Machrie (Islay) goes into administration

[Kris Shreiner]

Tom,

Happy holidays to you sir! Thanks for the illuminating personal experience. I believe your recounting illustrates perfectly the problem; the lack of a sustained effort to deliver and then gauge results from their own marketing efforts. To not follow up even once after the initial email is so typical, not just in Scotland mind you, but damn near anywhere.

Again, without concerted, sustained marketing AS A REGION, all these Western llinks outposts, no matter how good, will struggle and eventually starve economically. It's that simple. Sound marketing, coupled with a modern, multi-use, high speed ferry system and they have a chance, but operating costs are high and the season short...a difficult recipe for success.

There have been some wind power iniatives started in that region which appear promising. If they can also perfect the capturing and storage of water current-generated energy, that could really provide a salvation for areas such as that. Providing addition revenue streams that don't degrade the beautiful environment there is where it's at. Here's hoping!

Cheers,
Kris

[jeffwarne]

Tom,

 
Again, without concerted, sustained marketing AS A REGION, all these Western llinks outposts, no matter how good, will struggle and eventually starve economically. It's that simple. Sound marketing, coupled with a modern, multi-use, high speed ferry system and they have a chance, but operating costs are high and the season short...a difficult recipe for success.

!

Cheers,
Kris

Tom,
I genuinely enjoy the ferry rides.
great chance to relax, grab a meal and enjoy a point.
As Sean can attest, most on my itineraries need a rest.
Not sure if I could handle the 5 hour ferry to Askernish both ways, but I'd like to do it once.
Ideally I'd flyback but it's hard to rent one way cars in remote islands

[Steve Salmen]

Jeff,

The ferry is about the same time from mainland to Askernish as it is to Machrie, roughly 2 hrs each way if you go from Uig to Loch Maddy.  Granted, this way is only good if you're in the Highlands because Uig is on Sky and Loch Maddy is on North Uist.  Regardless, if you love links golf,  you really should give a great effort to get there once.

[David_Tepper]

Good article by Anthony Pioppi on the situation at Machrie:

http://anthonypioppi.blogspot.com/2010/12/machrie-in-serious-financial-trouble.html

[Ralph Thompson]

The golf course finances are probably very similar to Askernish in that survival is difficult but attainable if you " keep a close watch on the pennies."

All hotels in the ( and I mean 100%) in the islands off the west coast of Scotland are struggling severely because of the short season , high overheads and depopulation which is reducing the business during the winter months. Most of these hotels existed with a good local turnover in the "public bar" being the mainstay of the business but this has completely dried up. Having a hotel in the Hebrides during the 1970's was like owning a golf mine but nowadays it is like having a noose around your kneck.

Askernish have employed a development officer for a three year post ,funded by various public bodies, to market not only the fantastic course but also the beauty and culture of a different way of life. Works are being completed at the moment ( courtesy of Mike Keiser and Tom Doak) which we believe will add the finishing touches to a course which anybody claiming to be a links golf enthusiast has to visit once in their lifetime.

[Mark Pearce]

Ultimately a liquidator (or whatever they call them in Scotland) will have to realise the most he can from the assets of the company for distribution to the creditors. I can only assume that someone will pay more for a fully functioning golf course than a local farmer would pay for a few more acres to graze his sheep on.

Shares in a Hebridean golf course, anyone?

 

Unlikely it will go as far as liquidation, I'd have thought.  Far more likely that a receiver will sell all of the business, or perhaps just the golf course, off as a going concern

[David_Tepper]

Ralph Thompson -

Do you have an general estimate of how many rounds of visitor play courses like the Machrie or Askernish need each year to operate, at the very least, on a breakeven basis? 3,000? 5,000? 8,000?

DT 

[Melvyn Morrow]

I must agree whole heartedly with a comment Niall made on another topic ‘What Are Scotland’s’  Reply#44 most certainly mentioned in his first sentence


Quote from: Sean Arble on December 15, 2010, 12:09:41 AM
One And Done Courses (unless there are special circumstances)?  We hear so much about the awesome depth of Scottish golf, but is some of this depth just medicore golf in a good location?  Of golf that is so expensive that all we want to afford is one look?  Or not bad courses, but indeed in an area of riches.  Though I would certainly recommend folks see some of these courses if nearby, none really did it for me. 

Tain - boring
The Glen - if this was just the lower part then the course would be much better
Troon - too expensive, treated poorly
Shiskine - beautiful spot with a few good holes, but not worth the journey unless you plan to be on Arran
Carnoustie - too tough and expensive
Gullane 2 & 3 - though I could see myself changing my mind on these two, their proximity to other very fine courses seals their doom for now
Murcar - too many blah holes, but I haven't seen the changes
Glasgow Gailes - boring
Leven - not bad, but too many other courses nearby I would rather play given how rarely I make it up there
Crail - see above
Golspie - see above
Troon Portland - boring
Stonehaven - beautiful, but lacking a bit in substance

Ciao
 
Sean,


If I ever stopped to write a list of my top 20 Scottish courses, I doubt most of these would make the list and I'm a member at one of these courses.

The abundance of good to great courses are relative close to each other in Scotland, yet time after time many visitors fail to push themselves away from their beloved TOC, Dornoch, Brora,  and miss out on many of the fine, no I should say great course that have survived the test of time, golfers and the weather.

