Cortesin Blog
| Macallan 12 double cask | 50ml |
| Palo Cortado Leonor 12 | 50ml |
| Fresh Ginkgo Leaves |
Just two ingredients that I love, single malt scotch whisky and Palo Cortado, sometimes less is more.
Cheers!!!
Golfers have the opportunity to enjoy one of Europe’s premier luxury golf experiences again after Finca Cortesin reopened for business following the Covid-19 lockdown.We reopened exclusively to members on May 25, while visitors are being invited to book and play from Monday, June 1. All players are being asked to observe the social distancing and Covid-19 measures that have been put in place.
Finca Cortesin has hosted numerous high-profile tournaments since opening in 2006 including the Volvo World Match Play Championship in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Renowned for its five-star customer experience and attention to detail, the exclusive resort is the first golf venue in Spain to feature a new, eco-friendly variety of Bermuda grass on all its greens, while its expert maintenance team worked extensively during lockdown to ensure the course condition is the best it has ever been for reopening.
Complementing the golf course are outstanding practice facilities including the recently-upgraded Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy, which will also reopen from June 1.
James Beesley, director of golf at Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf & Spa, said: “The last couple of months has been a difficult time for everyone and it’s a pleasure to be able to welcome golfers to the resort again. The golf course is looking beautiful and our team has worked tirelessly to make sure that it is as good as ever for everyone that visits over the coming months.”
Book online at Finca Cortesin for an experience you will never forget. Special rates available throughout the summer from 135€ per person including buggy.
| Gaugin Mountain | 5 cl |
| Fresh Passion Fruit Puree | 3 cl |
| Fresh Lemon Juice | 2 cl |
| Vanilla Syrup | 1,5 cl |
| Free Brothers Bitter Foam |
Preparation—
Pour the ingredients into your Shaker, shake it well and double strain into a Martini Glass, garnish with half Passion Fruit !
Cheers!
Awarded two “Suns” in the Repsol Guide and named the best Madrid-based Italian restaurant, Don Giovanni’s Sicilian chef Andrea Tumbarello continues to receive culinary accolades.
He masterfully brings the authentic taste of Italy to Finca Cortesin, preparing recipes that respect century-old traditions, whilst cleverly combining them with ingenuity and innovation.
Continuación de la entrevista con nuestro Director de Instrucción, Ricardo Jiménez Eliaeson, para descubrir algunos secretos sobre su vida en el golf y en la enseñanza.
Ricardo: Fui jugador profesional durante 25 años, jugué principalmente en el Circuito Nacional, el European Challenge Tour, y también jugué torneos del European Tour. Tuve la suerte de jugar con muchos de los mejores jugadores de la época. Esa fue una parte increíble de mi vida y estoy muy agradecido a todos mis compañeros profesionales de los que tanto aprendí.
Mi único objetivo era ganar suficiente dinero para poder jugar el siguiente torneo, pero también llego el momento de pensar en formar una familia y cuando llegó ese momento, por supuesto, me di cuenta de que tenía que encontrar un trabajo más estable. Abrí una academia de golf en Marbella que despegó rápidamente y tuvimos cierto éxito y tuve la suerte en ese momento poder compaginar la enseñanza y la competición.
A principios de 2006, recibí una llamada de Javier Reviriego, Director de Golf de un nuevo proyecto llamado Finca Cortesin. Vine, jugué el campo y me ofrecieron un trabajo que simplemente no podía rechazar. ¡El proyecto era simplemente increíble! y el resto, como dicen, es historia. Son 14 años en Finca Cortesin al que estoy muy agradecido por la confianza depositada en mi en todos estos años. De alguna manera, me preparé toda mi vida para conseguir este trabajo. Estoy 100% convencido de que la formación es un factor clave para convertirme en un buen maestro y cuando jugaba de manera competitiva, pasaba todo mi tiempo estudiando, asistiendo a seminarios, observando a los mejores instructores y preparándome en diferentes áreas para convertirme en el mejor profesor de golf posible.
