Spey Bay - North East Scotland - Scotland

I’m going to buy Spey Bay a drum. They obviously haven’t got one... because nobody is banging it for them. And they should be!

I stumbled across this natural and highly captivating links course on a family holiday to the Scottish Highlands. All I can say is; what a discovery!

I often find the term ‘holiday golf’ derogatory to a course but if you are staying in this neck of the woods I’d strongly urge you to head to the mouth of the River Spey and have a knock here. It’s a shame for holidaymakers nowadays because a grand hotel once stood overlooking the eighteenth green but sadly it was burned to the ground in 1965.

The first few holes introduce us to a coastal heathland style of links golf with springy, sheltered fairways played through subtle shingle valleys of fescue, heather and sporadic patches of gorse.

Only the fourth and sixth (both newly created holes in the 1980’s after land was lost to coastal erosion) disappoint in any sort of fashion on the front-nine and where the short eighth “Plateau” steals the show. This hole also gives us our first real glimpse of the beautiful shoreline as the teeing ground almost backs onto the beach; alas we must another hole - a stellar par five - before our escapade with the coast begins.

The inward half is played adjacent to the sea for the most part and is where Spey Bay really comes into its own.

The greens hold much interest throughout and were in excellent condition. There are plenty of sly borrows on the putting surfaces, more than enough to grab your attention.

I can only assume that one of the reasons you hear so little about this unknown gem is that the locals wish to keep it a secret. Sorry folks but this course needs to be shared and played.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

In my first three golfing trips Scotland I had never heard mention of Spey Bay. You may not have either but this is a real little gem of 6219 yards. You drive through wooded areas and lush fields to get to the course which is located right on the sea about ten miles east of Lossiemouth.

Six holes run alongside the seashore on this traditional out and back design. The course plays over the natural contours of what was once a shingle bed, formed over thousands of years. The greens are quite small and were originally square in design.

Spey Bay fairways run fast and the many severe bumps and hollows can knock a ball into the acres of heather and gorse on either side of the fairway. Some of the fairways are quite narrow and in parts not far from the others, although usually running in the same direction.

The par three 15th plays to a green right beside the beach. This is followed by a par five that is one of the best holes. The 18th is no place for nerves as you must clear fifty yards of dense gorse right in front of the tee.

In recent years some work has commenced to get the links back more to the original Ben Sayers design. You need go no further if you want to rediscover old fashioned links golf with a minimum of fuss.

This review is an edited extract from Another Journey through the Links, which has been reproduced with David Worley’s kind permission. The author has exclusively rated for us every Scottish course featured in his book. Another Journey through the Links is available for Australian buyers via www.golfbooks.com.au and through Amazon for buyers from other countries.

Its been a few years since I last played Spey Bay and it is always nice to play so close to the sea, however my visit was somewhat overshadowed by how much the course/club has changed (for the worse), it is quite obvious their is a lack of cash and it looks like it really needs this soon. It is easy to be harsh on a course but to not even have a teeing area on the signature 8th is poor. The layout is OK, its not overlong, you play very close to the sea so it should be enjoyed but if you want more for your green fee - look at Buckpool, Strathlene or even Moray and Nairn if you have a few more £££s.

Sorry to say did not reach my expectations by a a long way. Totally accept there has been substantial storm/tide damage at far end of course but little effort seemed to have been made to clear anything up. The whole course was 'scruffy'. Greens were good - but nothing exceptional.The 'Top Ten' accolade is VERY misleading - for me many 'samey holes' and no real Gems. When you compare with the likes of Moray / Cruden Bay / Hopeman / Nairn not in same League.

A Review of Spey Bay Golf Course - April 2013 The true appreciation of a golf course should only be judged on the experience of your journey from the 1st tee to the 18th green and with all due respect, the rest is just cake decoration. In Spey Bay’s case this is a wonderful journey. The undulating firm fescue fairways with gorse and heather in abundance and views over the Moray Firth, all play their part in this “sleeping beauty” of a classic natural links. The layout resembles the Old Course at St Andrews with seven holes out, the loop, and then seven back in. Yes it’s short and now reduced to a par 70 with small greens but rarely does it enjoy a calm day, which ensures that the skills you acquire playing here will stand you in good stead to play anywhere.

