''I have seen a decline in support during the last decade and I think organisers need to make some radical changes,'' he said.
''Seventy-two hole events take the whole weekend and, with work five days before and five days after, there is little leisure and family time left.''
Hobbs' comments come after the Taieri Classic was cancelled earlier this month due to a lack of entries and the Otago matchplay championships at Balmacewen attracted a meagre field of 39 players.
University exams and impending NCEA exams for school players did not help attract players for the Labour Weekend championship.
There will be even greater pressure to attract good fields early next year when the Otago strokeplay at Balmacewen, the revamped 36-hole Taieri Classic and the Dunedin strokeplay championships at St Clair are all held in a four-week window.
With the SBS Southland Invitational moving to October next year, these three events are unlikely to be trials and they will have to work hard to get good fields.
Hobbs also notes there is the cost to consider with entry fees and accommodation for out-of-town golfers not helping field sizes.
''When I played in Canterbury, almost all of the events were 36-hole club opens.
''Perhaps we need to reduce our events to one-day tournaments which will lower costs as well as allow more family time.
''This move would also give the course back to the club members for Saturday play.
''One difficult event to change would be the Otago matchplay but organisers could possibly replace the qualifying rounds using order of merit rankings.
''This would mean the event could be played on any weekend rather than take golfers away from their families on the Labour holiday weekend.''
