Test of nerves as Tour hopefuls return to school
Irishmen Colm Moriarty and Stephen Browne (who has qualified for the 2006 main tour but will be seeking an even stronger card), will be there along with those successful at this week’s pre-qualifiers on two other Spanish courses.
For the second successive year, San Roque is the venue for this nerve-wracking events and it is difficult to imagine a more suitable test, not least because of its water-strewn final two holes.
Any chink in the golfer’s armour will be cruelly exposed by one of the best finishing par fours in the game.
San Roque was often overshadowed by near neighbour Valderrama, the venue for the 1997 Ryder Cup. But with upgraded facilities it is now quietly threatening to overtake Jaime Patino’s pride and joy as the region’s outstanding golfing oasis.
They have opened a second Seve Ballesteros-Perry Dye design to augment the Old Course, which has always enjoyed an enviable reputation in this part of the so-called Costa del Golf. Indeed, it hosted the Spanish Open earlier this year when Peter Hanson of Sweden came out on top.
Combine the golfing facilities and a massive practice area complete with two storey driving range, a Seve Ballesteros “Natural Golf School” and a state of the art equestrian centre and you realise just how intent the Japanese owners are on developing San Roque into a sporting paradise.
Coming on stream shortly is a five star hotel to augment the luxurious suites which housed the Ryder Cup teams in ’97 and you further appreciate what’s on offer here. San Roque is a hospitable and welcoming place, a point not lost on the Irish, who enjoy its relaxed atmosphere and warm welcome.
“We have approximately 400 members here and between 30% and 40% of them are Irish”, says Agustin Gonzalez, Director of PR and Sales. “That is a far greater percentage than from any other country. The lady captain is Finola Murphy from Dublin and every St Patrick’s Day we have a special Irish day. We have partnerships with most of the top clubs in Ireland including Mount Juliet, The K-Club, Portmarnock Links and four or five others.”
Visitors to San Roque are accommodated in a modern clubhouse while the members, if anything, do even better, located as they are in a superb edifice boasting leisure activities and offering glorious views over the two courses and a house specially built for former British and US Open champion Tony Jacklin. Jacklin assisted Welshman Dave Thomas in designing the original course at San Roque. They did a fine job and with some shrewd enhancement over the years, it has now developed into a sterling par 72 layout of 6,494 metres from the championship tees while three other sets of markers ensure an enjoyable round for all golfing levels. Most agree that the outstanding hole is the 391-metre, par four 18th, which demands accuracy from the tee to avoid a brook on the left and bunkers to the right while a lake eats into the green on the right hand side. Little wonder, then, that no Tour card is assured until this formidable challenge has been surmounted.
San Roque is owned by a Japanese company led by Shun Tezuka, the club president, and they have been innovative and creative in its development. The construction of a second golf course was central to the development and certainly demonstrated intent. They hired Seve Ballesteros and Perry Dye (son of the renowned American architect Pete) to come up with a design that has impressed all-comers. The signature hole has to be the fourth, a gem of a 177-metre par three played all the way from tee to green across a deep ravine. There’s also what’s known as “Seve’s Tee” but that adds another 20 metres to the challenge and most certainly is not for the fainthearted!
Nothing less than perfection is acceptable at San Roque and accordingly a major upgrading of the new course will be undertaken the day after the Tour School ends and the course won’t reopen until next spring.
One of the most likeable and commendable aspects of San Roque is their readiness to try new ideas. For instance, one of the chief highlights on the 2005 programme of events was The Asprey Cup, a major show jumping event in August which took place on the golf practice ground! Shun Tezuka also promises that they “will introduce new ideas so that next year’s Spanish Open will be even more attractive. It is planned, for example, to use the new course for a parallel, top-category amateur championship. We’ll create something really interesting,” he says.
Those tournaments are scheduled for mid-April, invariably a great time to visit the Costa del Golf.
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