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The Queensland Golf Industry is pleased to confirm the date for the ‘Virtual Awards Night’ to be broadcast on Tuesday 14th July.
Coordinated by the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, Golf Course Superintendents Association of QLD and Golf Management Australia, the QLD Golf Industry “Virtual” Awards Night will acknowledge the achievements the finalists have accomplished throughout 2019.
Despite being postponed earlier this year, the QLD Golf Industry Awards Night will announce all of the winners of the respective awards of which will be broadcast at 7pm (EST) on Tuesday 14th July via www.pga.org.au.
With the success of the recent WA Golf Industry Awards Night which saw golf clubs and individuals gather to watch the evening, finalists are encouraged to watch the broadcast in groups (relative to gathering restrictions in place on this date) to celebrate their achievements. Physical awards will be presented to the winners of each award in the week(s) following the broadcast to assist in the additional promotion of their accolades.
A full list of the award finalists can be found below:
Golf Club of the Year
Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members)
Golf Supplier of the Year
Junior Program of the Year Finalists
Volunteer of the Year
Game Development Professional of the Year
Manager of the Year
Coach of the Year
Club Professional of the Year
Management Professional of the Year
Golf Club Staff Member of the Year
Golf Club Board Member of the Year
Tournament of the Year
Superintendents Achievement Award
Metropolitan Tournament of the Year
Regional Tournament of the Year
Legends Tournament of the Year
PGA Trainee of the Year
Golf Course Turf Apprentice of the Year
Superintendents Environment and Safety Excellence Award
PGA IGI Excellence in Golf Education Award
Other awards announced on the evening include:
Stress-free living, protein shakes and spaghetti bolognaise.
That’s the secret formula to a bulkier physique that West Australian Jarryd Felton hopes will make his body more durable when tournament play resumes.
As Bryson DeChambeau threatens to reshape what a golfer looks like with his new polo-stretching build and the 350-plus yard drives that it was able to unleash, Felton revealed that he too has spent a good part of the COVID-19 constructing a bigger, stronger body.
Whippet-thin at just 69 kilograms when the PGA Tour of Australasia was forced to suspend its season following the New Zealand Open, the 2017 NZ PGA champion has added seven kilograms of muscle that while not designed to launch bombs should provide a boost back out on tour.
“I’ve not necessarily done a Bryson but I’ve tried to put on some weight and go to the gym as much as I can, build some strength,” revealed Felton, who was top-15 at both the Queensland Open and NZ Open in his two most recent starts prior to the coronavirus shutdown.
“Playing tournament golf, it’s impossible to maintain your strength and I’m always coming back lighter with lost weight and a bit of stress in that as well. My body has been the No.1 focus, trying to get that to a level where I can maintain it for the rest of the year.
“I’ve had a couple of hip surgeries when I was younger that I’ve had to maintain throughout my playing career.
“It’s not necessarily added any more distance but just for my body’s sake, it’s maintaining how good I’m feeling each day.
“I’m not waking up sore or in pain and able to lift heavy weights which has been really good.”
With status on the European Challenge Tour, Felton received a welcome e-mail on Tuesday morning detailing the two events in Austria from July 9 that would mark the resumption of the Challenge Tour.
Such is his status that Felton is unsure how many events he would be eligible to play on the six-week European Tour swing in the UYKL that would follow two weeks in Austria, making a return to Europe still a difficult question to answer.
“I saw that e-mail this morning. I haven’t really read through it too well but that’s got to be a positive sign,” said Felton.
“We can go over there and we’re playing for money which is great but in this time you don’t really know what the best thing to do is.
“It’s hard to commit. The money’s great but if you’re going from country to country it’s going to be pretty difficult.”
In the meantime, Felton will stoke his competitive fire with regular nine-hole matches with his girlfriend and Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green.
The pair have committed to two charity exhibition matches in the next month, the first of which is Friday’s WA Golf Guns Charity Shootout Challenge at Gosnells Golf Club that will be broadcast on Instagram Live.
“The new pro here Scott McLean came up with an idea of having a nine-hole Instagram Live type match so we thought we should try and do something for charity at the same time,” Felton added.
“It’s been a tough road the past three or four months sitting around and doing nothing so if we can do our best to help out these families and raise some money – and stay competitive – then that’s something positive.”
It was time to dust off the rust and get the competitive juices flowing again and it was two-time Australian Open champion Matt Jones who did it best among the Aussies returning to tournament golf in the US.
