If you are looking for the key element in the success of a great tournament, the green keeper is the one. At Los Naranjos Golf Club, Borja Díaz de Vargas is the person carrying the responsibility of preparing the course for the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open of Spain. On Borja and his team depend not only the attractiveness and the playability of the course but also the observation of the rules established by the Ladies European Tour (LET).
The count down to the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open has already started and all eyes are already on the course. It has not been difficult for Los Naranjos Golf Club to meet expectations, considering the existing high standard level of maintenance of its course:” The LET found out that all was fine as it was. They only gave a few instructions regarding the height of the cut of the grass along the fairways, tees and greens in order to get a certain speed during the whole tournament,” explains Borja and he continues:
” The platforms of the tees have been re-sewn again as it will be November with a lot of traffic there. We are preserving the tees areas at starting point because there are a few dark patches there. We are also working on the carry with a shorter cut than the rough, going from the tee platform to the fairway.”
All this work is being carried out alongside the everyday maintenance necessary for a golf course : ”We’ve fixed the paths, drainage, ditches and edges that all combine to enhance the beauty of the course, as well as the ornamental areas”, says Borja proudly: ”We are now achieving a good level of consistency in order to have a good course all year round.” After nearly 8 years at Los Naranjos Golf Club and the unstable situation due to the pandemic, the arrival of this tournament is a stimulus for Borja, supplying a target on the horizon. Working side by side with the director of the LET tournaments and managing with the Andalucia Federation regarding the machines they will supply, are just a few of his responsibilities. The wild boars are his biggest nightmare, a feeling shared by many of the green keepers of the area: but so far this year he says they are respecting the playing areas. Regarding the LET tournament what worries him most is the weather: ”If it rains, we will be prepared with all kinds of bilge pumps and rollers to dry the greens. I think that if it rains, the course will be heavier but playable. My biggest fear is if it rains too much!” he remarks.
We hope not to have to use any of these measures and that this year, from 25th to 28th November, Marbella will honour the name of Costa del Sol.