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Brian_Ewen

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Changes at Spey Bay
« on: March 07, 2004, 12:44:18 AM »
From todays Sunday Herald :



A fairer way to play

Ken Symon meets the course designer who aims to open up the world of golf to wider participation by tackling elitism

If Neil Hobday’s vision comes to pass not only will he build an interesting business but it will help transform the standing of golf in Scotland.
Hobday Golf aims to develop or redevelop quality golf courses with top-level facilities but with an accessibility far removed from the snobbish attitude exhibited by many traditional golf clubs.

The company has just signed a seven-figure deal to redevelop the Spey Bay golf course on the Moray Firth, which will aim to provide new quality facilities to match the striking beauty of the views from the links course. It is an area from which you can spot ospreys, seals and even dolphins.

The redevelopment plan will mean changing the layout of the 18- hole links course originally designed by Ben Sawyer.

Hobday says: “In fact, we will be returning it closer to the way Ben Sawyer did it first time around.”

Other plans for the development include building a new club house and providing “pine valley style” accommodation.

Hobday believes there is a market for accommodation for golfing fours. So a group of four men or women can retire to a lodge together to chat, watch TV or golf videos before retiring to their own rooms.

“We believe that that is what people who have perhaps travelled a long way to play together want,” Hobday says. “Rather than retiring to their own room they want a place they can go back to after they’ve eaten and watch TV or play cards and have a cigar.”

The plan is for 10 four-person lodges at the Moray Firth course.

One key feature of the planned Hobday golf developments is that they will all include a small area of upmarket houses. The emphasis, Hobday stresses, will be very much on low-density houses with only 15 or 20 proposed for the Spey Bay development. Hobday is in talks with a number of house developers about this aspect of the plans. The sale of the houses is crucial to the economics of the style of and quality of facilities envisaged by Hobday.

The clubhouse will epitomise the Hobday vision of golf, and will include a bar and a dining room for “fine dining”, yet which will still be “accessible”. He stresses: “We want to create a more welcoming and relaxed atmosphere for people to come to when they arrive at a golf course.

“We want people to be welcomed with a, ‘Hello can I help you?’ rather than arriving at a clubhouse where nobody talks to you and where, frankly, unless you know people you’re not made to feel welcome.”

Providing top-class facilities, a respect for the traditions of golf and designs that create “unique” rather than a “commodity” golfing product is an approach which Hobday believes will prove a winner.

This attitude clearly has some strong backing. Hobday says he received backing for his venture from two North American investors with just two phone calls.

One of those backers is Charles Chuck Nelson from California who has a decade’s experience in the entertainment and sports industries. The other backer, from the east coast, prefers to remain anonymous, Hobday says.

The other development for Hobday Golf is the recruitment of two new non-executive directors, Doug Smith, the chairman of Hearts, and Jim Faulds, a major figure in Scottish advertising as the founder of Faulds Advertising.

The directors and backers were clearly attracted both by Hobday’s vision and his long pedigree in the sports management business.

He worked for Mark McCormack’s International Management Group where he managed a stable of professional golfers including Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance and Laura Davis. In 1991 he moved to Edinburgh as a founding director of David Murray’s Carnegie Sports International where he worked on a joint venture with Loch Lomond Golf Club to create the major tournament there.

From 1999 Hobday did consultancy work including work on the Kingsbarns Golf Links near St Andrews.

Together this experience has helped Hobday create a vision of a new type of golf development which has now got off the tee.

07 March
« Last Edit: March 07, 2004, 12:45:28 AM by Brian_Ewen »

David_Tepper

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2004, 05:18:28 PM »
Brian-

Thanks for posting this article. Several months ago I posted a link to an article in the Northern Times about a similar project to build new accomodations beside Brora GC.

With these projects and the time-share housing currently under construction at Gleneagles and Turnberry, it appears that the concept of "fairway condos" is invading the UK.  Hopefully it will be handled with better taste and discretion in the UK than it has been in the US.

