His Majesty King Juan Carlos I officially inaugurated the National Golf Centre in Madrid this Tuesday at 1:00 p.m., a public and popular golf course located on regenerated land that previously housed a landfill, and which also houses the headquarters of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.

King Juan Carlos then unveiled a commemorative plaque after listening to a speech given by the President of the RFEG, Emma Villacieros, in which she highlighted the importance of his presence at an inauguration that constitutes a further step in the solid process of popularization experienced by Spanish golf in recent years.

The event was also attended by other personalities from the political and sporting spheres of Spanish life, among whom were Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Community of Madrid; Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Mayor of the City Council of Madrid; Jaime Lissavetzky, Secretary of State for Sport; and Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee.

“Your presence honors us and serves as an incentive for us to continue working on the promotion of public facilities, such as this National Golf Center,” Emma Villacieros emphasized during her opening speech.

“For some time now we have been collaborating intensively with other Administrations and Autonomous Communities for the creation of public courses, more than 35 of them spread throughout Spain so that fans with fewer resources can get started in our sport,” said the President of the RFEG before highlighting that golf, nowadays, constitutes a very important source of income for tourism in Spain, apart from recovering barren areas or landfills, as is the case of the National Golf Center, which acts as an ecological barrier of the Monte del Pardo.

This official opening of the National Golf Centre was also attended by former Secretaries of State for Sport involved in this project – Javier Gómez Navarro, Pedro Antonio Martín Marín, Rafael Cortés Elvira, Santiago Fisas – as well as the former Mayor of Madrid, José María Álvarez del Manzano, with whom the transfer of the land by the Madrid City Council was signed at the time.

“In short, this is a facility for all Spaniards, and particularly for the people of Madrid, as well as for foreign visitors who, when they come to Madrid, can enjoy yet another attraction of our capital. Therefore, your presence encourages us to continue our efforts to further popularize this sport, and we express once again the gratitude and loyalty of the entire Spanish golf community,” concluded Emma Villacieros before His Majesty King Juan Carlos I unveiled the commemorative plaque.

Renowned professional golfers who had no sporting commitments on this day, among whom stood out Severiano Ballesteros –the best Spanish golfer of all time–, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño –'Debutant of the Year 2005 on the European Professional Tour– and Paula Martí –with three victories on the Ladies Tour– enhanced this event with their presence, which was also attended by amateur players with outstanding records, as well as top-level foreign golf representation –David Harrison, President of the International Golf Federation; Andrew Morgan, President of the European Golf Federation; George O'Grady, Director of the PGA European Tour, etc.– and people closely related to Territorial Federations, Clubs and various Associations in the world of golf.

His Majesty King Juan Carlos I was received at 12 noon by the President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, Emma Villacieros, and the other authorities mentioned above before they all moved to the boardroom, where a video was shown about the transformation of the landfill in which this public and popular golf course is currently located, which, among other functions, constitutes an ecological barrier with respect to the Monte del Pardo, with which it borders on one of its parts.

Afterwards, His Majesty the King, along with the other political authorities, moved to the highest point of the golf course – from which a wide panoramic view can be seen – where he learned firsthand about the characteristics of the course before greeting the members of the National School – Blume Residence, who regularly train in a specific area of the National Center.

The signing of the RFEG Book of Honors, the visit to the rest of the facilities at the federation headquarters and the unveiling of the commemorative plaque completed the program of this inauguration presided over by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I.

Fully integrated into the city of Madrid, the National Golf Centre is an urban, public and popular course, with a Metro entrance and a couple of bus stops (lines 67 and 82) nearby, making it a unique project in all of Europe.

Golf, in terms of the number of licenses, is the fourth most popular sport in Spain after football, hunting, and basketball, the latter of which it will surpass in the short term if current trends continue. Currently, more than 280,000 people hold a golf license in Spain, a far cry from the 45,000 at the beginning of the 1990s and the 100,000 registered in 1995, thanks to continuous growth rates exceeding 101% annually.

Severiano Ballesteros emphasized these points to the media: “Fifteen years have passed, but the project is finally a reality for Spanish golf. The most important thing is that it's a public course, and this fills me with satisfaction, because it's something I've always fought for throughout my life. Furthermore, this course has the necessary conditions to host top-level competitions.”.

The golfer from Cantabria also emphasized on several occasions that “with projects like this, we all win. The idea that it's an elitist sport is outdated; it doesn't reflect the current reality. Golf contributes significantly to Spanish society. In Madrid alone, there are nearly 80,000 registered players, more than any other sport, and in southern Spain, many people make a living from it. For this very reason, golf should be a much more highly valued sport. We need to open our eyes.”.

The necessary support from the government to build more public golf courses like the National Golf Center was also highlighted in his remarks, which also referenced the current pool of talented Spanish golfers. “Young players who will one day be great and bring us much pride train at these facilities every day,” Severiano Ballesteros concluded.

Along the same lines, Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño expressed his praise, saying, “It’s very important that this type of facility has finally opened to serve all golfers. It’s crucial that this sport continues to grow, that the foundations are laid for more golfers like Ballesteros. The course is good, with a top-notch back nine, but the most important thing is that people enjoy themselves and have fun.”.

The President of the RFEG, Emma Villacieros, emphasized that this inauguration “is an example of perseverance on the part of all of Spanish golf. Fifteen years have passed since the project began, but the reward is extraordinary for Spanish golf.” These words were spoken shortly before the top representatives of the PGA European Tour presented her, via Severiano Ballesteros, with a replica of the Ryder Cup trophy, which was held in Spain in 1997. This event, along with the inauguration today of the National Golf Center presided over by His Majesty King Juan Carlos I, is the most important in the history of Spanish golf.