¿El mejor consejo que recibiste de un profesional del Tour?
El mejor consejo que tuve fue de mi gran maestro y amigo escocés Don Ross. Yo era un jugador muy técnico y estaba en medio de una gran crisis de juego. Fue tan dura que estaba pensando en dejar el golf competitivo. El fue mi maestro en la última parte de mi carrera de aficionado y nunca golpeé a la bola e hice tantos buenos resultados como esa parte de mi vida. Don, regresó a España después de seis años trabajando en el extranjero y me llamó y me dijo que fuera a verlo a Montecastillo. Cuando vio mi swing y la forma en que estaba golpeando la pelota y actuando en el campo, no lo podía creer. Había perdido mi esencia y mi resiliencia en la búsqueda del swing perfecto. Me miró profundamente a los ojos y me dijo que dejara de pensar y que simplemente me concentrara en pegar a la bola al objetivo. Pasé el mes siguiente con ese único pensamiento en el campo de golf y realmente funcionó. Fui el ejemplo perfecto de un jugador que se había perdido tratando de alcanzar la perfección.
¿Qué tipo de ejercicios haces para calentar?
El ejercicio principal en el que me centro es en estiramientos. Soy un verdadero creyente de que cuanto más flexible seas, más tiempo podrás jugar a tiempo, especialmente cuando seas mayor. También hago ejercicios funcionales y ejercicios de fuerza.
Describe tu juego de golf en cuatro palabras.
Re-si-len-cia.
¿A qué jugador del Tour se parece más tu juego?
¡A todos los jugadores que fallan muchos greens en regulación!
¿Cuál es tu recuerdo favorito al ganar a tus compañeros profesionales de golf en un torneo?
En 2003, gané un gran torneo en el circuito español donde vencí a Pablo Larrazabal el último día. Jugamos juntos en el último grupo el domingo y nunca en mi vida sentí tanta presión en mis antebrazos como cuando tuve un putt de un metro para ganar el torneo. Me retire de la bola, respiré hondo y volví a hacer la rutina y emboque el putt. El trabajo estaba hecho. Recuerdo conducir a casa y estar muy orgulloso al haber terminado el primero de 144 jugadores que jugaron esa semana, y eso nunca cambiará. Fue una sensación genial.
Tu has sido un miembro vital del equipo de Finca Cortesin durante 14 años. ¿Cuéntanos algo que el golfista medio no sabe sobre el campo de golf de Finca Cortesín?
Finca Cortesin es un campo de golf increíble y todavía estoy tratando de aprender cómo jugarlo. Me encantan los campos que te exigen jugar todos los palos de la bolsa y Finca Cortesin es uno de ellos. Desde el tee de salida tienes que ir largo pero preciso y debes aprender a atacar a la bandera, con eso quiero decir, que a veces tienes que jugar lejos de las banderas si no quieres arruinar la vuelta. Cuando llegas al green, debes estar en la parte correcta si quieres evitar hacer tres putts, y si fallas el green, tu juego corto debe ser preciso y creativo. Si aprendes a jugar el campo de la manera que el diseñador quería que jugáramos, entonces es posible hacer resultados. Si realmente quieres disfrutar de la vuelta, olvídate de ser agresivo y piensa en cómo puedes poner la pelota en juego y jugar a la parte mas ancha del green. Para hacerlo, debes conocer las fortalezas de cada hoyo y cuáles son sus debilidades. Nunca intentes jugar con las debilidades de tu juego contra el punto fuerte del hoyo.
Visite la Academia Jack Nicklaus en Finca Cortesin para más información.
Continuing insight into our Director of Instruction, Ricardo Jimenez Eliaeson secrets about his life in golf and coaching:
Ricardo: I was a Tour player for 25 years, playing mainly on the Spanish Tour and European Challenge Tour, but also playing some events on the main European Tour. I was fortunate enough to play with all the best players who were around then. That was an amazing part of my life and I was very grateful to all the pros who I learned so much from.
