Update from Condado

Hi Folks,

Just go back after spending eight brill days on Condado.

1. Weather approx 24 to 25 but pools baltic, but once your in, your blue

2. Grass on verge beside motorway disgraceful but we have been assured that this will be attended to.

3. Told that approx 10 to 12 villas are to be built.

4. Alhama Council will be taking an office within the Al Kazar, until thier offices are completed.

5. RPM will be moving to the Al Kazar aswell.

6. Spainish golf federation coming to play the course next week, why? don't know

7.  Golf course certainly ready to play, but we were advised that the desert areas will not be finished until after the opening date.

8.  The lake on the island is only half full.

9. Security very poor, we certainly didn't see any improvement.

10. Clover busy, supermarket empty, but when you can't even get a pint of milk, what do they expect.

11.  Sergio in the sales office is still as goregous as the last time I stared, go and enjoy ladies.

I'll take your questions now , one at a time please.

Ali

Hi Ali,

Glad you had a good time.......

One question......when you say the golf is ready to play.........are there flags on the greens now, T-Box blocks (white, red, yellow ect) out, Yardage signs on tees etc?

Disapointing feedback about the Supermarket.  It was spot on during the summer & in September - hopefully the drop off was just a seasonal thing

Any sign of water meter connections on the Penthouses yet?

Cheers for now

Nick

Thanks Ali, are these the big villa's by the golf suites? if so I thought there was a reason they finished that road off around there.

Dan

Hello Ali- point 10 of your report. When you say the supermarket is empty do you mean hardly any customers or do you mean they have reduced the stock? Is that why you say they have no milk?

It is good to read that PW have made a decision to build the villa's- would they be to the right of the Jardines entrance gate?

Also good to read that some of the units in Al Kasar are going to be in use before too long- it will look even better when that happens and not seem such a vacuous space.

Now we have decided to rent the family apartments as holiday lets we are very much hoping that the opening of the golf course is going to give rental a boost. But, the supermarket is a 'must have' for rental so its a pity if that winds down for off season. Its been a hard decison to move into holiday lets as we wanted ours to be just our own but with other family apartments on the resort its unlikely we wouldnt be able to stay at any time. and semi retirement is a few years off yet. When we looked at how many weeks some of us would actually be using them it eventually made sense to us- however its been a difficult decision and one reason for my long solitary walks around the golf course during our last visit. But  we know now that we are less likely to use the apartments in the July/ August period for a proper holiday ( mini breaks more likely ) and they are the peak rental months. Its a bit less expensive to travel off peak and less busy (if CdA takes off as a rental resort) then too.

But with all the additonal pieces of information on this thread, plus I have read that PW have shed 400 million euro's of debt by passing over properties to creditors, I am much more reassured about our decision to purchase. Apparently PW have actually given  some smaller sub contractors properties on CdA in leu of payment-  all of which which puts them in a much better position than the last twelve months and signifies potential continued development.

According to another thread we have also saved a few bob by not getting a modem yet as they still havent got areanet working and wont be talking on new clients until thats sorted. Just hoping they do tighten up on the security and also on enforcing a few of the community rules to reduce damage and unacceptable disturbances as these things have a big impact on the rental and residential community.

On the whole, really pleased with what I'm reading.

Hi Nick, Dan & Tony

Simon here. 

The golf course isn't marked out with anything yet in terms of flags yardage markers etc, but I guess this wouldn't take too long to do, apart from this the course is just about there.  I think I'll try and get a morning tee time though, wouldn't fancy playing in the afternoon with that wind blowing down holes 4 & 5.  Having read Bilbo's post about the course update, I would totally agree with his comments - if you go off course, it is pretty terrible.  Some of the course i.e. down the side of hole 1 looks o.k. where the tumbleweed has been removed, but in front of all of the penthouses it is still there in great abundance, with also not much work done in the expanse of ground between the 11th now the 17th green and the 12th now 18th fairway.  Also the dumping ground in the middle of the course is still there, with no signs of it being removed.  When I spoke to Sergio, (Ali was just drooling at this point) he said the same as to Bilbo, that the course will open as planned and the landscaping will then carry on from for the next 6 months or so.  I have no doubts that over the next 6-12 months we wil have one of the best courses in Spain but at the minute it certainly is not what i would describe as a Signature course, and as was mentioned by somebody any opening ceremony photgraphs will have to be carefully edited.

