Brendan Breen takes the helm of Abama Golf, one of the top courses in Spain. We were delighted to sit down with him and learn more about his plans for the future of this spectacular complex.
Tell us a bit about your golf background and why Abama is a good fit for you.
I was very fortunate to be offered a position as a marketing consultant for an Irish golf hotel on Tenerife over 25 years ago. Since then, I have worked with three hotels and three golf courses: Tecina Golf, Golf Las Americas and now Abama Golf. There is no doubt that Abama Golf is the best golf course in the Canary Islands and I am very proud to be part of the team.
Abama’s Dave Thomas-designed golf course is revered for being both challenging and beautiful. What do you see as the most attractive aspects of golf at Abama?
Irrespective of whether the clients are low- or high-handicap players, this course provides a true test of golfing skill. It is, without a doubt, a design masterpiece, where one will have to use every club in the bag to master the course. Whether you struggle or play well, you also have the added bonus of enjoying the magnificent views over the course to the Atlantic Ocean and the island of La Gomera.
With a place already secured at the top of the Tenerife golf course lists, what improvements do you hope to make to the Abama golf experience?
It is clear that there is a good team of people working here, and one of our main collective objectives will be to ensure that our clients’ experience playing Abama Golf is very satisfying. Customer service is an extremely important part of any business and it is an area on which I will be focused.
The Royal Spanish Golf Federation has recently released a report saying that golf directly and indirectly contributes 750 million Euros annually in added value to Spanish real estate. What do you think our course offers to the luxury property community at Abama?
There are plenty of examples in Europe over the past 20 years of where poorly designed or poorly maintained golf courses have had a negative effect on property sales and property values in their surrounding areas. On the flipside, a well-designed and highly maintained golf course will have a very positive effect on sales and property values in the vicinity.
In which ways will Abama golf directly engage with residents and guests of the resort?
Abama Golf was purpose-built with the residents and guests of the resort in mind. The objective was to create an exclusive golf resort for the owners and resort visitors to enjoy.
Kabuki, one of Abama’s Michelin-starred restaurants, has just made a big move to Abama’s clubhouse, which is sure to elevate the clubhouse profile tremendously. What do you think this change will bring to golf at Abama?
The opening of the Michelin-star Kabuki restaurant at The Casa Club of Abama Golf is wonderful news for all the clients who visit us throughout the year. Abama Kabuki opened in 2006, at The Ritz-Carlton, Abama hotel, and was awarded its first Michelin star in 2013 under the direction of Executive Chef Daniel Franco. In June, the restaurant relocated to the clubhouse at Abama Golf, and now offers larger premises, a brand new sushi bar, Kabuki cocktails, expanded menus and a private Kabuki Space where chef Daniel Franco crafts sushi into personalized dishes. The location of this Michelin-star restaurant at the Casa Club, open 6 nights a week, gives additional added value to the services of Abama Golf. And all within walking distance of the Abama residences! It's no surprise this is considered one of the best golf resorts in Europe.
