Adam,
I’m very much interested in your project at Spey Bay having spent a few years up in Moray and having been a member at Moray Golf Club. In my time up there I played all the local courses a number of times with the exception of the relatively new Malverston (?) course so have a pretty good idea of the golfing scene in Moray.
The first questions relate to the course itself. As has been discussed on other threads the course sits adjacent to a pebble beach that in recent memory has seen quite a bit of erosion such that the course had to be redesigned/rerouted. What concerns have you that there will be further erosion and what steps are you planning to take to try and mitigate the issue ?
I think I’m also right in saying the pebbles aren’t just on the beach in that they pretty much underlay the course and are pretty close to the surface. How big an issue is that going to be for you in terms of moving material about and how do you plan to cope with it ?
Secondly, that area of Scotland is a relatively sparsely populated. Most if not all the clubs/courses in Moray, which are run along the traditional club model, have relatively low income (modest annual subs) and therefore relatively low budgets. For instance, Moray Golf Club, which I think is the biggest club in Moray and the only one with two 18 hole courses, only had 5 or 6 greenkeeping staff when I was there and from memory the annual subs were in the range of £400 to £500 (c. 10-12 years ago). Many clubs only had one greenkeeper and indeed Spey Bay (prior to the previous owners taking over) had a greenkeeper who only worked part-time in the evenings. During the day the club was largely unmanned and greenfees were paid into an honesty box.
In contrast, and from recent podcasts I think I’ve heard you or your colleagues refer to possibly having a Director of Golf, head professional, clubhouse manager, head greenkeeper and so on. Clearly you are not thinking along the lines of the traditional (Scottish) club model. I Spey Bay going to be run more along the lines of a Castle Stuart or is it going to be more a private members club with some outside play ?
Niall