Son Gual to host European Open

Golf Son Gual, will host the Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open from May 8-10, 2009, underlining the club’s growing reputation as one of Europe’s finest golfing venues.

The course, designed by three-time German Amateur Champion Thomas Himmel, opened in October last year and will host some of the leading players on the European Senior Tour.

Andreas Pamer, of Son Gual, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen to host this prestigious event and look forward to providing some of the leading names in European golf with the perfect canvass on which to compete.

“It is rare that a golf course succeeds in attracting an event of this stature at such an early stage in its life so it is testament to the efforts of all our team in providing such wonderful and consistent conditions to play golf.”

Susanna Sciacovelli, Managing Director of IBATUR, Mallorca’s Tourism authority, said: “The Son Gual Mallorca Senior Open is the perfect way to launch Mallorca as an outstanding golfing destination and we look forward to welcoming the leading Senior players to the golf island of the Mediterranean."

Andy Stubbs, European Senior Tour Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to be able to visit this exciting new venue on the beautiful island of Mallorca thanks to the vision and commitment of the Pamer family and the support of the Consejeria de Tourismo of the Balearic Islands”.

“It promises to be a fantastic addition to the European SeniorTour’s 2009 Schedule.”

Javier Roura, of the PGAE, said: “The PGA of Spain is delighted that such a prestigious event will be held in Spain and will give its full support. We hope that this is just the first of many Senior Tour events in Mallorca and hope that the tournament is a big success.”

Erwin Langer, CEO of the Official Promoter, Langer Sport Marketing GmbH, added: “It is a great honour to be appointed by the Pamer family to organise this promising new event in one of Europe’s prime sun and golf destinations, the very attractive island of Mallorca.

“I’m very impressed with the progress of Son Gual since opening in autumn 2007 and the course and facilities are already extraordinary. We look forward to presenting the players and spectators with an excellent event.”

Son Gual has already been inundated with membership enquiries even though details will not be announced until early next year and only a limited number are likely to be available. In the meantime, visitors can book two hours playing time allocated per day with a green fee of €150, or obtain a discounted rate via www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com

Pula loses the Mallorca Classic in 2008.

Sergio Garcia’s home course of Club de Campo del Mediterráneo on Spain’s east coast will host The European Tour for the first time when the Comunitat Valenciana Masters Castellón Costa Azahar unfolds from October 23-26.

The Comunitat Valenciana Masters Castellón Costa Azahar will be promoted by MatchGolf and replaces the Mallorca Classic on The 2008 European Tour International Schedule. This new tournament will be the third of four European Tour events to be held in Spain during the 2008 season.

Set in the hills overlooking Castellón, the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo course weaves its way through olive and carob trees. Designed by Ramón Espinosa, the course opened in 1978. Sergio García is the club’s touring professional while his father, Víctor, who plays on the European Seniors Tour, is the club’s head professional.

José María Olazábal holds the course record with an eleven under par 61, from December 2005.

The European Tour has visited the Valencia region of Spain on eleven previous occasions (fourteen including the Senior Tour events), most recently for the 2001 Open de España, won by Swede Robert Karlsson, and the 2003 Seve Trophy when Great Britain and Ireland triumphed over Continental Europe. Both events were played at El Saler.

Club de Campo del Mediterráneo has hosted the OKI Open de España Senior on the European Seniors Tour for the last three years. American Bob Boyd won the inaugural event in 2005, Ryder Cup player Gordon J Brand of England triumphed in 2006 while last year another Englishman, Carl Mason, captured the title, breaking his own record of prize money won during a season in the process. It was one of five titles Mason won during the season on his way to winning the John Jacobs Trophy as the leading money winner for the third time.

Carlos Fabra, President of Club de Campo de Mediterráneo expressed his satisfaction: “To host a European Tour event is the best reward we could have received. Since the foundation of our club, we have believed in high quality golf and we are very proud to have opened our doors to organise top events at junior level, National level, ladies, Challenge tour, Senior Tour and international amateur events. The circle will close when we host in October the best professionals in the world, lead by our beloved Sergio García, whom we have had the honour to see him born and grow as a person and as a great sportsman”.

