The R&A exists to make the game of golf more appealing, accessible and inclusive to help ensure its future.  The organisation would like to see greater participation in the game, by all kinds of people and to help, they know the perception of golf needs to change.  This is why The R&A created GOLF IT!  A brand-new replicable blueprint for Golf.

The R&A engaged with Supertonic to implement the GOLF IT! brand which  had been developed and to oversee and visualise the overall creative and customer journey strategy for the whole project. Supertonic essentially helped bring the project  and brand to life.  The R&A tells us  “it was like a meteorite had been dropped into the project.  From the beginning Supertonic listened and took our creative thoughts and ideas to the next level, turning concepts into 3D drawings, developing ideas and the masterplan on the back of our customer research data, which added real value to the project and our strategy”.

Oculus imagery of front entrance

Supertonic developed a 3D render of the proposed physical environment and then invited The R&A client team to wear Oculus headsets to step inside the concept. This visual communication tool was used to bring internal stakeholders on a new journey for the governing body. This world-first facility challenges everything about the sport in a bid to attract a new audience to the game as well as to  and to inspire the next generation. Supertonic also designed, developed, and produced a video story to further articulate the entire project.  These visual communications were key to inspiring all stakeholders with the new concept and helped to secure significant support and funding from both commercial partners and government.

The importance of shared values when working on a cutting-edge project, challenging the status quo and imagining new ways of engaging communities, ensures that even in tough times all parties remain aligned and committed to a successful outcome.  Supertonic aligned themselves immediately to The R&A’s values of courage, integrity and inclusivity, which have been critical to the success of this project. The tenacity to deliver excellence and to pay attention to even the smallest detail means that the Supertonic work is simply described by R&A as “groundbreaking”.

Wow February has flown by in the blink of an eye, where did that go! For me, the month ended with a trip to The Fife Arms.  To celebrate my beautiful wife’s birthday - just the dose of inspiration I needed at the start of the year. Sometimes you just have to escape the ordinary to feel rejuvenated again. Now I'm looking forward to Spring (literally counting down the days) and all the fresh beginnings that brings, including a number of new projects in the diary. 

The hotel is not in Fife but in Braemar on Royal Deeside, named after the Duke of Fife.

For many years The Fife Arms was a large, rather tiered & instantly forgettable hotel serving budget conscious travellers. 

The Fife Arms - it has to be experienced to be believed. A feast for the senses.

A blizzard of brilliance; heritage meets contemporary art, pure unadulterated maximilism in every sense of the word. Interior design, textiles, furniture selections, wallpaper prints, colour choices etc

It was bought in December 2014 by art A-listers Iwan and Manuela Wirth – owners of the renowned gallery Hauser and Wirth – and closed for five years for renovation. 

Darren, one of the Ghillie’s took us on an informal tour of the parts of the hotel and artworks he loves. Kicking off with Queen Victoria’s watercolour of a stag’s head in the entrance to the stories of the local taxidermist’s extensive collection of work.

Absolutely loved the art tour - anyone thinking of staying should make sure they can join that! 

Now put simply, this is a no-expense-spared style transformation and a must-visit for anyone coming to the area. Everywhere you look something else catches your eye... like the subtle painted stripe on the cocktail bar walls.  The most stressful thing that happened is knowing we’ve missed things…trying not to fret… we’ll just have to go back! The Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla have already had the tour.