The course opens with three par 4’s which introduce you to the one of Spey Bays best features, the fescue clad shingle banks which you must plot your way across. The long 1st hole at 427 yards affords the luxury of a wide open drive which then leads you down to the green and enthusiasts of fine links turf will already be appreciating what awaits them. Holes two and three are shorter but full of character, aim for the Bin Hill in the distance and you’ll be fine, the only downside is that they are possibly too tight for their position on the score card. For reasons that will become very clear I’ll comment on the 4th 6th 12th and 13th later. The 5th, stroke index 1, which says it all, has a much more open drive than in years gone by but with a very undulating fairway and approach to the small green can prove very tricky with a long iron, the layout is more typically suited to a par 5. The 7th offers you a wide open drive, the first for a while and there is an interesting slope leading onto the green that can catch you out. In the summer this dries out and can insure that your next shot is from the gully at the back of the green. Some would arguably call the 8th the signature hole at Spey Bay, when you experience the 138 yard par 3 named Plateau the only advice I can give you here is keep your head down on your second shot. Signature hole or not you will not forget it. The 2nd hole at Royal Dornoch is tricky but nothing compared to Spey Bay’s 8th. Onto the 9th which comes with a change in direction heading back to the clubhouse, a short par 5 aptly named the Valley with out-of-bounds on the left and gorse on the right. On the card it looks like a birdie chance, but be glad of a five and walk to the 10th tee adding up your first nine, anything under forty and you’re doing well. The 10th completes the loop and then the tricky 11th, so typical of the shorter par 4s at Spey Bay, on the card it appears simple but treated it with a lack of respect and you will be left wondering where it all went wrong. The 14th, my favourite, was originally 300 yards and has been greatly improved with the addition of 105 yards making this a wonderful par 4, stroke index 2, with a fairway that would grace any Open Championship venue, a flattish green situated between two shingle banks that is normally approached from at an angle across the banks. You will see what I mean when you play it yourself. I always feel when playing a course for the first time the same as when watching a good film, I’m hoping for a really good ending, and Spey Bay delivers this with the last four holes, none of which are give aways, and into the prevailing wind will show you what you’re made of, so I’ll not spoil the ending and leave you to discover this for yourself.

The four holes that I left out of the previous paragraph were not part of the original layout planned by Ben Sayers in 1907. The original layout unfortunately had to be hastily altered due to coastal erosion in the late 1980’s. This erosion caused the loss of the entire 11th hole and 13th green and forced the removal of the 4th & 6th holes. The subsequent alterations resulted in four completely new holes. The new 6th hole is so out of character for Spey Bay it begs the question why Ben Sayers’s original 6th hole is not reinstated albeit with a subtle change up at the green. This hole was brilliant in design, driving the ball towards the Moray Firth, as so desired and incorporated by Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse when designing Castle Stuart. The original 6th traversed the two large fescue clad shingle banks, yes short by modern standards at 304 yards but it would take a brave man nowadays to stand up with the modern driving equipment and attempt to reach the green or even to find the fairway that was cosseted by the awaiting gorse. The long 12th is the only new hole that comes close to being worthy of its place on Spey Bay. The unimpressive par 3, 13th is hopefully to be extended to a 300+ yard par 4 which should see the new green being situated on the fairway of the original 13th hole. With these alterations and a simple transfer of the Par 3, 4th back onto its original line, albeit shorter, would bring the course back closer to the original layout.

The only points of criticism I would mention, other than the new holes enforced by the coastal erosion is that the first six holes are too tight and unforgiving and that the first hole is about 30 - 40 yards too long. All too often the paying visitor or first time Open competitor is beaten before he has had a chance to reach the 7th tee, this does not encourage a hasty return. Also the majority of the greens are flat, however the 8th, 9th and 15th are not and watch out for the subtle ridge through the 18th green, a masterful touch by someone, long ago. Historically the lack of money available to maintain this course has actually helped to preserve its natural condition, no automatic watering system or expensive fertilizer budget. Yes more money would help with course alterations and the demands for Greenkeeping machinery, maintenance and in the overall upkeep, but the present Greenkeeper, Barry Cruickshank, has already worked wonders on a shoestring budget to rescue the greens during the 2011/12 seasons back to a very good putting surface. A local businessman has recently purchased the property which grants him the lease of the golf course, so hopefully this will be the start of great things for Spey Bay, never has a course deserved it more. No fancy ponds, no striped fairways to show which direction to play, no buggy tracks, no huge meaningless bunkers and no hiding behind the delusions of grandeur that come with a magnificent new clubhouse, just golf as it was intended to be played.

