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It may have been an inauspicious start to life in the Spanish capital, but it was one that was to introduce the youngster to the sport that would change his life.“ My uncle was caddying at a country club nearby and he suggested I go and make money by helping out on the tennis courts. The tennis courts were a further 2km walk from the golf course, which was already a 3km walk from where we lived. On the way on the first day, my grandmother and I passed someone playing golf. He told us that, by chance, he needed a caddy, so I stopped to help him,” Piñero recounts.
And so his golfing career began. He was also a talented footballer and nearly switched his allegiance to the game,“ but my father encouraged me to carry on with golf and at 16 I turned pro. I won my first tournament at 21,” he says.
Success followed as an international player, and Piñero has used the benefit of his experience of playing on the best courses around the world to design various golf courses of his own.“ I always think about the people who are going to play – the amateurs as much as the professionals,” he says.“ Often the best courses are those that were designed 70 to 100 years ago. New courses generally are too difficult for amateurs with too many large undulations. When designing a course, you need to think about the technique needed to play these holes and well as showing off the natural beauty of the terrain.”
His innate understanding of people, as much as golf, has also seen Piñero become a much-loved ambassador for La Reserva de Sotogrande, where he works with international clubs, has developed the golf clinic and is available for one-to-one training. As Captain of the men’ s team in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, he hosted famous names at La Reserva in April, including José María Olazabal and Sergio García, to celebrate the return of golf to the Games after 112 years.
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