As much as I love Fife and the East coast, let’s not forget that we also have a West Coast where golf can come alive, to the point that you can nearly taste it. Courses like Prestwick, Machrie, Askernish Machrihanish Prestwick St Nicholas, plus more besides. Yes getting to some can add some hours to the trip, but then it’s a question of planning one’s time carefully, this applies to the guys from England just as much as those from overseas.

The usual mistake is to cram in just too much, you miss the actual beauty of the courses by just playing them once. You miss the potential change from AM to PM  & from one day to the next. You may play courses not to your taste, but mistakes will always be made until you know the area. So a course might disappoint, but is that not part of the idea of playing new courses, of obtaining some knowledge and experience of the golf in that region. In fact is your game up to meeting the challenges of these not new courses (as some are nearly 150 years old), have you tweaked your style to accommodate the Natural balance of our shorter Courses (than perhaps you might be used to).

Some of you travel thousands of miles, yet you seem to play the same old courses time after time, which if well and good but all I am asking is that you push your taste buds to experience more traditional Scottish courses. On the whole they will not disappoint as long as you go to play golf, of being one on one with the land and the course. The further afield you go it’s like a golfing time warp, the courses present themselves with both feet firmly back in the 19th century which means Ladies & Gentlemen welcome to the type of courses that launched the Game of Golf into the modern world.

Come find as well as play the real hidden gems that we The Scots play, and let the tourist play and pay the tourist circuit.

It is all about a leap of faith, do you still have the Spirit of your Youth

Melvyn 

[Jim_Kennedy]

MM,

A list of your top 20 courses in Scotland would make for an interesting debate, please post them.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Jim

If I post my little gems I might find I may not get to even swing a club let alone try and play a few holes due to a bunch of North Americans and THE ENGLISH.  

I am not that type of boy that kisses and tells on his first date  .
Perhaps in time when I have signed affidavit from each Member that they will not use carts or distance aids on these course then I might just divulge them, until then I must protect my babies to the best of my ability.


Melvyn

[Jim_Kennedy]

MM,
That shouldn't be hard, probably no carts there anyhow. 

[Jim McCann]

Machrie really is the most wonderful of traditional, old-fashioned Scottish links courses.

I revisited a year past in October and loved every minute of my time back on Islay.

If I can remember how to post photos, I'll try to get a few on here now.

The weather wasn't great but the snaps might give some of you swithering about a visit
a wee insight into what it's like.

Here's the approach to the 1st hole:



and a view from behind the 1st green back down the fairway :




 

[Jim McCann]

The following two images are of the approach to the 6th and from behind that green to the fairway :

 

and



These two photos are of the superb 17th facing the green then from the back of the green to the fairway:



and



I know these can only give a flavour of what to expect but take my word for it, if you love links golf
then you'll love the Machrie.

[David_Tepper]

Jim McCann -

Thanks for the pics. While I am not a big fan of the Islay single-malts, I do hope to play the Machrie some day.

Have you every played a course with more blind shots than the Machrie?

DT

[Jim McCann]

David,

Cruden Bay, North Berwick (West), Elie, Murcar, Fraserburgh (Corbie) and Machrihanish Dunes all have their fair
share of blind holes - plenty of other courses too if you get out of position, of course - but the only one that comes
close to the Machrie in relation to the number of "regulation" blind shots is Prestwick - oh, and how could I ever forget
that wonderful quirk of golf, Shiskine on the island of Arran.

[Melvyn Morrow]

Blind Holes are at the heart of the game – it’s part of Nature and utilising the land to the very best of challenges a golfer is entitled to expect.

To dislike blind holes seem to convey a lack of understanding or respect for the real quality that golf  should be able to generate in the most basic of players

Is it considered just a part of a forgotten art form or are we dumbing down the courses to match some of the modern players with their dislike for walking and thinking. Or are blind holes just a hazard too far and stroke costly.

Embrace the hazards as they will invigorate ones round.

Melvyn

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Here's an update:

http://anthonypioppi.blogspot.com/2010/12/update-on-machrie-golf-course-to-remain.html


Regards,

Anthony

[David_Tepper]

Anthony -

Thanks for the update.

DT

[Brian_Ewen]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-12126981

Islay golf course goes into administration

A golf course on Islay - rated as one of Britain's best links courses - has been put on the market along with the island's 16-room Machrie Hotel.

The business has been placed in administration, with 15 job losses, as a result of reduced spending in the tourism industry.

The Machrie Golf Links course was first laid out by pioneering designer Willie Campbell 120 years ago.

The hotel has 16 bedrooms, 15 separate lodges, a restaurant and shops.

Three staff remain to assist the administrators and maintain the course.

'Excellent reputations'
Mendougal owns the hotel and the 71-par course and it is operated by Machrie Hotel & Golf Links Ltd.

Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar from KPMG have been appointed as administrators.

Mr Nimmo said: "Both the hotel and golf course have excellent reputations and are regarded as destination venues for visitors to Islay.

"Despite this, Machrie Hotel and Golf Links has unfortunately, like many other companies in the tourism and hospitality sector, been impacted from tightening consumer spending and troubled economic conditions.

"Taking Islay's prominence as a tourist hot spot into account with its high number of whisky distilleries and other attractions, we are optimistic a buyer will be found for this quite excellent facility."

[Steve Salmen]

I'm not the first to bring this up, but is this the opportunity the members of GCA have been waiting for as far as owning a golf course is concerned? 

[Wade Schueneman]

IMHO the Machrie is a very special experience for what I like to call "golf mystics".  I found that everything from getting there (by ferry) to being there (in one of the little cottages surrounded by sheep) to the golf itself was fantastic.