Through the UGPM golf scholarships, two Spanish players joined the team in this 2022-23 season. A very satisfying gift for all the University Golf Program Malaga work team.

In this article, we want to introduce you to one of the players who, thanks to his merits, has obtained one of the two places offered by the UGPM scholarship program.

What is behind the UGPM golf scholarships?

Scholarship golf player

His name is David García Navalpotro, born on July 13, 2003, in the city of Soria (Castilla y León). With his 19 years of humility and work, David decided to study Economics at the University of Malaga, and now is part of the UGPM golf team.

In this intimate chat, he tells us all about his history with golf and what he’s been through since he got his place on the team.

We leave you here this beautiful story from Soria.

David, tell us… how is your family formed? who taught you golf? And when did you start practicing it?

I have my parents, who are divorced, and I have an older brother. We usually spend the summer with my mother and my brother, in a small town that has about 50 inhabitants. There is a golf course and that has made it very easy for me to start playing golf. I’ve never had anyone instill golf in me. From a very young age I used to go to the course on my own, and used to play alone. I started playing around the age of 8, although from 13 to 16, I gave up golf completely.

Little David

Tell us more… home course? lowest round? where and when?

My golf course is the Dehesa de Morón. The lowest round in competition was -5, in the summer of 2021 in my field.

And before we go deeper, tell us… which is your favorite club and why? And which golf brand do you like the most?

The driver is my favorite golf club, because it is the one that usually gives me ease on the courses I play. And the brand that I like the most is Titleist.

Golf player at the Alps Tour

Now… how did you find out about the UGPM golf scholarships? Did you already know the UGPM team?

It was a coincidence. I started last year researching on the Internet, if there was the possibility of combining studies with golf, and I discovered UGPM. Once I got into the website, I saw the golf scholarships program, something that excited me a lot, but even so, I did not have much hope of being chosen.

Can you explain that feeling to us?

I do not know, I think it was because I didn’t want to create too many expectations for myself, in case I wasn’t one of the chosen ones.

And what did you feel when you obtained the golf scholarship? What was the first thing you did or came to your mind?

The week that they had to receive the answer, it was a very nervous week. I remember that one day at lunchtime, my mother received a call, and as soon as my mother told me what had happened, I hugged her very tightly… and the feeling I had was inexplicable, because I felt that I received a reward for all the hard work i had done these last years. After that, I took my bag and went to train.

How does it feel to be part of the UGPM team, and what do you like most about the golf program?

It’s like being part of a family, both because of the good vibes with your teammates, coaches, and because of the feeling of belonging to a team of people who seek goals similar to yours.

What I like the most about UGPM are the facilities that they give us team members, to train and compete, since you can forget about everything to focus 100% on training and get the best out of yourself.

UGPM player

Please tell us how is one typical day here in Malaga, being part of the golf team. 

I wake up around 7 in the morning, have breakfast, get dressed and go to train. We start training around 8:15 hours. I do the mandatory exercises of the training plan, and then I work with the coaches, both in the long game and in the short game. If it’s Tuesday or Thursday we train for an hour at the UGPM Fitness center. I finish training around 12:30 hours.

After that, I arrive at the residence, rest for half an hour and go down to have lunch with my teammates.

I start my classes at the University at 4:30 p.m. and finish at 8:00 p.m. Then I go back to the residence and if I don’t have anything to study, I spend time with my mates watching TV, playing ping pong, etc.

Finally we have dinner and go to sleep.

And finally… what is your biggest dream with golf?

My dream would be to be able to live playing golf professionally, and I will give everything I have to make real. Although if I could not achieve that goal, I would also love to dedicate myself to teaching this game.

Thank you very much David for sharing your time and your story.

We hope you have enjoyed this little piece that one of the players who received golf scholarships from the UGPM scholarship program shared with us.

I want more UGPM

Sources: image via: Heraldo Diario de Soria

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