Mallorca venue recognised for outstanding customer service and presentation as director of grounds is named ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’
Club de Golf Alcanada is celebrating milestone success after the popular Mallorca venue earned the distinguished ‘Gold Flag’ for the fifth consecutive year at this month’s 59club Europe Service Excellence Awards.
Recognising consistently outstanding customer service, the Gold Flag is 59club’s greatest honour and is reserved for a highly discerning set of elite venues – a group that Alcanada has now been a part of each year since 2020.
Alcanada director Kristoff Both was presented with the award at a ceremony at Camiral Golf & Wellness, which fittingly marked the first time the awards were held on Spanish soil.
Meanwhile, Alcanada’s acclaimed championship course was awarded Europe South’s ‘Leading Individual Golf Course Presentation’, while long-serving director of grounds Borja Azpilicueta was crowned ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’.
As well as the trio of victories, the club was a finalist in three more categories – ‘Golf Operations Team of the Year’, Both for ‘Golf Manager of the Year’ and head of reception Teresa Moll for ‘Retail Manager of the Year’ – alongside renowned names such as Costa Navarino, Quinta do Lago and 2023 Solheim Cup venue Finca Cortesin.
Azpilicueta has been a key figure in Alcanada’s success story, taking up the post before the course officially opened to the public in 2003. Greenkeepers from other outstanding venues – including Ryder Cup host Marco Simone Golf & Country Club – were also shortlisted for the honour.
Robert Trent Jones Jnr’s par-72 layout is kept in pristine condition by Azpilicueta and his team; as Mallorca’s only coastal golf club, the venue offers unrivalled views of the Mediterranean Sea and the iconic Alcanada Lighthouse, but the course is known to catch the eye as much as the backdrop.
Alcanada’s greenkeeping staff were also integral to the success of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A in November, broadcast live on Sky Sports, which has now been staged at the venue in 2019, 2022 and 2023 and will return this autumn.
Both said: “Each year we see incredible venues from across Europe receive the Gold Flag and it is always an honour to be part of such a prestigious group. Receiving this award for the fifth year in a row is a testament to the hard work we all put in to ensure that our standards remain high. We would like to thank 59club for their recognition and are determined to make it six Gold Flags in a row next year.
“Congratulations must also go to Borja Azpilicueta for a well-deserved ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’ award. The talent and dedication of Borja and his team continues to be crucial to our success, and we would not be where we are without their hard work.”
Critically acclaimed and popular with visiting golfers, Alcanada has a long history of shining at the 59club Awards, first receiving the Bronze Flag in 2015. Impartial mystery shopping auditors visit prospective winners across the year, assigning scores which evaluate the experience afforded to guests and club members.