It was me that went into the supermarket, and it was well stocked with things you probably didn't need everyday e.g toiletries etc, but for everyday essentials mlk, bread cold meat etc, it was poor.  I hope it was just down to the fact it was a bank holiday on the Monday, and they hadn't had their delivery in yet.  I guess only time will tell.

Dan, with regard to the Villas that are being built, these are the ones down by the Golf Suites, and that so far 10 have been planned to be built.

No sign of water meters on Narnjos yet, and when I spoke to Victoria in the RPM office, she had no idea when they would be put in, she just advised me to make sure I had enough money in my account to cover the connection fee.  I guess Terry and Jill etc will keep us posted on this. 

Cheers

Simon

Thanks Simon, flying out on Thursday for 10 days so looking forward to seeing the progress.

Dan

Hi Simon, Ali,

Yes, a bit concerning that here we are two week's on since we were there last and you are reporting the same status with little or no movement in those off-course areas. I can't honestly think of anywhere ever I have played a golf course with the areas off  the fairways like we see at Condado. This includes my early forays into golf at many of the local municipal courses where I first 'cut my golfing teeth'. You also wonder why, when the opening date has been getting touted as Q3-2009 for some time now they only just start working on a golf pro' shop in late October. We have known the official clubhouse was not being built for an eternity now, so how does everything end up 'last-minute-dot-com' !!

Since the supermarket opened, never had any issues with lack of stock - I would think (hope) that it was down entirely to the bank holiday as you say.

I hope you managed to wipe up the 'slaver trail'  OK that Ali left behind when you paid a visit to Sergio at sales office. Would not want a claim going in for anyone who slipped and caused an injury to themselves .

You can be sure latest photo's of action as it happens will be posted by Terry & Jill - fab' source of information. Why don't you offer RPM some coaching Terry / Jill  .

Regards,

What i find strange is that seeing the latest pictures from Terrazas de la torre (fotothis.com), all the plants on their golf course are much more established that Condado.  The wild grasses on there look really good but seeing as ours is suppose to be the signature course and the best with PW, then you think that all the mature planting would be on Condado.  Looking at the pics i think Terrazas will be a better looking course than ours for a good few years to come.

Another minor irritation on our course (could become major) is that all the teeing areas are quite small and when the course becomes busy these areas will get badly damaged, expecially on the par 3's.  Most of the other courses in our network have lovely big teeing areas so the greenkeepers have plenty of flexibility in moving the tee markers around to avoid wear and tear and keep the course looking great.

Any thoughts?

Phil,

 A couple of thoughts......

Although the Tee boxes are individually quite small, there are more of them on Condado than most courses.  So I can see them giving certain boxes a 'rest' by using others on a particulalr hole.

In addition, I cannot remember ever seeing a worn T-Box in Spain.  The climate & waterring system tend to protect them more I think.  A bit different than the winter league 'goal mouths' that we are use to here anyway.....

Nick 

I agree.

Another reason the tees are so small is our par 3's are all well over 200yds, your hardley going to take much of a divot then ........ are you?

I'm also guessing there could be a maximum handicap, who know's.

Hi

Just seen this thread, I thought it was only me who was more than a wee bit concerned about the desert areas on the course. Let me be clear, I'm no golfer , just not my game. But......... living in Scotland with courses in abundance, with in-laws and friends who live for the sport, I've seen a few courses and plenty of club houses to know what a course looks like.

I came back on Friday from CDA and walked the pram around the course most afternoons. I would then come back in and have a moan about the lack of planting, overgrown weeds, failed trees and plants, seemingly large expanse of desert areas etc etc. My wife would laugh and ask as a non- golfer how could I have any qualified opinion?

Glad to see to I wasnt that far off the mark. I hope for all you golfers that you do indeed end up with a course that you proud to be associated with

Hi all Just back yesterday and was very impressed by golf course.Layout of holes magnificent.The desert area are part of the effect that the designers are trying to achieve.Im told the Spanish Open will be here in 5 years.I wouldnt be surprised. If anyone is looking for any assistance with golf I have just set up a new golf trip company to cover the murcia area.We will be specialising in quality golf courses and will include transfers to and from the best course in the region. The company is called A1 Golf(Murcia)Limited and if anyone needs any assistance I am .I am a resident in Los Naranjos N296.