Javier Gervás, General Manager of MatchGolf said: “We need to thank the Government of Valencia and Castellón for believing in golf as a sport to join the Formula 1, Motor racing and the Volvo Ocean Race in their economic and tourism strategy to promote the region. We also need to remark and thank the enthusiasm and effort that both Sergio and his father Víctor have put in the past few months in preparing the course and on the event in general. The Club, the sponsors, the Tour and ourselves have teamed up once again and we are confident that we will present a very competitive end of season tournament but also very family orientated for the players”.

Keith Waters, Director of International Policy for The European Tour, said: “We congratulate Javier Gervás and MatchGolf, the Members and Officials of Club de Campo del Mediterráneo and the region of Valencia for bringing this tournament to fruition. To be able to do so highlights a tremendous level of support from tournament sponsors and partners and we are sure that everyone involved in the event will enjoy the stunning golf course and facilities at the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, which was a hugely popular venue on the European Seniors Tour for three seasons and will continue to be on The European Tour.”

First published by europeantour.com

Vall d'Or - The Work Continues

We have recently received the following information from Vall d'Or:-

Earlier we advised you that the renewed 18 holes would be open for play at the beginning of May.

Due to circumstances beyond our control this has been delayed until the 5th July when we will inaugurate the new 18 holes course with the Marqués de Cáceres Trophy.

We apologise for the delay and any inconvenience, but we hope you will really enjoy playing the new course.

The green-fee 18/holes will continue to be at the reduced rate of 75,00 € for the two rounds of the first 9 holes.

For discounted green fees at this course, both during and after the works, please visit:-

www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com

Alcanada Golf Course - Green Grass..

By law all the golf courses in Mallorca have to irrigate with 'brown water' - water cleaned & recycled from a sewage plant. Golf Alcanada receives its irrigation water from the recycling plant in Puerto de Alcudia. This water has a very high percentage of salinity. Because of this, the designers of Golf Alcanada choose the most salt tolerant type of grass on the market, called “Seashore Paspalum”.

This type of grass is similar to the Bermuda grass and is called a warm-season grass because it becomes dormant in the cooler winter months (In Mallorca between December and February) and turns grey-brownish during this time.

In order to keep the conditions of the playing areas during the winter as perfect as possible, Golf Alcanada have been overseeding tees, fairways and greens every September with a one-season winter grass. The result of the overseeding has to date been satisfactory, except for the greens. This is because immediately after seeding, the greens have to be cut to the correct height in order to allow play. Therefore the new grass has very little chance to establish, mature and grow properly. Consequently, the structure and colour of the greens in the winter months are not always satisfactory.

Although Club de Golf Alcanada has a very good reputation in Europe and is often mentioned positively in the professional media, they have taken the decision to change the grass of the greens in order to further improve and upgrade the quality of the course. The new type of grass “Seaside II, Creeping Bentgrass” will have the same colour and structure throughout the year. This decision was only possible after the installation of a new desalination plant to improve the quality of the irrigation water the local authorities supply.

Changing the greens will interfere with play, and to minimise the disturbance and avoid having to close the course, Club de Golf Alcanada are going to establish provisional greens on each hole. However, in June and July they will need to close 9 holes in order to get the work done as quickly as possible.

During the time of construction the normal price will change to:-

June: 18 holes (twice the back nine): €70,-

July: 18 holes (twice the front nine, with provisional greens): €60,-

August: 18 holes, partly with provisional greens: €75,-

September: 18 holes partly with provisional greens: €85,-

By the beginning of October all greens should be back in play and therefore the price will return to the original price of €105,-

Alcanada Golf have issued the following statement:-

"We are convinced that making this change is in everybody’s interest and will meet with your understanding. Through this improvement, we will not only improve the quality of the greens but also the overall satisfaction to play our course."

For discounted green fee prices, please contact www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com

Fury over Muro Golf Plans

First published in the Majorca Daily Bulletin, Friday 14th March 2008.

The Mayor of Muro, Jaume Perello, called a storm yesterday by giving the green light to the construction of golf course at Son Bosc. Environmentalists have long campaigned against the project and yesterday there were stormy scenes during the council meeting. Socialist councillors on the council left the town hall in protest and environmentalists demonstrated outside.

