Oz in Spain

Lumine Golf on the Costa Daurada

A pronounced sense of optimism prevailed at the 16th edition of the International Golf Travel Market, held on Spain’s Costa Daurada in November.

In his keynote address to the IGTM – considered the premier global event for golf tourism – Peter Walton, chief executive of the IAGTO (International Association of Golf Tour Operators) presented positive findings from his organisation’s “Global Golf Tourism Report 2013”, highlighting a 9.3 per cent growth in global golf tour operator sales in 2012 compared with 2011. […]

Finca Cortesín… hat-trick of Volvo World Match Play Championships

Spain’s premier website for travelling golfers is now officially an “adult”. Founded in 1995 in the Costa del Sol town of Fuengirola, when the internet was a long way off from becoming the phenomenon it is today, GolfinSpain reached its legal age in 2013. Over the past 18 years the portal has become an online pacesetter (leader in traffic for “golf in Spain” at an international level) and a reference point for the Spanish golf tour operator market. […]

It is now 60 years since Seat’s first car rolled off the assembly line at the company’s Zona Franca factory in Barcelona. On 13 November 1953, the 1400 – “an elegant and luxurious saloon designed in the spirit of the most popular American sedans of the ’50s” – went on sale for 121,875 pesetas (the equivalent of €41,735 today).

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Top courses: iconic Valderrama

It would have been a shock to learn otherwise but Spain has been suffering something of a battering in recent years on various well-documented fronts. On this occasion, however, no unpleasant surprises: according to a new study of European golfers, the country maintains its supremacy as the most popular travel destination for visitors from the UK, France, Germany and Scandinavia.

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We might have lost the Ashes, as well as our cherished sports mojo in countless other arenas, and we even voted for a prime minister who favours budgie smugglers for beach attire… but at least we still have something to celebrate. The blobfish, rather unkindly described as resembling “a grumpy and obese old man with a bulbous nose”, has been voted the world’s ugliest animal.

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Singer-songwriter supremo JJ Cale, one of the originators of the “Tulsa sound” (a genre influenced by blues, jazz, country, folk and rockabilly), has died in California aged 74 after suffering a heart attack. Apart from his own memorably laidback albums, he wrote timeless masterpieces covered by other top musicians, including  “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” by Eric Clapton, and “Call Me The Breeze” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Johnny Cash.

For Australian visitors to the 1992 Expo in Sevilla, the Kangaroo Pub became an iconic meeting point, not to mention an excellent haven from the summer heat to enjoy a chilled beer.

As the most popular watering hole at the universal exhibition – for both local Spaniards and international visitors – it also became an eminently sociable and convivial focus of cultural interaction. […]

(Photo: Getty Images)

Barely five months ago, Miguel Ángel Jiménez was laid up in a hospital bed recovering from an operation to his tibia, which he had broken in a skiing accident in Sierra Nevada. Now, in just his second tournament appearance since putting the crutches aside (he missed the cut in the Spanish Open in El Saler in April), the European Tour’s oldest winner produced a remarkable performance to close birdie-eagle at the daunting Wentworth course and finish joint fourth (with overnight leader Alejandro Cañizares) in the flagship BMW PGA Championship.

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Summer Chic at Nikki Beach

Nikki Beach’s 10th anniversary celebrations in Marbella officially begin with the über-glamorous White Party on 30 May. Already opened to the public in April, Nikki Beach Marbella’s plush seaside setting of all-white beach sun beds and chic drapery includes a large outdoor restaurant, centrally located octagon-shaped bar, Lifestyle Boutique with items including Nikki Beach-branded and designer clothing, swimwear and cover-ups, indoor-outdoor VIP area (with elevated lounge area and stunning views of the Mediterranean) and spa area by the beach.

The lunch and dinner menu features signature tastes and spices that are representative of all the countries where Nikki Beach is located, including delicious salads, creative sushi rolls, original seafood entrees and slow-roasted free-range rotisserie chicken.

Nikki Beach Mallorca, which was inaugurated last year, is now also open for the new season, with its White Party to be held on 6 June.

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Finland led the way, with Australia ranked 10th, in Save the Children’s annual report on the “State of the World’s Mothers”.