From forests to golf courses. From Malaga to the United States. From a PGA Championship to a Ryder Cup. The life of Lara Arias (Villaralbo, Zamora, 1990) does not stop going in circles, a roller coaster that she is enjoying until the last second. A historic Ryder Cup is being held at the Marco Simone Country Club for many reasons and the fundamental role entrusted to this forestry engineer converted to greenkeeper is one of them.
For the first time in the event's almost century-old history, a woman serves as head greenkeeper or superintendent, which is its official nomenclature. And it's not a small thing. There are few positions more important than this, responsible for the state of the course, in a golf tournament. “The superintendent is the person who handles all the maintenance on a golf course, who draws up a daily work plan, an agronomic plan and manages the maintenance team,” explains Arias herself, who takes a brief break in her work hour. eat in full preparation of Marco Simone to attend La Vanguardia.
His name even appeared during Thursday's inauguration ceremony. Both Zach Johnson, American captain, and Luke Donald, European captain, mentioned her and congratulated her on her work. It's all compliments for the state of the countryside, no matter how much it is prepared to make Americans uncomfortable. The state of the green is impressive and the Zamorana is one of the main responsible.
It is not the first Ryder for Arias, who already worked in the Paris edition in 2018 helping the superintendent, who on that occasion was her partner, Alejandro Reyes. “After Le Golf National, Alejandro founded his own agronomic consulting company and could not be at the Marco Simone 24 hours a day, so the offer they made to us was for Alejandro to act as a consultant several days a month and we had to put a fixed person in the field,” recalls Arias. And it was then that the figure of Lavinia Biagiotti, the owner of Marco Simone, appeared, fundamental in this entire story. “I was neither the first nor the second option for the position, there were very qualified people ahead of me but I think Lavinia was the one who chose me. She has always strongly defended the position of women and wanted to have one in office,” she points out.
The Ryder Cup dispute at the Marco Simone was in doubt for a long time. The complete remodeling of the course was not progressing and it was not at all clear that it would be completed in time to host the most important competition in golf in 2022, when it was initially scheduled. “There was a lot of talk about him not being prepared,” Arias recalls. The outbreak of Covid increased that uncertainty but it was then that the Ryder Cup organization and the DP World Tour sat down with the property and righted the situation.
Arias' days in recent weeks have been marathons. The alarm clock rings at 4 in the morning and she cannot return home until after nine at night. Everything so that the Marco Simone is impeccable, as is happening, and the first Ryder Cup on Italian territory goes down in history as a success. The course had been tested during the last Italian Open, in which Arias led a team of 35 volunteers, all greenkeepers. “At Ryder I have 100 volunteers, so there are area managers and they are the ones I communicate with, otherwise it would be impossible,” he warns. Aside from the enormous human team in charge of him, Arias also makes sure that all the machinery is ready and well distributed. And it is not small: 12 greens machines, 12 approach machines, 8 fairways and 6 tees.
But there is a key figure in Lara Arias's life who has not yet been mentioned. It is her dog Ryder, who has been with him since 2019, just after the Paris Ryder. “Before she had it, she already had the name assigned to her. He is an Australian Shepherd and has become a very important piece in Marco Simone. Everyone here knows him, even Luke Donald and Zach Johnson greet him. For me she has been a basic figure because when I arrived in 2020, in the middle of Covid, I spent 12 hours a day alone in the field working and she was my best companion,” she recalls, smiling.
This is Lara Arias, the woman who breaks molds and takes care of greens.