Son Quint - Fully opened, 13th March 2008

Son Quint is the third golf course of Arabella Golf & Spa Resort Mallorca, which together with Son Vida & Son Muntaner completes the groups' golf collection on the island.

Intense nature as far as the eye can see, a golf course for beginners and experienced players alike: The architect of the Son Quint project, Ramón Espinosa, designed 18 spectacular sporting and varied holes which cover over 6,200m of magnificent Majorcan countryside. Due to its´location, Son Quint has some fantastic views over the city and bay of Palma.

You will encounter many interesting hazards: two large lakes in addition to the traditional and strategically placed bunkers which will challenge even the die-hard golfer.

After an exceptionally enjoyable round at Son Quint, the clubhouse awaits with an excellent restaurant and function rooms.

Carlo Knauss, ex German national coach and renowned television commentator comments, "Son Quint will dazzle players who are looking for sporting variety with a special touch, for example the 17th holes, which is found at the highest point of the course requires a drive directly towards Palma Cathedral".

A Question of Quality, and Service.

This week a major UK travel company announced that thy were going to start offering pre-paid green fees and reserved tee-times at courses in Mallorca. Any initiative that promotes golf on the island is good in our view. However as a customer are you better off booking through a big specialist golf tour operator, or a smaller local based company?

When you're organising a golf tour to Majorca a lot of responsibility is upon your shoulders. You need to bring the tour in below budget, whilst ensuring that your party receives excellent value for money - Service is important too, as you need to be able to discuss your tour with someone who is responsive and who really knows and understands what you want. They need to have the authority to make effective and timely decisions when you have to make changes to your itinerary. So are you going to book with a general tour operator that deals with every destination, or a small specialist such as www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com or www.Golf-Majorca.co.uk?

Let me ask you another question? Would you buy an expensive pair of golf shoes without trying then on first.

Well that's what many people do when they choose a golf holiday. It may feel comfortable, for 5 minutes, to book with a non-specialist tour operator when you're holding their thick glossy travel brochure, but this is probably the worst decision you could make. Generally non-specialist tour operators don't know the courses that well. They haven't played or walked the courses you are going to spend your money hard earned cash upon, and they are not up to date with the latest news or issues about the course. For example, when one golf course brought forward their hollow coring schedule by 1 week, which company phoned all of their clients and arranged different courses for them - www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com. It is precisely this kind of service that the larger companies either cannot or will not offer.

Can you remember the last time that you met the person who booked your golf tour? Well at www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com this is a regular occurrence.

Last weekend they surprised over 100 of their clients as they arrived at Palma Airport. Each guest of www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com was personally welcomed to the island, and given a free gift - Now imagine the big boys doing that!

Cost is always an issue, and there was a time when the larger operators always got the best deals. This is no longer the case. Small local operators drive increasingly large volumes and are quite frequently given the best deals. Hotels and golf courses are also likely to be more flexible or offer their local agents better deals or better tee-times when personal relationships are in place. Which would you rather help a friend that you knew and saw regularly, or faceless voice on the phone? It's those kind of relationships that will enable your group to get booked onto a course when everyone else is telling you that it is full.

So think carefully the next time you place your tour booking. The specialists are exactly that, specialists, confident in their product, helping you to achieve the best value for money for your group.

Mallorca's Top 10 Golf Courses

During 2007, our colleagues at www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com surveyed their clients to find out which were their favourite courses. The following results are based on their clients 'overall enjoyment' of the course which obviously takes into consideration many different factors:-

• Son Vida Golf 98%
• Vall d'Or 96.2%
• Son Muntaner Golf 96.1%
• Club de Golf Alcanada 94.1%
• Son Termens 92.8%
• Santa Ponsa 1 85.5%
• Capdepera 78.8%
• Real Golf de Bendinat 76.6%
• Golf de Andratx 75.5%
• Poniente 74.6%

The marks given indicate the percentage of clients who played that course and who rated their overall experience as either good or excellent.

The results are not surprising. However looking forward to 2008, the big question is which courses will make next years top 10, and which will drop from the current list.