DT

Andy Levett

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2004, 01:53:15 PM »
I believe the designer was Ben Sayers, not Ben Sawyer.
And am I the only cynic who thinks all that guff about "tackling elitism" and "accessibility far removed from the snobbish attitude exhibited by many traditional golf clubs" is just spin to justify free publicity in the paper?

Brian_Gracely

Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2004, 05:10:03 PM »
With these projects and the time-share housing currently under construction at Gleneagles and Turnberry, it appears that the concept of "fairway condos" is invading the UK.  


Where are they building the time-shares at Turnberry, or are you referring to the existing "houses" at the bottom of the hill from the hotel?

David_Tepper

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2004, 08:23:08 PM »
Brian-

Sorry, I do not know the answer to your question for sure. I do recall visiting a website that was offering time-share, condo-type accomodations at Turnberry about 9-10 months ago. I recall that these were newly constructed buildings, but I could be wrong about that. If I come across any more info I will let you know.

DT    

ForkaB

Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2004, 09:24:12 AM »
I know it's not Turnberry, but in my "Sunday Times" thread above, you will see that they are developing condos at Stains Castle, overlooking Cruden Bay.

Brian_Ewen

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2004, 11:53:02 PM »
Rich
I presume you mean Slains Castle ? .

I presume this was how it was written in the Sunday Times ? .
Do Journalists never check anything nowadays ? , Ben Sayers becomes Ben Sawyer , even my local paper lately renamed Tom Doak as Tom Boak .

Brian

« Last Edit: March 09, 2004, 11:53:53 PM by Brian_Ewen »

ForkaB

Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2004, 03:26:29 AM »
Brian

Don't blame the Times, blame me.  They got the name right in the article, I just had a minor brain fart when I tried to report what they had reported.  I should have known better, but I didn't.  Mea culpa.

More importantly, since you live up that way, what about the substance?  Will there be condos at Slains that we all can bid for and enjoy?  It seems so unlikely to me, and yet so indicative of the material pragmatism of the modern world.  What's next?  Cart paths at Pebble Beach?  Some modern monstrosity of a hotel overlooking the Road Hole?  I surely hope not.......

lesueur

Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2004, 08:35:36 AM »
I was recently appointed by Neil Hobday to carry out the restoration work at Spey Bay.

I'm heading there tomorrow for a couple of days to start off the process and would be keen to hear if anyone on this site has played the course, and if so, what did you think?

allysmith

Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #9 on: March 11, 2004, 08:26:58 AM »
My goodnes guys I have heard some guff in my time but Spey bay elitest????? Why on earth would a pleasent Morayshire holiday course be the centre of a fight on golf elitism?

Spay Bay up until a few years ago was virtually unknown and un played until the hotel was sold and they gave away the course free to the new owners.

The few members it had were good Morayshire Loons and NO-ONE was barred from the clubhouse irrespective of Colour,Creed disability,gender or religion For goodness sake they even might have been English!!!

In the 1960s and 70s Spey bay had square greens!! lovely springy turf and heather. It was a short linksy/heathy type course which because it faced the Moray Firth was open most of the year.

Maybey the designer thought it was designed by Tom Sawyer and was woried Old Man Ribber, Paul Robeson might try to join.

Brian_Ewen

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2004, 10:36:04 PM »
Ally
Agreed , when I read the article I couldnt stop thinking that its this type of thing that encourages elitism rather than "tackling" it .

Rich
It seems that plans for 35 apartments will be lodged with Aberdeenshire council this week . There is the usual load of crap being spouted , "Tastefully done " etc. etc.

RLS
I would be very interested any updates you can provide on the project.

Brian

W.H. Cosgrove

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Re:Changes at Spey Bay
« Reply #11 on: March 12, 2004, 01:08:32 PM »
I drove through Spey bay in September.  I didn't have time to play but wondered about the history of the large abandoned airfield outside of town.  

I assume it was a large bomber base in WWII.  Anyone know the history?

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