Elisa Runo began her year as Lady Captain at The San Roque Club back in November after being elected by the management, the commission and the members. “Captains drive-In was a great success and although we had a downpour of rain for a short while the day was not spoilt. We fin-ished off the day with the inauguration before a 3 course meal and entertainment. Such a great day even though I was exceedingly nervous to “Drive Off” in front of 150 people!”

Two days later the club applied for administration as it had unsustainable financies which meant it could not afford to make any payments, ruling out any activity which required expense. “We were only able to organise members’ competitions and events on a week on week basis.”
The members, who are very passionate about San Roque, tried to raise enough funds for a Members Buy-Out, however, at the same time a Russian consortium showed a strong interest on the club and in the middle of March they acquired San Roque Golf Club.

Now four months later Elisa is fulfilling her role in the Lady Captain’s position with much greater enthusiasm, safe in the knowledge that the new owners are committed to making San Roque one of the best courses in Europe. They already own several courses in its country has given the Club a huge boost and you can feel a new mood around the club, particulary visible in the cheerful smiles of the staff as they go about their daily work. “We are all very happy” Elisa tells us. “You can feel it in the atmosphere, there’s a new energy about the place. The new owners are very positive. They will rebuild and improve the facilities on the Old Course over the next two/three years, refurbish the clubhouse and all other buildings, everything is going to improve. They want to turn it into a five-star country club. They are full of ambitious plans and great ideas. There’s going to be lots of exciting changes and improvements, and they have even gone as far as saying they want San Roque Golf Club to aspire to be the fifth best in Europe.”

Elisa who was born in Britain but has been based in Sweden for many years embraces the chal-lenges to be made by the new owners whilst keeping her fundamental aim in mind: “Keep Golf Fun”. Her aim is to see more women playing golf: “I’ve seen that many women have taken up the sport recently. They want to get out on the course but lack the confidence to compete in roll-ups or com-petitions. That’s why I take them out on Lady Captain’s morning to play nine holes, so they can get used to and learn about the rules, course etiquette and management and of course build confi-dence!” Elisa has established more mixed competitions in this year’s calendar, as golf is a sport for everyone.

In fact, the reason she took up golf was because her husband played it. That was 18 years ago. At that time, they lived in Sweden and she couldn’t really dedicate much time to golf with the season being very short and her children very small. Thankfully, all that changed when she came to Spain three years ago. Since then, she’s been spending six months here and the rest of the year between the UK and Sweden, where her two children are studying at university. They also play golf, so it has become a great family activity. “It’s a family sport. When you’re out on the course for four hours, the only thing you can do is talk to each other. It’s a great opportunity to chat and we talk about everything.”

This social side of golf is what most attracts her to this sport. “When it’s good weather and you’re outdoors in the company of lovely people playing golf, it’s one of the greatest pleasures in life. And then, when you finish the round and you go for a coffee or a glass of wine – perfect day – even better if the result is good!”, she tells us. Most of Elisa’s work as captain is a combination of Club Embassador, member liaison and organisation. “All this includes organising the calendar, types of competitions, events and tour, buying gifts and prizes, listening to members and passing on their ideas to the management”.

Recently, the Ladies Captain tournament was held. She didn’t take part but did have a very fun idea. She chose a par three hole and played it with every team which came through, thereby enjoying some time with all the members. It was undoubtedly a great idea.
The Captains Gala dinner was held with theme Black Tie/Gatsby at the clubhouse. All members made the effort to embrace the theme and the evening rounded off after a 3 course meal with a jazz/ragtime five piece band.

During this year, there will be many more occasions for her to encourage more women to play golf and attract new members of different nationalities, enriching her club with golfers from different parts of the world.