A course which will almost certainly be included is Son Quint - As part of the Arabella Golf Complex this course arrives with a superb pedigree.

Another course which should make the top 10 is Son Gual - undoubtedly an award winning course. It's barrier to entry into our top 10 will only be the green fee price, currently 150€ per person as the statistics above are only valid once a certain number of players have left their feedback. We doubt that Son Gual will reach this 'critical' number of responses in 2008.

Poniente, Andratx and Bendinat as the bottom 3 courses are in danger of relegation. In truth none of these courses should exit the top 10. Poniente has the best layout on the island, but lacks investment in keys areas. The clubhouse needs refurbishment, the car park needs tarmac, and the course condition is not always as good as you would expect. Andratx is a long and challenging course, which some people find frustrating to play, and therefore scores low for 'overall enjoyment'. The fact that this course appeals mainly to Germans can sometimes leave British guests feeling ostracised. Finally Bendinat. This is undoubtedly a superb course, and one of the most popular on the island, however if you are not accurate off the tee you will find it frustrating.

In order to provide more specific feedback our colleagues at www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com are asking their clients 3 questions this year. In summary, overall enjoyment, course quality, and value for money. As soon as they have received a reasonable number of responses we will publish the results here.

Alcanada - Hollow coring

The superb Robert Trent Jones course, Club de Golf Alcanada have announced that they will be hollow coring their greens on 20 & 21 May, and also 26 & 27 August 2008.

Customers of www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com & www.golf-majorca.co.uk already receive a discount at this course, and when work is being undertaken they normally receive additional benefits from the friendly and helpful staff in the well-equipped Pro-shop.

Alcanada is without doubt the most scenic and photogenic course on the island. It is the only golf course on the island to be located right by the sea and was highly rated in comparison to Mallorca's other golf courses in the Peugeot Golf Guide for 2006 & 2008. Featuring in this publication official rates Alcanada as one of Europe's top 1000 golf courses.

It is definitely a favourite with British clients, achieving a 94% satisfaction in 2007. Don't let its northerly location put you off though, as with the opening of the new Palma / Alcudia motorway this course is still less than an hours journey time from Palma.

If you travelling to Mallorca for a golfing holiday, then this is undoubtedly one course you should include in your itinerary.

Severe Weather - 05 March 2008

Winter returned to Mallorca today. Probably the best way to put this into context is that daytime temperatures have dropped by 15 degrees Centigrade in the space of two days. Monday felt like an early summers morning in the Caribbean, whilst today snow has been forecast at heights of over 700m. In actual fact most of the island seems to have seen a few flakes of snow at some point today. The biggest problem though has been the wind, and it will more than likely cause damage at some of the islands courses. The ones most at risk are likely to be Puntiro & Son Gual where newly planted trees are at risk, whilst at Poniente older trees have in the past taken the brunt of the damage. However it is difficult to forecast exactly where damage may occur.

Two courses (Son Muntaner & Capdepera) had to close their driving ranges today, and we will keep you updated if we hear of any more information over the next couple of days.

The good news is that tonight's forecast low of 2 degrees should see the end of this cold snap with the forecast turning warmer over the next few days. There is a possibility of some light showers at the weekend, but this shouldn't cause too much of a problem for those with advance tee-bookings through either www.golf-majorca.co.uk or www.simplymallorcagolf.com

Vall d'Or - Work to the course...

Vall d'Or golf course, which is close to the family orientated resort of Cala d'Or on Mallorca's south-east coast, have announced a considerable program of work to the course.

From mid-January to present the course had been offering an 18 hole course with 9 normal greens and 9 temporary greens at a reduced price of 75€ a round.

However, after careful consideration they have now decided that it will be better to offer clients two full rounds of 9 holes, as opposed to the current offering. (There will however still be a temporary green on hole 2). The new plan will obviously enable the course to undertake the works with greater efficiency, and to bring forward the completion date to the beginning of May.

For anyone who knows Vall d'Or, this is great news. The front nine is definitely the more interesting part of the course, as it winds its way through the valley and hillside just north of the clubhouse. Hole 3 is quite possibly one of the most spectacular holes on the island. The reduced green fee price is also very acceptable.