There were 13 Aussies in action at the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge and the Korn Ferry Tour’s Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass but only one Australian played in all four rounds at each event, Sutherland Shire boys Jones and Jamie Arnold.
Normally clean-shaven and sharply dressed, Jones looked as though he’d lost his razor in isolation, sporting a bushy beard and a shaggy hairdo that made him almost unrecognizable from the man who triumphed at The Australian Golf Club in December.
It didn’t impact his golf game in any negative fashion, marking the PGA TOUR’s return after 91 days with a bogey-free 4-under 66 in the opening round to be tied for 16th.
Rounds of 69-70 saw Jones start the final round in a tie for 33rd and he looked like making a Sunday impression when he completed the front nine in 2-under 33 to get to 7-under.
A failure to get up-and-down from the greenside at the par-4 10th halted his forward momentum and two more in the following two holes and a birdie at 13 saw him sign for an even par 70 and a tie for 38th, American Daniel Berger claiming the crown with a playoff victory over Collin Morikawa.
While they didn’t qualify for the weekend rounds first start back there were some positive indicators for the other five Aussies who teed it up in Texas.
Veteran John Senden played the first two rounds in 1-under while Cameron Davis, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith each had one round in the 60s as they gear up for a busy schedule ahead.
As Kareela Golf Club junior Matt Jones led the way at Fort Worth it was a Cronulla Golf Club product who was the best of the Aussie contingent on the Korn Ferry Tour courtesy of the low round of the week at TPC Sawgrass.
Opening with a 2-over par round of 72, Jamie Arnold generated momentum at the start of his second round with a birdie at the par-3 11th – his second hole of the day – and kept the hammer down, his eight birdies and lone bogey thrusting him inside the top 10 at the halfway mark.
Birdies at the first and fifth holes further entrenched Arnold near the top of the leaderboard early in the third round but he played the next 27 holes in 10-over par, birdies at 16 and 18 a positive way to end his tournament return and a tie for 46th.
Kiwi Tim Wilkinson was two shots further back of Arnold in a tie for 56th as American Luke List claimed victory by a stroke from Shad Tuten and Joseph Bramlett.
Although he failed to make the cut, West Australian Curtis Luck left TPC Sawgrass with a memory to savour, registering the first hole-in-one of his professional career in round one at the 229-yard par-3 11th.
PGA TOUR
Charles Schwab Challenge
Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
T38 Matt Jones 66-70-69-70—275 $US32,625
MC John Senden 69-70—139
MC Danny Lee 70-70—140
MC Cameron Davis 73-68—141
MC Marc Leishman 69-72—141
MC Cameron Smith 69-73—142
MC Jason Day 70-72—142
Korn Ferry Tour
Korn Ferry Challenge
TPC Sawgrass (Dye’s Valley Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
T46 Jamie Arnold 72-63-72-74—281 $US2,655
T56 Tim Wilkinson 66-71-75-71—283 $2,496
MC Brett Drewitt 72-69—141
MC Harrison Endycott 70-72—142
MC Brett Coletta 73-69—142
MC Curtis Luck 67-77–144
MC Steven Alker 71-73—144
MC Ryan Ruffels 71-74–145
MC Robert Allenby 73-72—145
A birdie on the first hole of his first tournament since mid-February was nice but what West Australian Curtis Luck did next was nothing short of extraordinary.
Having teed off from the 10th hole in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass’s Valley Course, Luck made a regulation one-putt birdie at the 408-yard par-4 10th. Next was the 229-yard par-3 11th – the second toughest hole on the golf course – where Luck made the first competitive hole-in-one of his career.
Three-under through two holes catapulted Luck towards the top of the leaderboard and he managed to maintain his position for the remainder of the round, three birdies in his final five holes countering three bogeys to open with a 3-under 67 and tied for 11th.
Despite his spectacular scorecard Luck wasn’t the pick of the Australasian players during Round 1 of the Korn Ferry Tour’s resumption with Kiwi Tim Wilkinson going one better than the Aussie with a 4-under 66 to be tied for second, two shots behind Frenchman Paul Barjon.
Like Luck, Wilkinson started his opening round from the 10th tee and made the turn at 3-under, two further birdies and a lone bogey at the par-4 fourth putting the left-hander in a strong position late in the first round.
Sydney’s Harrison Endycott was the next best of the Aussies with an even par round of 70 putting him in a tie for 62nd followed by Ryan Ruffels (71), Brett Drewitt (72), Jamie Arnold (72), Robert Allenby (73) and Brett Coletta (73) needing to make some positive progress in the second round to make the cut.
