The deluxe Finca Cortesin Hotel, Golf & Spa is set to join a select group of some of the world’s most celebrated golfing venues by undertaking a comprehensive bunker drainage improvement programme this summer.
The exclusive resort, a three-time host of the Volvo World Match Play Championship, has unveiled plans to reconstruct its bunkers using the ‘Better Billy Bunker’ system employed by a collection of the world’s most prestigious golf venues including Gleneagles, Sawgrass, Winged Foot, Whistling Straits and Hazeltine National, host of the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Installed at more than 600 golf clubs across North America and worldwide since 1994, the environmentally-friendly construction method was designed by Billy Fuller, former golf course superintendent at Augusta National.
Applying a two-inch gravel layer over the bunker floor and herringbone tile system, which is then capped with a geo-textile liner, the innovative method has been created with the aim of minimising sand erosion and contamination from native soils during storms and heavy rain.
Research has shown that the system consistently reduces manpower requirements in bunkers rainstorms by 80 per cent or more and director of golf Miguel Girbés believes that the bunker improvement will ‘add greatly to the exclusive golf experience that Finca Cortesin offers throughout the year to its guests.
Girbés said: “The ‘Better Billy Bunker’ system has been used with great success in North America and we’re looking forward to the many benefits that it will bring, not just for our golfers but also our greenkeeping staff.
“The condition and presentation of bunkers play a huge part in the overall impression that any golf course creates when it is played, and we believe the improvements that are being made will greatly enhance the golfing experience that the resort offers all year round.”
Designed by American Cabell Robinson, Finca Cortesin’s acclaimed par-72 championship course has hosted numerous high-profile professional and amateur tournaments including the Volvo World Match Play Championship in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Robinson made a return visit to the course recently and is full of praise for the work that is scheduled to take place over the coming months.
He said: “Finca Cortesin is one of my two or three favourite courses. I think it’s great what is being done with the bunkers. The technology of the systems that are being used now just didn’t exist before so I’m extremely pleased with what’s happening.”
Opened in March 2009 and set across a vast 532-acre estate, Finca Cortesin is regarded among Europe’s most exclusive modern golf and lifestyle destination resorts.
Complementing its world-class golf course are outstanding practice facilities including a state-of-the-art Jack Nicklaus Golf Academy, and the resort was recently named as the ‘Best Golf Resort in Europe’ by users of the respected website Leadingcourses.com
Located in the rolling hills of southern Spain between Marbella and Sotogrande, with the Mediterranean to one side and the tranquil Casares Mountains to the other, Finca Cortesin’s other world-class facilities include an elegant 67-suite hotel, Hotel Cortesin, a 6,000sqm Beach Club and an award-winning spa featuring Spain’s only snow cave, with bespoke treatments by French beauty brand Boilogique Recherche.
Hotel Cortesin offers the choice of four restaurants including El Jardin de Lutz, serving authentic Spanish cuisine, and the Michelin-starred signature Japanese restaurant Kabuki Raw. The development also features an exclusive collection of villas which are available for purchase or rental.
Better Billy Bunker www.billybunker.com
Finca Cortesin www.fincacortesin.com