For more information on this course, and to make tee-bookings at any golf course in Mallorca, please click on the link; www.SimplyMallorcaGolf.com

For more information on hotels in Cala d'Or visit our colleagues at www.AlphaRooms.com

Pula Golf - On the up?

Pula has had quite a rough ride over the last 2 - 3 years. Following the Mallorca Classic in 2005 the management of the course were advised to make a number of changes to the layout. This resulted in large parts of the course being closed for almost a year. The course re-opened briefly in the summer of 2006, only to be closed shortly afterwards as more work needed to be undertaken.

The 2006 Mallorca Classic at Pula produced some surprising results, with many of the players scoring badly. Was this because they didn't expect the course to have been altered as much, and therefore didn't put in as much practice as they should have done, or was the course too difficult?

The 2006 Classic failed to change peoples views about this course. It was an average course, a little over-priced and therefore probably not worth the gamble.

Throughout 2007 the course was again closed. There was a brief time when the course was in a good condition, and the management ran a special offer which included free snacks during the round, but on the whole it was a quite and uneventful year for the course.

The 2007 Mallorca Classic came and went, but in spite of 1 day being rained off the scores were better this year.

One of our friends (Glenn Turner - The World Record Golf Tour holder) played the course in 2006 and again in 2007 and couldn't believe that it had improved so much - his estimation by at least 200%.

The fact that the course has been closed for the main part of two years has meant that there has been quite a flow of staff through the course, but the current manager of the pro-shop, Michael, speaks at least three different languages (English, German & Spanish) and is very helpful.

It is true that the Pro-Shop is dark and un-interesting, and that one of our clients compared the shower facilities to the worst school shower block that he had ever experienced - we believe him, we don't need to check those things out...however the course itself appears to be improving.

We met a group of our clients about to play the course last week, and were asked what we thought of it. It was a good job we were truthful! The course scored a 55% satisfaction rating by our clients in 2007, and was one of the lowest ranked courses on the island. We described it as inconsistent but improving. They knew that already, so our expectations and theirs were on a par.

Since then the clients have returned to the UK, and one of them who is a regular visitor to Mallorca has just switched a forthcoming reservation from anouther course to Pula.

Additionally Pula are following an aggressive marketing campaign through selected agents. Contact either www.simplymallorcagolf.com or www.golf-majorca.co.uk, and you will find that they have some of the biggest discounts available for this course, and many other golf courses in Majorca.

We're not confident enough to say that the course quality will be high for ever, but it is definitely worth the gamble of playing there now.

Golf sector want more promotion by Balearic Government

This original article appeared in the Mallorca Daily Bulletin 02 Jan 08.

PALMA

COMPANIES in the golf sector on Majorca are asking the Balearic Government to carry out a specific promotion campaign to encourage this segment of the tourism industry.

They complain that the Balearic Government has not replied to their proposal for the organisation of the next world congress for tour operators specialising in golf, IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators).

IAGTO recently held its 2007 convention in Cancun, and in 2008 it plans to hold the congress in Andalucia.
The golf business people recalled that during the month of September Peter Walton, President of IAGTO, had a meeting on Majorca with various company executives and tourist institutions to talk about the possibility of holding the convention here.

The same sources say that the company bosses took this proposal to the Balearic Government, but to date have not received the courtesy of a reply.

The same sources recalled that the annual congress of the association of tour operators specialising in golf brings together more than 1'000 executives from all over the world.

This means that it becomes a first class promotional opportunity for the town or city in which the congress is held.
In addition to this, the golf sector also lamented that the Balearic Government is not carrying out any specific promotional activities to promote this tourist segment.

They say that it is characterised by the high spending level of the tourists who play golf, but the Balearic Government have done more to promote other activities, such as leisure boat tourism.

The Balearic Islands offer the tourism market 22 golf courses, and receive an average of 150'000 specialised tourists per year, with an average stay of nine days and year-on-year demand continues to grow. But, the golfing sector, just like the thriving nautical industry, feels marginalised by the authorities and fears that all the proposed building freezes are going to have a negative effect on the sector which is already facing growing competition from new destinations.