My only goal was to earn enough money so that I could play the next tournament but I also thought about raising a family and when that moment came, I, of course, realised that I had to find a more stable job. I opened a golf academy in Marbella that quickly took off and became a success and I was lucky at this time that the academy allowed me to both teach and continue to play competitions.
At the beginning of 2006, I received a call from Javier Reviriego, director of golf of a new project called Finca Cortesin. I came and played the course and was then offered a job that I simply couldn’t turn down. The project was just awesome and the rest, as they say, is history! I have been working at Finca Cortesin for 14 years and I only have thankful words for the trust they have placed in me for all of these years. In some ways, I prepared all my life to get this job. I am 100 per cent convinced that education is a key factor in becoming a good teacher and when I was playing competitively, I spent all my time researching, assisting at seminars, watching the best instructors and training myself in different areas to become a golf coach.
Best tip you ever got from a Tour pro?
The best tip I ever had was from my lovely Scottish teacher Don Ross. I was a very technical player and I was in the middle of a big slump. It was so bad that I was thinking about quitting competitive golf. He was my teacher in the last part of my amateur career and I never hit the ball and scored as well as this part of my life. He returned to Spain after six years working abroad and he gave me a call and told me to come and see him in Montecastillo. When he saw my swing and the way I was hitting the ball and performing on the course, he could not believe it. I had lost my inner essence; resilience in the search of the perfect swing. He looked deep into my eyes and told me to stop thinking and to just start hitting the bloody ball. I spent the next month with that sole thought on the golf course and it really worked. I was the perfect example of a player that had got lost trying to reach perfection.
What kind of exercises do you do to warm up?
The main exercise I focus on is stretching. I’m a true believer that the more flexible you are, the longer you can play in time, especially when you get older. I also do functional exercises and strength exercises.
Describe your golf game in four words.
Re-si-lien-ce.
What player on tour does your game most resemble?
All the players that miss a lot of greens!
What is your favourite memory of beating your fellow golf professionals?
in 2003, I won a big tournament on the Spanish circuit where I beat Pablo Larrazabal the last day. We were playing together in the last group on the Sunday and I never in my life felt so tight in my forearms than when I had a one-metre putt to win the tournament. I moved back from the ball, took a deep breath and put the ball in the hole. The job was done. I remember driving home and I was so proud because I had finished first out of 144 players playing that week. And that will never change. That was a cool feeling.
You have been a vital member of the Finca Cortesin team for 14 years. Tell us something the average golfer doesn’t know about Finca Cortesin’s golf course?
Finca Cortesin is an amazing golf course and I’m still trying to learn how to score here. I love courses which require you to play all the clubs in your bag and Finca Cortesin is one of them. You have to be long but accurate from the tee and you have to learn to attack the holes, with that I mean that sometimes you have to play away from flags if you do not want to mess a hole. When you get to the green, you have to put yourself in the right spot if you don’t want to three-putt, and if you miss the green, your short game has to be precise and creative. If you learn to play the course the way the designer wanted us to play then scoring is possible, but if you want to really enjoy your round, forget about being aggressive and think about how I can put the ball in play and play to the widest part of the green. In order to do so, you need to know the strengths of each hole and what your weaknesses are. Never try to play one of your weak shots against the strengths of the hole.
Visit Jack Nicklaus Academy at Finca Cortesin for more details.
One of the things that we’re most proud of at Finca Cortesin is our Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy. With the golf course and club still shut, we took the chance to sit down with our director of instruction, Ricardo Jimenez Eliaeson, to unearth a few secrets about his life in golf and coaching.
Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us. Firstly, can you give us an insight into your family background, who inspired you to follow a career in golf and how you got into coaching?
