How long have you lived abroad?

I left Australia in 1996 to go and work in Ted Parslow’s office in Kuala Lumpur after spending one year in his Melbourne office. I was 26 years old when I left Australia.

I moved to London/Surrey in 1998 and started working with European Golf Design at that time. I’ve been living in Surrey ever since and for 21 years continuously. I still consider myself a proud Aussie despite the years away.

How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting you?

Just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic we signed a number of exciting new projects in Europe, Africa and North America in which some of them have continued with design studies, albeit quite slowly. So we can work on these from home as best we can during this lockdown period. A few of our other new projects have taken a pause and we will look forward to getting back to work on them later in the year. As they are backed by solid investors and are very viable projects, we are confident of their strong return.

What is the situation like in Surrey at the moment?

We live in Woking, Surrey which is about 60km south west out of London. Thankfully the area we live in is very green with some space to move. Like Australia we have been asked to stay at home except for only essential activities. In terms of our renovation and restoration works that we undertake in the Surrey region to courses like St George’s Hill, Worplesdon, Woking, Huntercombe and Burhill, all the construction had been completed in March thankfully, before the lockdown. The spring weather has been quite warm and perfect for grow in so these works will look great once golf opens up again.

Thankfully during this time of no travels, I have used the time at home to complete lots of household jobs and regained my love for running again.

View of finished 1st hole from the famed St George's Hill terrace. PHOTO: Supplied.

Has the pandemic altered any of your future plans?

As we cannot travel for the foreseeable future and with most of our projects internationally based, we have become experts at using Zoom and communicating electronically. Great things can be achieved with this technology but we all miss the face-to-face contact and actually seeing, feeling and smelling the land we are creating our golf courses on.

"I am confident that in the end golf will be fine. Some courses will be lost, sadly, but it could maybe be the impetus for us to view our game, the facilities and how we maintain them with a longer term sustainable and diverse outlook." – Tim Lobb

We have an ongoing construction project in Egypt – which is in Hurgada – and we have had to complete video calls with the guys onsite to see what is happening. It is very hard to get a true feeling for what is happening but it is better than nothing. I also have other trips planned for Europe, Africa and Middle East as soon as travel gets back on board. I’m kind of missing airplane food and the trill of travel.

I am confident that in the end golf will be fine. Some courses will be lost, sadly, but it could maybe be the impetus for us to view our game, the facilities and how we maintain them with a longer term sustainable and diverse outlook.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Mount Waverley, Victoria, next to Riversdale Golf Club, where I became a member aged around 13. Later as a teenager, my parents moved to Camberwell and I lived there until I moved to Kuala Lumpur.

Carton House. PHOTO: Supplied.

What have been some of your proudest creations?

My first major project in Europe (aged 28) was a new 18-hole course just out of Dublin at a project called Carton House. I had just started with European Golf Design and was tasked with designing the course with Open and Masters champion Mark O’Meara. The course came out well and it was such a thrill to work on. I also got the taste for Guinness which didn’t help the waistline.

With Peter Thomson and Ross Perrett we got to work on some pretty amazing projects including a new championship course in Turkey called Carya. Whilst golf was well developed in the region we wanted to do something different and nurtured the indigenous onsite heather to be the major landscape strategy of the course and make it ‘stand out from the crowd’. The course was host to three consecutive Rolex Series events on the European Tour, with Justin Rose winning back to back.

Our last course to open as Thomson Perrett & Lobb was a course we designed in Cairo called NEWGIZA. The project was an abandoned limestone quarry and we were appointed to assist with the initial masterplan and ultimately design the 18-hole golf course. The course opened in 2018 and was a 14-year project for us. Patience is a virtue in our game.

In recent times as LOBB + PARTNERS we have been consulting to a number of very high ranking heathland courses in Surrey, including St Georges Hill, The Berkshire, Woking, Worplesdon, West Hill and Huntercombe. We never recommend major change to these classics and primarily look to restore the lost landscape balance or lost play strategies. It is such an honour and very humbling to consult to such esteemed golf clubs.

The 4th hole at NEWGIZA. PHOTO: Supplied.

Can you tell me what it was like working with Peter Thomson?

Peter Thomson was my childhood hero and my father always said to me to model my golf game and demeanour on him. I got to know Ross Perrett firstly and we started the conversation of joining ranks in 2002. By 2004 we had agreed to form Thomson Perrett & Lobb form my Surrey, UK base.

I can remember being nervous first meeting Peter but he quickly put me at ease and said 'we are partners now'. Peter was an incredibly articulate and humble person and working with him and Ross were without doubt some of my happiest and most satisfying times.

"I can remember being nervous first meeting Peter but he quickly put me at ease and said 'we are partners now'."  – Tim Lobb

Like all businesses we had our ups and downs and Peter would always offer his support to our firm, even when he was based in Melbourne. The Open Championship was always a special time and Peter was always adored by the crowds. I have special memories of The Open at St Andrews in particular when Ross and I would visit Peter and Mary in their house in Hope Street just behind the R&A for our morning cup of coffee. Peter would love to talk about golf and the conditions the golfers will face that day. When coffee was done Ross and I would go onto the course whilst Peter would prefer the quieter time at home watching the action unravel on the TV.

I got to see Peter for a final time when we visited Australia in Easter of 2018. Mary had organised a lovely lunch for some friends and Peter came out to join us. We had a chat about golf and what we managed to do together with Ross. It was very heart warming and we could hear his pride in the courses he helped create and bringing golf to many who had never played the game. When we said goodbye I had a feeling it was for the last time and have that last time together to treasure. A true gentleman and deep thinker to the end.