“My aim is for the Ladies European Tour to reach 30 tournaments a year.”

Marta Figueras Dotti, better known as Dotti, had never imagined that she would become President of the Ladies European Tour Council, but it is a position she well deserves. Her appointment in December 2018 was the pinnacle of a career devoted to golf.
Marta started to play golf at the age of seven when her father, who was president of the Spanish Golf Federation for eight years, used her as a caddie. From that moment on, her life would be inextricably linked to this sport. She has great experience in all areas of golf, so she truly knows the sport inside out. As a golfer, Dotti enjoyed a spectacular career on the American circuit during the 80s and 90s. She later became the Spanish National Women’s Team’s Coach in 2000. She would also coach in La Blume, be vice-captain of the European team of the Junior Solheim Cup and head of the female Spanish Olympic team for the 2016 Olympic Games. In 2017, her career path swung in another direction as she became part of the Council of the Ladies European Tour. Now, as president of the Council, she faces new challenges as she seeks to restore value to a circuit which has been stuck in a rut for the last few years. Her frank and honest nature, combined with her tenacity and capacity for hard work, guarantee many more successful moments in an already wonderful career. In fact, in barely 3 months in the post, she has already established a new LET event in Spain: La Reserva de Sotogrande Invitational, which will be held next May.

You’ve just started in your position as president. Did you ever imagine being in this post?
No, the truth is that I had never even dreamt about this post in the Council. I came thanks to some players on the circuit, because I’ve always been in contact with the players, especially the Spanish ones, since I was national coach. They encouraged me to run in the Council elections. I had a million things on the go, but I decided to run, and I was chosen in December 2017. When I became aware of the situation, I decided help was needed and took matters into my own hands, and towards the end of last year, I was nominated president of the Committee. It’s a challenge, and the truth is I’d never imagined being in this post. I’ve never seen myself as an executive. I enjoyed the day-to-day contact with the players, training, coaching, being a captain, those types of things. But in a way, all those experiences are now useful to me and I am applying them little by little in the leadership of this organisation, which in the end, is what we need.

What has your role changed in the Strategic Plan that you were implementing in 2018?
We’re still in the final stages of creating a different strategic plan because before, we didn’t have one or if we did, it simply didn’t work. In the end, everything I have learned during my career is helping me create that plan, that vision, those mission statements and those objectives that we want to achieve, because at the end of the day, we all want more tournaments so the players can compete. That’s the main objective for everybody.

And in two months you’ve already given us one more, who knows by the end of the year?
It is true that there are many places which are potential destinations for another one this year. We are in discussions with Russia, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany… many of them are attracted by women’s golf. The members of the Council are all striving to achieve this. Poor management in the past meant that we lost many tournaments on the European continent. There used to be tournaments in all continental European countries, but now the only countries which remain are Spain, France and Scotland. I can’t believe it. It can’t be like that.

There are some countries that don’t have established players. Is this because of the lack of these tournaments?
I think many factors come into play. One is the work at grass roots level. That does not depend on us, but I think that good work is being done at this level in every country. I believe there are so many players who want to become professional but the lack of tournaments on the European circuit over the last few years has meant that some countries, like Sweden, send their players to the USA to play the Symetra Tour, because they have 25 competitions a year. All they want in the end is to compete. So of course, Sweden, who used to always have one or two tournaments, now send their players elsewhere. But we have to send them a message to convince them return to Europe because the Scandinavian players make up 20%.

Why have so many LET tournaments disappeared?
It was down to poor management, but that now is in the past. Of course, now we have solved that problem and we are in a very good position to attract people. What we have to do is create a passionate sales pitch which gets the attention of sponsors. What can we offer the sponsor and what will the sponsor receive? That’s what we’re working on and I think we’re almost there. I’m here because I believe in this.

The men’s tour also suffered a crisis…
Yes, of course. We’ve all had bad times and difficult moments. But the desire and passion this new Council has is contagious.

