An online community of more than 5,400 golf enthusiasts have entered into an exclusivity agreement to purchase Spey Bay Golf Course in Moray.
Links Golf Club allows exclusive member benefits at courses worldwide and says it’s the “largest and most active community in golf”.
It was created in 2021 and mainly consists of tech-forward millennials and Gen-Z golfers who have found a passion for the sport.
Ever since its creation, the community has been looking to purchase its own golf course and now they are close to having one.
Links has now entered an exclusivity agreement to purchase Spey Bay Golf Course, which sits along the Moray coastline just east of the mouth of the River Spey.
The list price for the course was around £750,000 but is expected to be higher once the sale is complete, and includes an 18-hole course, clubhouse and driving range.
Lossiemouth-born Ramsay MacDonald, who was the UK’s first Labour prime minister, was a member of the club.
Links members were given a simple majority vote on whether to proceed with the purchase, with 88% of more than 4,300 votes in favour of the purchase.
Bunkered reports that a diligence period has now begun with the sale expected to be completed in the coming months.
The firm’s chief executive, Jim Daily, says they will be hiring a “top architect” to revamp the course, once the purchase is completed.
Who are Links?
Links says it wants to revolutionise traditional golf by offering enthusiasts unique and exclusive experiences.
In just one day last year they raised £9million and have raised nearly £10million by selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens), which are generally created using the same type of programming used for cryptocurrencies.
However, they cannot be traded or exchanged in the same way that other cryptocurrencies like BitCoin can be.
Links already has access to several US courses but Spey Bay would be the first they own outright.
We won the bid.
WE'RE BUYING A GOLF COURSE!!!
— Links (@LinksDAO) March 16, 2023
During the consultation process with members Links recommended investing in the Moray course ahead of “mediocre” prospects in America.
Head of strategy at Links, Adam Besvinick, said: “The older, traditional club membership feels too rigid, too structured and too limiting for the vast majority of young golfers regardless of income.
“Not everyone wants to join one single club and only play that course all year.
“What we’re trying to build is something that bridges an online and offline community of thousands of golfers who are passionate and obsessed with the game in a variety of ways, from architecture to travel to gambling to watching the tour to gear.”
The aim is to take the Spey Bay course from a small-time local course and transform it into “something that’s unique and different than everything else that’s on that trail”.
The sale is expected to be completed by early April.
Conversation