Sam Hobday – FGM

Sam Hobday
Tournament Coordinator
The Royal Golf Club, Bahrain

How do you create work/life balance between your career in the golf industry and family life?

I am very fortunate that both my parents live in Bahrain; so although the golf industry can be hectic at times, they are never too far away. Family life is very important to me so it is nice that we can spend time together both on and off the course.

Does your family play golf with you? If so, how often do you all play?

Everyone in my immediate family plays golf, with my dad being a member at The Royal Golf Club. My mum plays at Awali Golf Club which is the sand course over the road and my sister plays from time to time where she lives in Thailand. My dad and I will try to play 9 holes at least once every couple of weeks, whilst the golf with my mum and sister might take place on a family trip once a year. It is probably a good job that those games are sporadic otherwise the competitiveness might lead to too many arguments!

If your family plays golf with you, who is the best player in the family?

My dad maintains a single digit handicap index and now and then can threaten to shoot level par so he might claim it to be him. However, my mum has two Bahrain Ladies Open titles to her name and my sister has one so I would definitely have to go with either of them.

If you and your family could only use one golf club for a round of golf, what club would it be and why?

My dad’s chipping is notorious at The Royal Golf Club for being a weak point of his game so if there is one club he relies on most it’s his putter. He will frequently putt from off the green and I think his personal best is putting from 89 yards. The annoying part is that he is actually very good when it comes to using his Texas wedge so when he gets up and down using his method it’s hard to argue that he should be doing it any other way.

What is one golf club on your family’s bucket list to play at that you have not played yet?

The Old Course at St. Andrews is an obvious answer, but it is definitely at the top of the list. We have visited the town and played a few of the many course in the area, but the Old Course is yet to be ticked off together.

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