Spain’s La Hacienda Links Golf Resort has moved to strengthen its management team by making two new key appointments at the award-winning 36-hole venue.
Experienced industry professional Fernando Padrón has been named as the new golf general manager at the acclaimed resort in southern Spain while Ricardo Barón has taken over as La Hacienda’s new golf superintendent.
Padrón, 54, has extensive knowledge of the golf industry having held a variety of high-profile roles at leading clubs in Spain and beyond including Real Club Valderrama and, most recently, PGA Riviera Maya Golf Club in Mexico.
Barón, who spent 11 months working with Padrón at Valderrama between 2017-18, is also returning to the Costa del Sol after a period working abroad and his greenkeeping cv is just as impressive, with Quail Hollow in America and The Els Club and Al Zorah in the United Arab Emirates among the places he has worked at.
“I´m very excited to join La Hacienda, probably the best current golf project in Spain,” said Padrón, who began his new role at the start of this month.
“After four years working at PGA Riviera Maya putting the golf course on the map and with my previous experience at Real Club Valderrama, I have developed a broad understanding of what is needed to run a golf resort with the customer service levels of a top-class private club.
“I share the vision and goals of the resort to make La Hacienda one of the best golf destinations in southern Spain and Europe and I’m thrilled to have joined at such an exciting time.”
Javier Jiménez, director general of La Hacienda Links Golf Resort, said: “We’re delighted to have added two such experienced people to the team.
“Both Fernando and Ricardo know golf in the Costa del Sol well and I’m sure they will prove to be great assets to the resort as we continue to plan and build for the future.”
Located in the Cadiz municipality of San Roque close to Sotogrande, La Hacienda Links Golf Resort has undergone a major redevelopment in the last 12 months that has seen the venue establish itself as one of the rising stars of European golf.
In addition to the relaunch of its renowned Links course last summer after a major renovation, the opening of a new clubhouse and the announcement of a new Fairmont hotel to open in 2024, the resort is carrying out a fresh series of upgrades to its golf and leisure amenities including new investment on its other 18-hole layout, the Heathland course.
Other future improvements include the launch of a new state-of-the-art website, a variety of updated stay-and-play packages and the opening of a new halfway house for players on the Links course, while La Hacienda will fully launch a new 300-plus-room Fairmont hotel and villas in spring 2024 – underlining the resort’s ambition to become one of the most exclusive and luxurious golf developments in Spain.