“If we want tourism to keep growing, it’s vital to bring the Solheim Cup to Costa del Sol”

Mar Ruiz de la Torre lives for golf. She is one of the lucky few who have turned their hobby into a profession. At 26, she has traded her job at a bank for the golf courses. Her career path started with the great journalist María Acacia Bachiller, who took her under her wing when she was only 18 and wisely guided her through the world of golf. Nowadays, after a life selflessly devoted to her great passion, she is President of the Female Committee of the Spanish Golf Federation, an institution which awarded her with the Gold Medal last year. Professional, honest, tenacious and kind, Mar is a woman committed herself body and soul to women’s golf.

Mar, you have been in the world of golf for almost 30 years. What do you think about the skills of female Spanish players, compared to the times when you started?
The level might be the same, we used to rely on intuition and impressions and now it’s more technical and professional. I don’t really think standards have changed; it has certainly improved, because so has golf in general, but every age has its charm.

You work in the field of women’s golf, is it more complicated in that sense?
A lot more, but not only in golf, it happens in every single sport. I think we are finally getting achievements in female golf, we are slowly increasing our visibility, getting into competition the same way men do and we don’t have to step aside once we have families or academic lives. It’s being hard to achieve, but now we can go a very long way in this game.

How do you think we could overcome this gap?
That’s up to ourselves. We have to believe we can do it. We need to be aware of the goals that we are achieving and, if we are consistent, we will get the support we need.

And television…
Of course, television helps because it makes us known. In the United States female golfers have a great visibility, but in Korea they have even more. In Korea, women’s golf is more important than men’s golf. Men’s golf is at a standstill, mainly because men are forced to a two year military service, so men are not able to have a continuity. It’s true that women need to be dedicated to sponsors and certain circuits. Korean circuit’s rewards are ranked third in the world, but those who stay outside the circuit have no way to keep playing. There’s nothing but women’s golf on TV.

Does men’s golf provide more entertainment?
Men are good at short play, at intuition. We women are better in the long run; we may not hit as hard as them, but we are more precise. It may be funnier, but it is a matter of personal choice and we both can reach the same level.

Last year you were awarded with the Federation’s Gold Medal. What has it meant to you?
It’s the highest recognition to a life’s work devoted to golf. I got really thrilled when I got it and, somehow, I still wonder why I got it. But I worked so hard that accomplishing it was great. The fact that I got it while being still active… At first, I couldn’t but think that they were awarding me to stop playing! (She laughs) But no, achieving this sort of recognition in a men’s world means a lot.

Your dream in your golf career?
I’d love to work as hard as I can to get more women to play golf, I want female competition to reach great heights. My dream is for us to equal men, so that we could live as male pro players do. But we need to keep fighting, that would be my dream.

What’s the rate of federated female players?
Only 30%. It’s very low compared to the male rate. The truth is that men set up their lives considering what they want to do, but women set theirs depending on what their husbands, children or parents want. We are constrained by our families. It’s ok if you get to organize your life to be able to compete.

What’s the impact of golf on Spanish tourism?
It is a crucial engine. Golf moves huge amounts of money, billions. We should be aware that this business is not only centered on golf clubs, but there are also restaurants, hotels, culture aspects that are also affected. Most of all in Southern Spain, where they’ve made a living from golf tourism, even if we fail to reckon it. Now it’s also happening in other areas in the country and they are working on it. The Valencian Community is aware that they should be focusing on golf as Costa del Sol is doing. Even in Madrid there’s now a platform that is already working on golf tourism. It is vital due to the huge incomes it contributes.

Is there any other place in Europe to play golf like in Costa del Sol?
There is definitely not. Besides, weather is on our side here. We Spanish people always tend to think that everything is better outside our country and we are not fully aware of what we have. We should make the most of it. If you take a look at Costa del Sol right now, you’ll see people from abroad playing golf non stop, no matter their level or category. We need to believe and support ourselves.

There are rumours about Solheim Cup in Marbella in 2023.
We need to go past these rumours and start making noise so that they realize that bringing in this tournament is the best thing to do and to get companies and institutions support this event. It would be extremely important, it would activate something that could last for many years. Look how Valderrama took action regarding the Ryder and everything it has brought them after they got it, not only for golf clubs, but for the whole area. If we want tourism to keep growing, it’s vital to bring the Solheim Cup. In terms of commerce and strategy, it would be awesome for female players. It would bring players from USA and all around Europe and it would boost standards. Rumour has it that 2023 will be the year and some female players who would congregate then have already competed with others who are in the Blumey or beginning their university studies. It will be really inspiring as well as a springboard to help them grow.

An advice to our readers
Have fun. It’s a sport, but it has to be funny. Entering a golf course is healthy, you are in the open air. You set your own goals, you cannot fail because you put too much pressure on yourself or you got obsessed. It’s the very opposite of that, you go out there and have fun.