In the PGA TOUR’s return at the Charles Schwab Challenge it was 2016 Australian PGA champion Harold Varner III setting the early page alongside Englishman Justin Rose.
Varner and Rose shrugged off the rust to sit atop a star-studded leaderboard at Colonial Country Club in Texas with 7-under par rounds of 63, one shot clear of 2018 Australian Open champion Abraham Ancer, Jhonattan Vegas and Collin Morikawa.
Bogey-free through his first 14 holes reigning Australian Open champ Matt Jones was the pick of the Aussies early at 2-under with four holes still to play while Marc Leishman fought back from a double-bogey on his opening hole and another dropped shot at his second to sign for a 1-under 69.
Two-time Australian PGA winner Cameron Smith also marked his return with a 1-under 69 while Jason Day, John Senden and Cameron Davis were all even par late in their opening rounds.
Australian golf will find a new home in the heart of Melbourne’s Sandbelt with a new state-of-the-art facility to be built.
The Australian Golf Centre will be the new headquarters for Golf Australia, PGA of Australia, Golf Victoria and Sandringham Golf Links Management.
The $18.8 million project, majority funded by the Victorian Government’s $15.3 million investment, will create one of the country’s premier golf facilities on the site of Sandringham Golf Links, opposite the world-renowned Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
The facility will feature a new public 30-bay driving range with target greens, the redevelopment of the existing 18-hole golf course, a public café and the National High Performance Centre, which will help shape the next generation of golf heroes.
The industry-leading centre will also feature:
The contract for the building construction work, to be undertaken by local firm 2Construct and expected to generate 24 jobs, was signed this week. The projected completion date for these works is April 2021.
Redevelopment of nine holes has been completed, with the remaining nine holes to be finished by December 2020. The course redesign and construction is being undertaken by Australian golf architects Ogilvy Cocking and Mead, with help from the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
PGA of Australia chairman Rodger Davis said the project was another sign of the increasing unity in Australian golf.
“The Australian Golf Centre will help unify golf’s peak bodies and create efficiencies that will introduce more participants to our great game,” Davis said.
Golf Australia chairman Andrew Newbold said the centre would generate many benefits.
“Not only for our emerging talent but for Australian professionals as well, which gives the entire industry a base and a place to inspire the next generation into the sport,” Newbold said.
Stephen Spargo, president of Golf Victoria which is the project principal, was excited about the centre’s potential to be a nationally unifying force for the golf community.
“It’s fantastic to see those in the sport rally behind such a great project and we’re delighted that it can take place in the heartland of Melbourne golf,” Spargo said.
Victorian Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said the new centre would enhance the state’s reputation as “the home of golf in Australia” and continue to help the community’s re-emergence from the impacts of COVID-19.
“Golf is a great employer at the local and elite levels and investments like this are important in setting up the industry to thrive on the other side of the pandemic,” Pakula said.
Victorian Marc Leishman will have the honour of being the first Australian to tee off in the PGA TOUR’s resumption when he begins his first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at 10.34pm on Thursday night.
After 91 days of COVID-19-induced suspension the richest tour in world golf begins again with no crowds, new innovations and players itching to compete once again.
Each of the top five players in the world are all playing at famed Colonial Country Club along with Aussies Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Matt Jones, John Senden and Cameron Davis along with Kiwi Danny Lee.
Starting from the 10th tee, Leishman is the first of the Australians to kick-start their season alongside major champions Graeme McDowell and Patrick Reed while Day will play with Keegan Bradley and Si Woo Kim in the opening two rounds.
In stringent medical testing that makes the Tour’s resumption possible all players in the field have tested negative to coronavirus but PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan recognises that starting again is only one part of the process.
“If there’s one thing you learn as you look back over the last 90 days and you go forward, there’s steps that you take,” Monahan said.
“We’ve passed some important hurdles. These are important steps. But now we get inside the field of play.
“Now you think about all the things that we’re asking our players and caddies and everybody that’s here in this small bubble to do, we need to execute on that.”
Four Australians have won at Colonial dating back to Bruce Crampton in 1965 but for those in action this week it is a venue they have to reacquaint themselves with.
Leishman hasn’t played in the event since he was tied for 34th in 2017 while Day’s absence stretches back to 2011, his best finish coming two years earlier when he was tied for fourth.
It’s a debut appearance for Cameron Davis but he will be able to lean on one of his playing partners in the opening two rounds for insight having been drawn to play with 1997 champion David Frost.
