Can we retrace the main stages in the history of the Club?
"The Lugano Golf Club was born in 1923 in Magliaso as a gesture of love by Erwin von Riedermann towards his wife Josefa, golf champion. After their transfer from Germany to Ticino, in fact, he decided to found a golf course where his wife could continue practicing her favorite sport. It was the first camp in Ticino and one of the first in Switzerland. Designed as a 9-hole course by Percy Dell, it was technically demanding and immediately became a meeting point for golf enthusiasts and professionals from Switzerland and abroad, particularly Germany and England. Thanks to the skill of the well-known golf course architect Donald Harradine, in 1970 the course was expanded from 9 to 18 holes: a small miracle since the land on which it stands is only 32 hectares, while modern courses occupy about fifty. The modernization works of the course have recently been completed, entrusted to the architect Peter Harradine, son of Donald, who has standardized the holes, making the course that winds along the Magliasina river more modern and harmonious. Today the course is a green lung in the center of Magliaso, full of birches, oaks, pines, rhododendrons, oleanders and azaleas, among which you can meet many squirrels and also a splendid heron, which often flies between the lakes of holes 10 and 11. The new committee has been in office since June which will lead the Golf Club towards the milestone of 100 years of existence, celebrated in 2023 ».
What are the main objectives that the new committee intends to pursue?
«First of all, I express my heartfelt thanks to the previous committees who have traced a path towards the future with passion and a spirit of service. Thanks to their efforts, today we have a solid foundation to work on. The priorities on which we intend to focus are in particular hospitality, transparency and communication. We are a committee made up of people with complementary skills and experiences such as to be able to share a vision to guide the Lugano Golf Club beyond its centenary of life. Together with Michele Clerici, Gabriela Cotti Musio, Maya Haug, Marco Perucchi, Marco Puffi and Pietro Vicari we have taken steps to coordinate and fulfill, as far as possible, the requests of the various categories of members, sponsors, golfers, collaborators, authorities, associations. and other interest groups. The key is management from an entrepreneurial perspective, with the aim of continuously improving and satisfying different needs. In Switzerland there are about 90 golf players, an important number, on whom we want to channel part of our efforts, making our club better known as a golf destination, in support of the efforts of the Ticino tourism sector ».
What news should we therefore expect for the next few months?
«The priorities on which we intend to concentrate are in particular the improvement of reception spaces and services for members. Communication is of great importance to us. We immediately activated our presence on social networks, Facebook and Instagram in particular, also to make our Club and its initiatives even better known. The committee is already working to continue to propose new forms of association that are more affordable and less demanding than in the past, safeguarding the members who have contributed up to now to financially support the Club and who still represent the basis on which the foundations of our Golf rest. . Furthermore, we want to offer opportunities for play and competition for all levels of players, from the most competitive to the most relaxed, trying to keep the spirit of friendship and conviviality that is the basis of this sport as a common denominator. We will also work to integrate even better with the tourism fabric of the region, developing synergies and proposals of common interest ».
