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Rupert Hubbard, general manager of The Gecko Pro Tour

“WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE ATTRACTED A LARGE NUMBER OF TOP PROFESSIONALS TO OUR TOUR”

After four editions, The Gecko Pro Tour has become Spain’s most important golf circuit for professionals. Last season it comprised 16 tournaments. Gabriel Cañizares won the grand finale at La Reserva de Sotogrande, while Jordi García del Moral was the overall leader of The Gecko Pro Tour.

Rupert Hubbard, managing director of the circuit, says he is extremely satisfied with his “baby” – which is due to resume action this autumn, on the Costa del Sol.

How did the idea of creating The Gecko Pro Tour arise?

The origins of The Gecko Pro Tour date back to early 2011 when the idea of developing a winter golf tour on the Costa del Sol was first conceived. With the combination of great weather – whilst most of Europe is \"closed for business\" – and superb golf courses it seemed a risk worth taking. Clearly if players are fortunate to have wealthy parents or sponsors, there are multiple opportunities available in winter in other countries for them to play competitive golf. These would include Florida, South Africa, Asia, Australia or Latin America but as we know, for the vast majority of professionals and aspiring amateurs, this is simply not the case. As we all know, southern Spain offers certain unique advantages that few locations can compete with: i.e. a major airport (Málaga) served by many low-cost airlines, very affordable accommodation, together with a large number of wonderful golf courses.... not to forget The Gecko Pro Tour, which offers highly competitive tournaments that attract multinational fields!

How would you assess the first four years of the Tour?

Without exaggeration, each year has seen a significant improvement in terms of field size as well as quality of the players we are able to attract. The 2014/15 season saw a 15 per cent increase in player numbers compared with the previous year, which was 25 per cent higher than in 2012/13. This year we were also fortunate to welcome 12 players from the Challenge Tour and European Tour who competed in several events between January and the beginning of March before leaving for their first tournament held in Europe (Madeira Islands Open/Portugal). Based on their feedback, we are optimistic that this trend will continue and that in addition we will be able to attract ever greater numbers of players from Scandinavia, the UK and Germany, who represent our core nationalities after Spain.

Another example of our success is evident from the huge media following we enjoy. Our regular press releases are sent to more than 150 journalists across Spain and northern Europe and each of is events are covered by Canal+ Golf, Radio Marca and almost all of the major sports media (both print and digital) across a large geography. We are also in the early stages of discussion with Sky Sports in order to satisfy our following in the UK and Ireland. The fact that one of their sister companies – SkyBet – follows our tournaments augurs well for these discussions.

Nowadays it is increasingly difficult to find sponsors and the few tours that were in Spain have disappeared. Therefore, can you explain how The Gecko Pro Tour is still here and appears to be doing well?

It has certainly been a surprise to us how apathetic companies are in Spain towards golf sponsorship. Although there appears to be plenty of money available for certain other sports – e.g. Formula 1, football, yacht racing, cycling, basketball, etc. – for some reason golf has been forgotten. For me personally, I am saddened to see so many highly talented young players in Spain who are simply unable to continue \"chasing their dream\" due to a lack of financial support. What a sad waste! Clearly, the tax regime in Spain does not help but there must be other reasons.

As for The Gecko Pro Tour, we have been fortunate until now to have the personal funds to continue but there has to be a limit. As the eternal optimist, I am confident we are developing an exciting brand that will ultimately attract sponsors which in turn will enable us to grow the tour but I must admit it is extremely tough, especially with the heavy burden of a 21 per cent rate of IVA (VAT). Our other financial challenge is the cost of green fees. Unlike similar tours in the north of Europe who secure golf courses for free, we unfortunately have to pay. Therefore, as the European economies improve – leading to increases in golf tourism, which is obviously welcome news for Andalucía - it makes it that much more difficult for us to find good courses at an affordable price.

Can you reveal any details about your plans for next season?

We will be issuing a press release next month to unveil a number of changes we intend to make next season but I am happy to share some of the details. Although our current website attracts more than 50,000 visits per month during our season, we will releasing an entirely new website in May that will incorporate many of the recommendations and ideas we have received from players, potential sponsors and other followers of the tour. In addition, we will be introducing a new company logo which will sadly see the demise of our cartoon character. As regards the events we plan to host, we intend to hold a Pro-Am Series throughout the season that will benefit our chosen charity, the Ernie Els Foundation-Els for Autism. Finally, the tour schedule itself promises to be our best ever, with many of the top courses returning once again to our calendar. I am convinced that, when combined with an exciting new membership programme, all the ingredients will then be in place to ensure a successful 2015/16 season.

Gabriel Cañizares, Carlos Rodiles and Jordi Garcia del Moral are among the internationally renowned players to have played on The Gecko Pro Tour (all have European Tour experience). Do you expect to be able to attract such high quality players next season?

We are proud to have attracted a large number of top professionals to our tour. If you look at our website, we show a Hall of Fame that details an impressive list of individuals who have played our tour at some stage and have then successfully progressed to the Challenge Tour and/or European Tour. Although too long to list, they include, in addition to the names you have highlighted, Pablo Martín Benavides, Alejandro Cañizares, Estanislao Goya, Andy Sullivan, Callum Shinkwin, Nicolas Vanhootegem, Tim Sluiter, Eddie Pepperell, Chris Hanson, etc. So, yes, we are confident that we will be able to continue attracting high quality players next season from across Europe. Competition against strong opposition is good for developing the home-grown talent from Spain and obviously good for the image of The Gecko Pro Tour.

