First when he picked up a club as a 12-year-old, and then again almost three decades later when he played a round with a corporate client and was inspired to make golf his career – first through the PGA Institute and later the PGA Membership Pathway Program.

That willingness to shift and follow his passion after more than 20 years working in banking and health insurance has been a truly rewarding one for Bashforth, who is now dedicated to growing the game of golf in Queensland.

“I took a risk,” he reflects. “At more than 40 years old, I sold my property and went down to the Gold Coast to complete the PGA Institute program.”

Although Bashforth didn’t set out to become a PGA Professional initially, the quality of his game stood out while he was completing the Institute program – and enrolling in the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program became a reality.

“Again, I took a bit of a risk. I completed the PGA Institute course and then secured a traineeship at Riverside Oaks Golf Club in Sydney,” he adds.

A mature-age student, Bashforth remembers feeling a bit uneasy initially, but was buoyed by the diverse and engaging content he was learning.

Moreover, with a solid grounding in finance and corporate processes, he found the business side of the Program relatively straightforward.

“I knew where I wanted to head with it all so learning all of the golf-specific side of things was wonderful,” he says.

“From club repairs, to coaching, you feel like you learn everything there is to know about golf.”

Equipped with that raft of knowledge, and ready for a new career, Bashforth graduated as a PGA Professional in 2019.

On the move again, he headed back up north to accept a role as Assistant Professional at Gladstone Golf Club.

It was there that Bashforth first discovered a love for coaching and introducing newcomers to the game.

He took on the role of offering Get Into Golf – Golf Australia’s official beginner golf lesson program – there in 2020. After moving through COVID, he took the program to the next level.

“I was offering two two-hour sessions on Sundays, with the motivation being to try and get more women involved in the game up here,” he reflects.

What initially started as clinics on the range morphed into on-course action, as Bashforth helped participants to take the next step.

“We ended up running nine-hole shootouts for women. We would get the beginners and the members all together.

“Not many clubs could say that they would be getting 40 or 50 women out on the course all together. That was really cool.”

Bashforth’s passion for Get Into Golf has continued since a recent move to Bundaberg Golf Club.

There, he implements a similar model to the one he established at Gladstone, and the club and community are reaping the rewards.

“We are now seeing more and more women at the golf club,” he smiles. “Whether that is on the range, on the course, or even buying clubs in the shop, it is really good to see them following it through from the clinics.

“Some are even joining up as members of the club, which is fantastic, and certainly a driving force behind what we do.”

Proud to have seen the golf landscape change from what he describes as “not massively inclusive” when he first started out, Bashforth is glad to work in an industry that welcomes everyone.

“Now the audience we attract to the game is vastly different. People are showing up to driving ranges to give it a go and see if they like it,” he smiles.

“That’s a wonderful thing and so important for golf to grow.”

For more information on entry points into a career in golf, visit www.pga.org.au/education/

Host venue, The Western Australian Golf Club, was in immaculate condition and the greens firm and fast, presenting a complete challenge to the 22 PGA Professionals in the field.

A run of three straight bogeys early in his round had Barr on the back foot but he recovered with four birdies on his inward nine to shoot 2-under 68 and win by two shots.

Carramar Golf Course Professional Greg McClurkin shot even-par 70 with Perth Golf Centre’s John Boulton third at 1-over 71, the trio among the seven players to qualify for the PPC National Final at The Heritage Golf and Country Club in Melbourne from October 22-24.

Barr was fourth at the 2023 National Final and hopes to improve on that to play his way into the Australian team to travel to Canada next year.

“I played at Heritage last year and finished fourth,” said Barr.

“I know that you can actually get a chance to represent Australia for the PGA so if I can play well there again, you never know.”

Starting from the 10th tee, Barr picked up an early birdie at the downhill dogleg par-4 12th but dropped to 2-over with a three-hole stint on the bogey train immediately following.

Two-over through 10, Barr made a terrific birdie at the par-4 second and then pressed home his advantage with further birdies at four, five and eight for a two-stroke win.

“I was a bit rusty,” Barr conceded.

“We haven’t played for a few weeks since we were in Broome for the Pro-Am and I struggled.

“I got off to a great start, but then struggled with three consecutive bogeys.

“I felt like the world was against me a bit but managed to pull together on the back nine.

“Made a nice birdie putt on the my 17th hole to get to 2-under and at that point I knew that I was in the lead.
“Made a nice two-putt on the last hole, which is a challenging par-3 here at The WA Club, and I’m really pleased about qualifying and the chance to represent Western Australia.”

As the top-three finishers, Barr, McClurkin and Boulton are all exempt for the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder WA PGA Championship in October while Barr also earns a spot in the Nova Employment Australian PGA Seniors Championship in November.

Playing at her home club, Nicole Martino was the winner of the women’s qualifier with Travis Lord, Darren Garrett, Michael Draper and Mostyn Farmer also exempt for the National Final.

Final scores