golf Club – a complex with three 18-hole courses (Flamingos, Alferini and Tramores) and the Michael Campbell Academy – says that in 2014 the number of golfers rose by eight per cent and revenue by 13 per cent in comparison with 2013. For the current year, he forecasts growth of eight per cent in player numbers and 15 per cent in revenue.

Picture ©Michael Denker