I was born in Stockholm in Sweden but moved to Spain when I was three years old and have been here ever since.
I started to play golf in 1986 at Torrequebrada Golf Club and, believe it or not, my first teacher was Miguel Angel Jiménez. I owe so much to the Jiménez family and without their support in my youth, I would never have played golf. I did all kind of sports growing up but, when I tried golf, I was hooked immediately. From the very beginning, I understood that I could never master this fantastic game and that I was not playing against other players but that I was playing against the golf course, and I think that was one of the best lessons I have received from Miguel Angel Jimenez.
When did you know you first had a thing for golf?
This is one of those questions that is very difficult to answer but, in my case, I always knew that I could be a very competitive player because I love competition. I consider myself a very good competitor but, having said that, it’s one thing to play against amateurs and quite another to play against professionals. I remember one tournament when I hit two drives in a row to rough on the left-hand side. In both situations, my ball was deep in trouble and I had to use my sand wedge to leave myself exactly 100 metres to the flag. In both distance wedges approaches I left my ball next to the pin, that is when I knew I could become a much better player.
Being director of instruction at a Jack Nicklaus Academy, how does this association help in your coaching and your student’s development?
I have always been fortunate enough to be surrounded by great teachers. Many of them were more technical teachers while some were more ‘feeling’ teachers and others were more mental teachers. I have also been fortunate to have seen all the best teachers over the last 20 years and, together, they gave me a pretty good understanding of the whole picture.
Golf is not about instruction; it is about teaching people. If you teach people, you can help them to improve their games but if you keep teaching instruction, it will be very difficult to get good players and the best of their games. We are all different; we are built differently, we think differently, we understand differently, we learn differently so, therefore, we have to adapt to our students. Nicklaus Academies help me to deliver a more comprehensive and easier message to players. In general, coaches make golf too complicated and use terminology that doesn’t help, so I consider myself more like a skilled developer coach. If a student can improve their skills around their game, then I think they will be happier because they will feel that they can perform much better. That is my passion, to make them better.
What’s the greatest joy you get from teaching golf?
You probably will not believe it but the greatest joy I get from teaching is when you can get players striking the ball like the Tour players (with this, I mean the proper sound of the club hitting the ball and then the turf) and then turning around to me, with a big smile on their face, and telling me “What a shot”.
What’s the one thing you’d like to teach your kids about golf that will help them through life?
I believe golf is like life, a long path with a lot of obstacles in the journey. You are going to fall down plenty of times and you have to learn to stand up and keep walking. Do it step by step, grind, be resilient and enjoy the journey because that is when you are going to learn about you and your game/life.
Tell us a story about your last non-golf adventure.
Since I was 20, I always had the dream of going on holiday to the Black Forest in southern Germany. Last year, knowing that my kids were getting older, we planned the trip to the Black Forest and the Austrian Alps so we could spend 10 days traveling in a car and living together. It was a fantastic experience that I highly recommend to anyone. It was fantastic to be able to spend some quality time with my wife and children, and we fell in love with the Black Forest and the Austrian landscapes.
Visit Jack Nicklaus Academy at Finca Cortesin for more details.
CÓCTEL JAZMINE por Daniele Maroni, Head Bar Tender and Drinks & Cocktail Manager at Finca Cortesin.
Jazmine, es una de las bebidas más populares en el Blue Bar en Finca Cortesin. Se hizo muy popular en el verano de 2019, porque es un cóctel fresco y afrutado, tiene una buena energía y también está bien equilibrado.
“Desde pequeño solía recoger las frambuesas en el jardín de mi casa en el norte de Italia, esta es una de las razones por las que las amo. Soy un gran admirador de los licores premium de alta calidad y sabores frescos y naturales “, cuenta Daniele.
