The nominees for 59club’s European Service Excellence Awards have today been announced, with many of the Leading Golf & Hospitality Properties across Europe making the shortlist. The winners will be unveiled during the third edition of the prestigious awards ceremony, at Terre Blanche on Thursday 5th of March 2026.
59club’s prestigious accolades honour outstanding Venues, Teams, and Individuals in the global golf & hospitality industry consistently delivering exceptional customer experiences for members and guests.
The selection process remains unbiased, relying on scores attained through an in-depth and objective mystery shopping program. This program meticulously evaluates the experiences provided to members, visitors, and potential members across Golf, Greenkeeping, Retail, and F&B operations.
Highlighting Excellence in Service
This year, Europe’s top golf resorts and member clubs have once again earned multiple nominations. Among the frontrunners, Camiral, Old Course Vilamoura, Costa Navarino & Terre Blanche have achieved notable recognition for their dedication to delivering world-class service. Other celebrated venues, such as Great Northern, Arabella Golf, Marco Simone Golf & Country Club and Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech, stand out for their contributions to the industry and their commitment to elevating the customer experience.
The awards will also honour individual excellence, recognizing the best Food & Beverage Managers, Retail Managers, Greenkeepers, Golf Operations Teams, and Golf Managers of the year. Furthermore, the ceremony will spotlight the most improved venues year-on-year across Europe South, West, Central and Nordic regions.
Starting in 2026, we are streamlining our Awards with a single hierarchy: every regional winner now becomes an automatic finalist for the main European title, alongside a new category rewarding the “Most Improved” venues of the year.
A Night to Celebrate
The glittering award ceremony, which is supported by 59club’s Industry Partners will conclude with the presentation of the 59club Bronze, Silver and Gold Flag awards to the Clubs which have demonstrated distinction against criteria for both customer service delivery and the quality of their facilities.
Simon Wordsworth, CEO of 59club, expressed his excitement ahead of the event:
“The Service Excellence Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the incredible achievements of our clients and their teams. It is inspiring to see how these venues continue to set the standard for excellence in our industry. We look forward to sharing in their success and supporting them on their journey to even greater heights.”
*For the full list of nominations, see below.
59CLUB EUROPE ‘SERVICE EXCELLENCE’ AWARD NOMINATIONS (in alphabetical order):
Food & Beverage Manager of the Year:
Europe South
Eurico Goes (Laguna Vilamoura);
Paulo Estevão (Old Course Vilamoura);
Marta Castells (Camiral);
Panos Aspridis (Costa Navarino);
Pascual Lopez (Son Muntaner – Arabella Golf);
Stefano Bortolotti (Son Servera)
Europe West & North Africa
Audrey Nicol (Golf de la Grande Bastide);
Christophe Rackin (Terre Blanche Resort);
Paul Rivet (Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech);
Pierre Millet (Golf de Seignosse);
Romain Dettori (Golf Bastide de la Salette);
Rutger Smits (The Dutch)
Europe Nordic & Central
Christian Guzy Jr. (Diamond Country Club);
Emil Elvstrand (Kristianstads Golfklubb & Destination);
Hakan Demirtas (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot);
Heidi Lauenborg (Esbjerg Golfklub);
Kersti Kuus (Estonian Golf & Country Club);
Niklas Nerman (Ljunghusens Golfklubb);
Per Krarup (The Scandinavian);
Steinar Bredal-Thorsen (Miklagard Golf)
Retail Manager of the Year:
Europe South
Ana Rita (Old Course Vilamoura);
Antonia Christopoulou (Costa Navarino);
Carmen Laguna Aguilar (Son Vida – Arabella Golf);
Claudia Diogo (Millennium Vilamoura);
Frank Schossig (Golf de Andratx);
Raffaella Giurelli (Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)
Europe West & North Africa
Cécile Crignola (Golf de Roquebrune);
Cécile Pala (Terre Blanche);
Florent Honoré (Golf de la Grande Bastide);
Linda Ourbiah (Golf des Yvelines);
Marie-Laure Petitpez (Golf de Servanes);
Sabine Daval (Le Golf National)
Europe Nordic & Central
Claus Eliasen (Stensballegaard Golf);
Emil Lindvig (The Scandinavian);
Fredrik Theander (Ljunghusens Golfklubb);
Jacob Pedersen (Great Northern);
Kirke Kotsar (Estonian Golf & Country Club);
Moritz Lampert (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot);
Morten Mouritsen (Esbjerg Golfklub)
Greenkeeper of the Year:
Europe South
Alexandra Belchior (Pinhal Vilamoura);
Alfredo Alvarez (Camiral);
David Blair (PGA Aphrodite Hills);
João Goulão (Old Course Vilamoura);
Scott McLean (Quinta do Lago);
Victor Wood Escutia (Marco Simone Golf & Country Club)
Europe West & North Africa
Adrien Petrocelli (Evian Resort);
Cédric Le Véziel (Le Touquet Golf Resort);
Maxime Ciclet (Golf Club Esery);
Paul O Donoghue (The Dutch);
Philippe Burgeat (Terre Blanche Resort);
Raphaël Toujas (Golf de Chiberta)
Europe Nordic & Central
Bevan Tattersall (Kristianstads Golfklubb & Destination);
Daniel Lüttger (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot);
Kristian Jensen (Great Northern);
Markus Suojoki (Pickala Golf);
Russell Anderson (The Scandinavian);
Spencer Opstrup Lloyd-Pye (Lübker Golf & Spa Resort);
Teemu Lehtimäki (Nokia River Golf)
Golf Operations Team of the Year:
Europe South
Camiral;
Club de Golf Alcanada;
Costa Navarino;
Finca Cortesin;
Laguna Vilamoura;
Millennium Vilamoura;
Old Course Vilamoura;
Palmares
Europe West & North Africa
Evian Resort;
Golf de Roquebrune;
Golf de Seignosse;
Le Golf National;
Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech;
Terre Blanche
Europe Nordic & Central
Diamond Country Club;
Estonian Golf & Country Club;
Golf Club St. Leon-Rot;
Great Northern;
Ljunghusens Golfklubb;
The Scandinavian
Golf Manager of the Year:
Europe South
Alvaro Afonso (Laguna Vilamoura);
David Ashington (Costa Navarino);
Flavio Papa (Camiral);
José Ignacio Olea Zorita (Finca Cortesin);
Kristoff Both (Club de Golf Alcanada);
Ricardo Lopes (Old Course Vilamoura)
Europe West & North Africa
Charles Debruyne (Le Touquet Golf Resort);
Karine Labarrère (Golf de Seignosse);
Lionel Gardes-Bus (Terre Blanche);
Magali Decurninges (Evian Resort);
Phil Helsby (The Dutch);
Philippe Pilato (Le Golf National)
Europe Nordic & Central
Carl-Henrik Dahlqvist (Kristianstads Golfklubb & Destination);
Christian Tage Nyvang Hansen (The Scandinavian);
Hanno Kross (Estonian Golf & Country Club);
Janne Pelkonen (Pickala Golf);
Johan Kristensen (Great Northern);
Moritz Lampert (Golf Club St. Leon-Rot)
Most Improved Venues
Europe South
La Cala Resort;
Marco Simone Golf & Country Club;
Millennium Vilamoura;
Palmares;
PGA Aroeira;
Son Quint – Arabella Golf
Europe West & North Africa
Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech;
Golf de la Grande Bastide;
Golf de Seignosse
Europe Nordic & Central
Estonian Golf & Country Club;
Great Northern;
Lyngbygaard Golf;
Miklagard Golf;
Nokia River Golf;
Stensballegaard Golf