Hope you enjoyed the stroll bobby. No doubting layout is class. I'm sure we are all looking forward to playing.

Bone of contention is 'Desert effect' ............NOT.............. 'Dump effect'.

Regards,

Hi All,

I think we all know that this course and indeed this development, will surpass many many many others.  Both on and off the golf course.  Just be patient my children, it will all come together.

Sorry for the pause then.  There was a knock at the door.  But it was just Ali's tongue.  Simon!  She's thinking about Sergio again!

Oh, a piece of information for Ali.  Sergios brother played for Murcia, but now plays for Juventus!! True

The whole valley is dry and not spoilt with lushes vegetation. Don't yo think there is a reason for it? Do you expect an oasis in 1-2 years? Not me?  from the word go it was said that the golf course would be in line with the surroundings, well that is dessert like between Alhama/Totana and Mazarron.

Can you actually remember what the landscape was like 3 years ago? Its come a long way under difficult conditions for certain vegetation.

So plants will struggle to flourish, and some will not survive the move from nurseries to this barron landscape.

Sure there is room for improvement and it will certainly come, wait 2 years and you will be pleased.

Now stop going on about the landscaping, you didn't buy a property in the black forrest!!

Marius,

I know exactly where I bought into and am well familiar with the suroundings which are certainly not a forest in any way, shape or form, nor did I expect it to be. Unless you have been walking/driving round with blinkers on, you may well have noticed that there is a vey considerable amount of agricultural land around with fruit trees and crops growing. I always though you needed good quality  soil to get a prosperous yield.

You don't have to be Alan Titchmarsh to know that when you plant sapling trees, shrubs, foliage, you have to give them a decent chance of survival by giving the roots somewhere to get established. So this includes improving the soil, watering plants and helping them on their way to maturity. I consider the planting that has been carried out at CDA to be a huge waste of money, as these dead specimens all have to be pulled out and started again. Someone has to pay for the labour and replacements. |Who do you think that will be....us !! There are many plants native to the area that survive on very little water which could, and should have adorned CDA golf course. Take a drive into Isla Plana or the likes and have a look at the range of Cacti, which both flower and provide greenery.

Dont' know whether you remember actually that when Polaris rolled all this out to us it was championed as being a wonderful place full of open green spaces etc, etc - golf course included. I can supply you with the brochures if you have mislaid yours.

You may well want to settle for second rate, unfinished landscaping for 2 or more years but I personally do not. I would have bought into the side of the hill on the redundant mine workings on the way into Mazarron if it was an unfertile desert I was looking for. I think you need to take those blinkers off and just take a little tour round the region's new golf courses to see what can be achieved at the time the course OPENS, not two years afterwards. It's called the 'Florida effect'.

Regards,

This message was last edited by Billbo on 20/10/2009.

Not surprised that we are about to see the trees replaced for the second time. I watched them being planted and they were put in with the roots wrapped up in a bag, no fertile soil was put in the hole and then the watering system didnt work. Never seen the young man since who was in charge of the planting.

Good news - tumbleweeds removed from front of penthouses this morning so lets hope they put proper plants in shortly for the aesthetic appearance we were promised and the water them this time. All the little exotic grasses planted last November are still that - little!

But I am sure they will get it right eventually, as the fairways and greens now look great and I couldn't imagine that 3 months ago.

Barry

Not surprised that we are about to see the trees replaced for the second time. I watched them being planted and they were put in with the roots wrapped up in a bag, no fertile soil was put in the hole and then the watering system didnt work. Never seen the young man since who was in charge of the planting.

Good news - tumbleweeds removed from front of penthouses this morning so lets hope they put proper plants in shortly for the aesthetic appearance we were promised and the water them this time. All the little exotic grasses planted last November are still that - little!

But I am sure they will get it right eventually, as the fairways and greens now look great and I couldn't imagine that 3 months ago.

Barry

can you give any update on the driving range completion and how that is going to be finally look like????

can you give any update on the driving range completion and how that is going to be finally look like????