How many tournaments would you be satisfied with?
30. Our aim is to reach 30 a year.

How many years do you think it will take you?
About three or four years. It’s infectious. One pops up in Switzerland, and the country next door says “hmm, I like that”. We’ve got to start at ground level. It’s like the golf swing… When you can’t hit the ball. We’re going to analyse the fundamentals of the swing. How’s the grip, the posture and alignment? Maybe it’s not about starting with tournaments offering €500,000, rather more modest tournaments of around €200,000 which start to attract people and grow from there. For example, Scotland, which right now is a fantastic tournament, started five years ago as a ProAm and is now offering $1.5m. It’s the vision we want to create and transmit: What can we offer companies? I’m no marketing expert but I’ve experienced this a lot and I know that the ProAm, and any man or woman who has played a men’s or women’s ProAm tournament, will tell you that the women’s is much better. That’s because the female players connect more with the amateurs.

What can you tell me about the Solheim in Marbella?
If we achieve that, I can walk away satisfied. That would be the absolute best. First of all, it’s time. There are many players who have been part of the team and who have never played further south than Germany, because in Europe, the tournaments have been in Sweden and in Germany, so it’s time. It’s certainly something to look at and it’s what I want. We all have to work hard and play our part, pulling in the same direction. All at the right time. It would be amazing for tourism.

What do you think of the Solheim team?
Catriona has made a significant change. Now, five are selected from the world ranking, three from the European ranking and four more are chosen. I think there are fantastic European players.

So, do you think there’s possibilities for Europe?
There are always possibilities, and even more, playing in Scotland. The weather can be a problem for American players. That all works in our favour. Gleneagles is a typical British, really Scottish, type of course, and that gives us a big advantage.

What do you think about the new golf rules?
I agree with some of them, but there are others which I think are simply cheating. The flag in the hole, I don’t like that. It just makes no sense to me. The time for searching before a ball is lost, the fact that if you’re looking for the ball and you touch it, it’s not a penalty – some of them are good but others, like dropping from knee height, I don’t know, I’ll have to get used to them. I don’t think there’s been any change to speed up the process in golf.

Has golf changed now from when you started?
Well, two years ago, a player at Solheim told me that she didn’t know how to read the greens without reading the little books. And nowadays, players have got five coaches: one for the technique, one for the mind, one for the physical aspect, a nutritionist and a routine specialist. And then there are the books, you lose the essence and skill of playing this sport without having to insist on everything being perfect.

Gary Player proposed contributing 1% of men’s prize money to the women’s game
I want to sell my tour because I want to sell my product, not because I’m looking for positive reactions because it’s supporting women. The physiology of a woman is different to a man. We will always play differently to men. I think it’s a cultural issue that has been around since day one, we’re physiologically different. We shouldn’t constantly be comparing ourselves to men.

The women’s golf sponsors are also different
Yes, of course they are. Maybe the Pink Ribbon Association is going to support women more. The situation has improved significantly. We need to forget about the issue of equality because we are not all equal and we don’t intend to compete with men. I do agree that a personality like Gary can help women though. This happened in tennis, when Jimmy Connors supported women’s tennis. I think men can help us.

Could there be mixed tournaments such as the one in Australia?
The feedback we received was that the public attended this tournament to see the women much more than the men. There was much more public watching the groups of ladies than the men because, in the end, the average amateur identifies more with women. The men’s game is so far from their mind-set that they can’t relate. I think the mixed tournaments would certainly be of great help, for sure.

Can you give some advice to the readers of Ladies in Golf?
Play until you’re 100 years old, because it’s a sport which always allows you to be in contact with nature. You can play alone and it’s an inspiring challenge. Don’t think. Thinking is wrong. And thinking too much, is very bad. Feeling the game is more important, enjoying it, but also, of course, take classes with professionals. In this sport, you need a guide and it is important for this guide to show you how to start any process.