This was the second time I have played this course and it will not be the last. When I first played this course there was an old shack with a honesty box for green fees. It cost £15, and what value for money. A natural gem of a links course with rolling fairways and lined with gorse and heather. My return today was only marred slightly by the fact that they had hollow tuned the greens, but attire time of year, only to be expected. The club has been saved by the members and the club house refurbed. The welcome from staff and members was second to none, and the food top notch afterwards as well. In these tough times many of the more well known clubs would do well to create such a welcoming atmosphere. Many thanks to Ian who provided us with good conversation and an interesting history of the hidden gem of Scottish golf

Just played this wonderful natural course.lovely setting,interesting holes,great fairways ,nice and springy. It gave the feeling of playing Links golf as it should be....nothing fancy just a great test of golf and all our group reckoned it was a much better golfing experience than some of the bland parkland courses we had played .great value,a pleasant bar and food at a sensible price.No queueing nor rushing -- the best real golf experience we had in our mini- tour of the areaAll in all a great day out

After playing one or two soulless new “corporate” courses in recent times, it was a real tonic to discover that an old-fashioned course like Spey Bay could re-affirm my love for traditional links golf layouts. The club could do with a little self-promotion by way of its website as it seriously under sells itself both on and off the fairways.

Its charming wood framed clubhouse has been upgraded inside with a very modern bar cum dining area that serves the campers on the adjacent site as well as the golfers, providing very comfortable facilities for everyone.

The fairways are the real feature on the course and these playing corridors navigate the humps, bumps, hollows and valleys that lie along the coastline in between dense areas of high gorse and heather.

The fact that many of the holes favour a slight fade suited my game but I can see why others would not be so pleased to have such a high number of similar-style holes on the card.

The par threes were a bit of a disappointment, with only the table top green of the very short 8th providing an abiding memory.

Overriding everything, the state of the putting surfaces left a lot to be desired – something catastrophic has obviously occurred to cause so many bare patches on the greens, making putting a complete lottery.

Spey Bay certainly offers excellent value for money and its inherent charm is hard to ignore. Not quite a four ball rating on this occasion, I’m afraid, as there’s plenty of room for improvement on the conditioning aspect of the course.

Jim McCann

My family, friends and I have been taking annual golf holidays in Scotland for over 20 years, focusing on links courses somewhat off the beaten track. This year, on the personal recommendation of Ronan Rafferty (who called it a “hidden gem” in the same breath as Machrihanish and Machrie), we played Spey Bay for the first time. We found a wonderful course, with an imaginative layout. Like courses such as Tain, the fairways are often framed on both sides by gorse and appear at first glance to be more narrow than the typical links course, and can be visually intimidating when combined with the prevailing crosswind. The course, however, plays fair and, because of the great variety of holes, we used practically every club in our bags. We played the course on a Thursday afternoon in June, and saw a maximum of 5 other golfers during the course of our round. Combined with the views of the North Sea and Buckie and Buckpool in the distance, and the sounds of the plentiful birds in the area, we were free to make our way around the course in peaceful isolation. The greens are currently a bit rough, but the current efforts by the management inspire confidence that they will be brought up to the quality of the remainder of the course in the near future. We will certainly be back to test them.

We played 12 courses from Brora to Moray, most of them more than notable but mostly well reckoned - with one exception, Spey Bay. Spey Bay was designed by Ben Sayers and sits right between the shoreline and a small forest… not to forget the huge amount of gorse. There is not much around the course – a driving range and a lesser modern hotel – but the course is not only worth a visit but also a nomination for the Scottish rankings. The layout is more or less classical, nine out, nine in. The variation of the holes is one of the strengths of the course. All par threes are fantastically challenging. The 4th plays pretty long (195 yards) with half of the green hidden behind gorse, and the 8th can make a man cry, with the most difficult plateau green you can imagine. Furthermore you have got tricky doglegs, long and straight but very undulating and narrow fairways, nice views and absolute silence. Concerning the condition, the greens were the best we played throughout our stay and the fairways and tees have been competitive. All in all Spey Bay is a great test of golf because of the very challenging layout and the relaxed atmosphere. Patrick