Ingredientes—
| Gaugin Classic | 40 ml |
| Saint Germain | 25 ml |
| Puré de maracuyá | 20 ml |
| Zumo de Limon | 30 ml |
| Jarabe de Azúcar | 10 ml |
| 2 frambuesas |
Método—
Agite bien todos los ingredientes en una coctelera y cuele dos veces en una copa de cóctel. Si no tienes una coctelera, puedes mezclarla en una jarra, revolverla bien y servirla con hielo.
¡Disfruta de la práctica, saludos!
JAZMINE COCKTAIL by Daniele Maroni, Head Bar Tender and Drinks & Cocktail Manager at Finca Cortesin.
Jazmine, is one of the signatures drinks at the Blue Bar at Finca Cortesin. It became really popular in Summer 2019, because it is a fresh and fruity cocktail, has a good energy and also it is well balanced.
“Since I was young I use to pick up the raspberries in the garden of my house in the north of Italy, this is one of the reasons why I love them. I am a big fan of high quality premium spirits and fresh and natural flavors.” Says Daniele.
Ingredients—
| Gaugin Classic | 40 ml |
| Saint Germain | 25 ml |
| Passion Fruit Puree | 20 ml |
| Lemon Juice | 30 ml |
| Sugar Syrup | 10 ml |
| 2 raspberries |
Method—
Shake well all the ingredients in a shaker and double strain it in a cocktail glass. If you don’t have a shaker, you can mix them in a jug stir it well and serve it with ice.
Enjoy the practice, cheers!
| It’s been busy few years for Finca Cortesin and one of the biggest changes we’ve made has seen us convert our greens to a new, more environmentally-friendly type of Bermuda grass. Taking the decision to become the first venue in Spain to undergo such a process was not one that was taken lightly but the rewards have been clear for all to see. With Covid-19 having brought play to a temporary halt, we took the opportunity to catch up with the man who led the project, head greenkeeper and course manager Ignacio Soto, to get his thoughts on the work that has taken place and how the changes in working practices are helping to benefit the environment. Can you give us an outline on the changes that you’ve made over the last three years? Ignacio Soto: We have introduced many new practices to make the golf course more environmentally sustainable and to improve the player experience. Growing new grasses on the greens has resulted in a reduction in the amount of pesticides that we use, a reduction in water usage and has allowed us to use 100 per cent organic fertiliser. Have there been any obstacles that you’ve encountered with the transformation process? IS: The only obstacle that we’ve faced has been time… unfortunately you cannot do that transformation in 24 hours. It takes time to convert greens and other areas with grasses that are more environmentally friendly. A few years later, we’re now experiencing better quality and increased resource efficiency. This has allowed us to invest time and effort into improving other areas of the course. How exactly did agronomy services change at the resort e.g. use of fertiliser, watering, type of grass used? IS: All parts of the resort’s agronomy practice are now linked to each other. The right grass species need less water which, in turn, requires less pesticide and less pesticide produces better grass coverage which needs less fertiliser … and so on. What feedback have you received on the new playing surfaces? IS: The response that we’ve received has been very positive, and we receive numerous compliments regarding the playing surfaces daily. |
What were the main motives for making the changes?
IS: It was important to make this change as the climate in the south of Spain is ideal for this type of grass and we realised that it was going to benefit the environment and improve the quality of the playing surfaces. At Finca Cortesin, we are determined to be at the forefront of sustainable golf resorts and are the first golf course in the area with this type of grass, and we are sure other golf courses will eventually follow.
In light of the current situation caused by Covid-19, how will the course be affected? Following Government-issued advice from the Ministry of Health regarding Covid-19 and for the health and safety of our members, guests and staff, our golf course is currently closed. However, the maintenance team continues to work hard to ensure the course is the best it’s ever been when golfers return. We are able to use the time to carryout essential work on the greens, while also giving attention to landscaping – including the planting of more native flowers, enhancing native areas and further improving the lake on hole 4. The golf course is looking beautiful and we can’t wait to welcome back golfers as soon as possible.
Watch the process of our greens renovation project in 2017