What are the difficulties you believe professional players face in Spain?

In my humble opinion, there are two main difficulties or hurdles. The first is quite simply financial. As I said earlier, the lack of sponsorship in Spain is driving many local players to either stop playing or importantly doesn\'t permit them the freedom to test their true potential since they simply don\'t have the funds. Although we have historically tried to keep our prices down (I should add we are cheaper than most other tours), we are nevertheless conscious that €250 or €300 is too high for many of the talented Spanish players who might otherwise wish to play on our tour.

The second is also related in some ways to financial considerations. A player will not develop his/her talent by playing week-in week-out on their home course, competing against the same amateur members whenever there is a club tournament. To develop one\'s talent, it is indispensable that a player can experience other courses and different conditions while holding a scorecard when playing in a field against better players. Without support, this opportunity is not available to most players.

How do you see the future for The Gecko Pro Tour in the short and medium term?

We look forward with optimism to the future. Nothing can or will be taken for granted and we must maintain and indeed constantly look to improve our high standards of professionalism and operational excellence in the way we host our events. We have a great team in place and hopefully our new format will ensure we continue to attract large fields and an ever-increasing number of seasoned professionals.  While we are extremely keen to increase prize funds each year, it is unfortunately not possible at this time given the current IVA tax regime and the scarcity of financial sponsors. Hopefully the regional government of Andalucía will be successful in convincing the national government to reduce the IVA rate for golf in the not too distant future.

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The Gecko Tour

The Gecko Tour has for the last six years strived to provide a platform from which young golfers can forge their way in the uncompromising and tough world of professional golf. So when we met with Golfing4Life, it was like a breath of fresh air and a kindred spirit that shared our ethos and desire to help those that needed it most.

We have a minimum of 18 events each winter that attract young professionals and elite amateurs from all over the globe to compete on La Costa del Sol’s finest golf courses. It is our pleasure to announce that any member of The Golfing4Life family is a member of The Gecko Tour for our season 2017/8.

Dan Aldridge wins on Gecko Winter Pro Tour

A thrilling birdie on the first hole of a play-off gave Dan Aldridge victory over Denmark's Lasse Jensen in the latest tournament of the inaugural Gecko Winter Pro Tour at La Cañada in Cádiz

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A thrilling birdie on the first hole of a play-off gave Dan Aldridge victory over Denmark's Lasse Jensen in the latest tournament of the inaugural Gecko Winter Pro Tour at La Cañada in Cádiz.

Twenty-three-year old Aldridge picked up €3,000 for the victory, his first of the season.

Aldridge went from a complete beginner to a +2 handicap in just five years and turned pro four years ago.

"If the Tour [ Gecko Tour ] didn't exist I would have no winter competition and I would still be working in an office.

"I'm preparing for the Euro Pro Tour Q-school in April and this Tour gives me great competition. I intend to play all the remaining events.

"The top three in the order of merit also get their entry fees paid for the Q-school of the main European Tour.

"It's a great incentive and a platform to launch the next stage in my career. The prize money is good and it's nice to know you are playing for a guaranteed first prize of €3,000 every week."

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For further details please go to geckoprotour.com

Meanwhile, there was some consolation for Jensen who triumphed in a play-off the previous week at Finca Cortesín.

Golf Tour news

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Golf Monthly have just taken a dip into the world of the iphone/ipad generation with their new instruction app. Top 25 Coach Gary Smith takes you through his short game drills and routines, to improve your bunker, chipping, pitching, with a few extras thrown in. Presented by Gary Smith, renowned short game guru, the app is free to download for which you get four videos covering all the main areas of instruction. There are a number of in app purchase options which give you access to around 60 minutes of further content To download the app go itunes.apple.com/us/app/golf-monthly-gary-smith-short/id394370957?mt=8

Gecko Euro Pro Tour Launches its 2011 debut season schedule

Holiday Golf

Holiday golf – agreement with the gecko pro tour to expose the latest golf products.

January 25, 2015 – The company Holiday Golf , leader in the distribution of international prestige brands to the golf industry, and The Gecko Pro Tour , the professional golf tour for the Winter season in Costa del Sol (Spain), have reached an agreement of collaboration.

Under this agreement Holiday Golf , which in addition to its significant presence in Spain serves an ever-increasing number of major clients in Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Tunisia, Bulgaria and Andorra, the experienced professionals of the Spanish company will be present at The Gecko Pro Tour events to display their golf products and merchandise to the Tour players, visitors, as well as club members of the tournament venues. Their approach will be to expose the latest fashion in apparel, golf balls, shoes and accessories, while working in tandem with the pro shops at each club, in order to help them generate additional revenue.

Among the impressive prestigious brands that Holiday Golf currently represents can be found: Ecco, Garmin, Bridgestone Golf, Glenmuir, Sunderland of Scotland, Daily Sports, Golfino, Precept, Par Gate rangefinders, Ogio, AUR Golf, Lorente, Bettinardi Golf and Golfbuddy .

The Gecko Pro Tour organizers has expressed gratitude to Stefan Tjellander , Director of Holiday Golf, and his team at the company for demonstrating their confidence in this Tour, hoping that with this agreement will be the start of a long-term relationship between the two businesses companies.

Pictures: Rafacabrera.com

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The Gecko pro Tour - Parador de málaga golf - 13/14 Nov - English subtitles

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****** (Emitido en Canal Golf) Cuarta prueba del cirucuito The Gecko Pro Tour, celebrada los días 13 y 14 de noviembre en Parador de Má... ...

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