This week we have had the opportunity to enjoy a memorable experience: a Golf Masterclass in Costa Ballena Golf Club combined with a visit and wine tasting to the Infantes Orleans Borbon Wine Cellar in Sanlucar de Barrameda, sold together as “Golf and Wine. The perfect pairing” experience. We will explain the wine tasting experience in the next week’s blog, but this week we will focus on the first part of the visit: the Costa Ballena Golf Club for a golf academy experience in Cadiz.
One of the perks of being part of Meridional Events is being able to visit our suppliers while enjoying their activities to the fullest. It is the best way to ensure the activities are the right fit for our customers and that they meet our quality standards. We meet each supplier in person, we build trust and grow together. Only by doing it, we can keep the local economy running and create unique, sustainable and tailor-made events and experiences. This is part of our mission, vision and values, and one of the elements that sets Meridional Events apart: we build trust with suppliers and customers alike.
We have to thank the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of Andalusia for organising a series of fam trips for Andalusian DMC’s. From the broad catalogue of options on offer, we had to select the experience we thought could be more interesting for our customers. We have considered that combining sports and nature with culture and gastronomy could lead to an exceptional encounter: “Golf and Wine. The perfect pairing”. We are happy to confirm that these two ventures are the perfect match for an enjoyable adventure.
Here are some of the highlights of this unparalleled experience. We started the day by going to the Ocean Golf Club located in Costa Ballena, between Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera. It is just metres away from the sea, so you have spectacular views on top of some fresh breeze provided by the Atlantic Ocean.
We were warmly welcomed by Enrique Soto, the Golf Academy Director whose motto is “enjoy & learn, in that order”. We can only confirm it. He is an experienced and passionate golf specialist who has an extended international career. Despite his distinguished background, he made us feel comfortable and made everything seem easy and doable. He taught us the essentials about each club, how to handle it and when to use it, how to use a tee and some basic rules for beginners.
After our first attempt to shoot the ball in the driving range, including a few grass liftings and -surprisingly- some decent shots, we moved to his office where the clubs are stored, and some lessons do take place. This golf club has software (on demand) that records and analyses every shot, showing statistics that can help the player by pointing out every little detail to be taken into consideration to achieve perfection. It is impressive how much information can this device obtain in just a few seconds.
We continued the experience by moving to the Golf Course, where Enrique showed us how the real deal is. He chose a Par 3, which means you are meant to get it done in three shots. During the game, he showed us the proper positions and explained how to proceed in different scenarios (in the green, sand, etc.). We were fascinated about how much of an effort playing golf actually is. It is not just shooting a ball, as it may seem on TV, but there is a winding technique behind it. From the speed and the direction of the wind to which club to use and how to hold it properly, not to mention the specific jargon it is used.
When we finished, we moved onto the next stage of our visit, a tour around the whole golf course to show us the different areas. We delighted ourselves with the views while Enrique was driving the club car and explaining the ins and outs of each hole and the facilities.
We finished the first part of the visit after 2 hours, and we headed for the second bit: the wine tasting and Wine Cellar visit, which will be detailed next week.
Cadiz is positioning itself as a golf destination, competing and complementing the golf offer in Costa del Sol. As you have seen, there is a golf option for everyone, from entry-level as the golf academy experience in Cadiz stated above to options for professional golf players.
If you want to learn more about this experience or include it in your next golf break or travel to Spain, contact us and we will arrange everything for you, from the moment you land until the moment you depart.
Update 25/05/2021: Read the second part of this “Golf and Wine. The perfect pairing” experience, the Wine tasting in a wine cellar in Cadiz
