160 km from Barcelona and 60 km from Andorra there is the golf club “Puigcerdà”, one of the three golf clubs of Cerdanya – an area of Catalonia, which borders France. President of the club, Jordi Puigdomènech, told all-andorra.com about the plans for the development of golf culture in Catalonia:
“Golf Club Puigcerdà appeared in 2003. This year we celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the club. The investor in the project was a family from La Cerdanya, which owned this land (the area of the golf club is 20 hectares). In total there are three golf clubs in our area: the Puigcerdà Club, located on the estate of Sant Marc, the Royal Golf Club La Cerdanya and the Fontanals Club.
I joined the management team of the club in 2018. The target of our team is to change the policy of the club, rebrand it, and attract more professionals to train here. Most of our time we plan to devote to train a new generation of professional golfers. At the club there is a school for children from 6 to 15 years old. I cannot say that golf is now one of the most popular sports in Spain in general. But we want to popularize golf in Catalonia. That’s why encouraging children to practice the sport is our priority.
The training course for children aged 6-15 costs 40 euros per month alongside the club membership.
In August, a school for all kids of this age will open. Training courses will be held from 6 to 10 August, from 13 to 17 August, from 20 to 24 August and from 27 to 31 August. The price is 140 euros for each course.
The cost of a five-hour course for adults, including all material, costs 60 euros in August.
By the way, traditionally August is the most popular month for golf here. Our main visitors are the inhabitants of Puigcerdà and La Cerdanya, but among our guests there are many inhabitants of Barcelona. Basically, these are Catalans and Spaniards.
Our club regularly holds competitions – every two weeks for our young players and four official tournaments per year. In total, La Cerdanya has seven schools to teach golf to children and young people.
Our annual investment towards maintaining the golf club is 400 000 – 500 000 euros.
Golf is a game with a certain etiquette. To participate in tournaments, it is necessary not only to know the rules of the game, but also to respect a certain dress code. For example, players are not allowed to wear jeans or trousers with horizontal pockets – pockets should be vertical. Golf is a game for “real gentlemen”, so it requires elegance. At golf clubs, to attract excessive attention is considered rude. As for women, shorts are categorically not allowed nor are skirts significantly higher than the knee or shortened tops without a collar.”