In addition to the PGA TOUR season restarting the Korn Ferry Tour is also back this week with seven Australians to play in the inaugural Korn Ferry Challenge on the Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
The promotion of the top 25 on the moneylist to the PGA TOUR the following year has been scrapped for 2020 yet there will be performance benefits made available to those inside the top 10 at the end of the year.
Born in Florida, Ryan Ruffels logged two top-15 finishes in his first three events on the Korn Ferry Tour to start the year and is excited by where his game is heading.
“I feel like everything is building,” Ruffels told PGATOUR.com’s Adam Stanley.
“I’m not going to make a huge jump from where I am now to being the No.1 player in the world in six months but I feel like everything is gradually building and moving in the right direction and that’s what’s pretty exciting for me.
“I can keep working on what I’m working on now and that will keep moving me forward.”
PGA Tour
Charles Schwab Challenge
Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
Tee Times
10.34pm* Marc Leishman, Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell
11.51pm Danny Lee, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Gay
3.33am Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Long
4.17am* Jason Day, Keegan Bradley, Si Woo Kim
4.28am* Matt Jones, Scott McCarron, Byeong Hun An
4.50am* John Senden, Nick Watney, Erik van Rooyen
5.12am Cameron Davis, David Frost, Franklin Corpening
TV times: 6am Friday; 6am Saturday; 3am Sunday; 3am Monday on Fox Sports 503
Past Australian champions: Bruce Crampton (1965), Bruce Devlin (1966), Ian Baker-Finch (1989), Adam Scott (2014)
Top Aussie prediction: Matt Jones
Korn Ferry Tour
Korn Ferry Challenge
TPC Sawgrass (Valley Course), Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
9pm* Tim Wilkinson, Adam Svensson, Kyle Reifers
9.44pm* Curtis Luck, David Kocher, Braden Thornberry
10.17pm Robert Allenby, Anders Albertson, Tyson Alexander
11.12pm Harrison Endycott, Sebastián Vázquez, Brent Grant
2.41am Ryan Ruffels, Mark Anderson, Greyson Sigg
2.52am Brett Drewitt, Jamie Lovemark, Drew Weaver
3.25am Jamie Arnold, Tommy Gainey, Rob Oppenheim
3.36am Steven Alker, Dan McCarthy, Austin Smotherman
3.58am Brett Coletta, Robert Streb, Grant Hirschman
Australian champions: Inaugural event
Top Aussie prediction: Ryan Ruffels
As the PGA TOUR prepares to resume, Adam Scott has completed a nine-hole shootout against an old mate’s son who in a short space of time has gone from fawning fan to star pupil.
Currently ranked No.6 in the world, Scott has chosen a cautious approach to when he will return to golf’s top echelon, instead preferring the more relaxed routine that has entailed games with old acquaintances throughout the Sunshine Coast.
One of those was at Maleny Golf Club against former Japan Golf Tour winner Wayne Perske, a match Scott dubbed ‘9 Holes With A Mate’ that he broadcast live on Instagram to his 228,000 followers.
Scott announced on Tuesday morning via his social media channels that he would be playing nine holes at Caloundra Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon against Bailey Arnott, a first year at Iowa State University and the son of Caloundra Head Professional Tom Arnott.
Three years Scott’s senior, Arnott would allow Scott to tag along in early morning matches as juniors at Royal Queensland and during this COVID-19-induced hiatus has seen first-hand Scott’s generous nature.
Not only has he taken 18-year-old Bailey under his wing with regular rounds and a one-on-one training session at his home, Scott has spent time at Caloundra visiting with juniors and conducting clinics as well as providing a boost to a club member doing it tough.
The junior club champion in 1995 and a hard-hitting all-rounder in local cricket, Craig Grant suffered a severe stroke five years ago that makes verbal communication impossible.
It hasn’t stopped him however from establishing the Craig Grant Junior Golf Fund to help pay for junior clinics at the club and Scott popped in with Arnott in part to boost his spirits, and also to say thanks.
“Craig had a massive stroke five years ago,” Arnott explains. “He’s got two daughters, used to play off 1 and 2 and still sponsors my junior program.
“He is in full-time care now and Adam and I turned up at his house and spent 45 minutes with him having a chat.
“He can’t talk but to see the look in his eyes… he knew who was there and what was going on.
“It was really special.
“When the whole COVID-19 stuff started happening Adam offered to come and wash carts for me.
“We had to put half the staff off but we had two-balls, members only, and you could not move out here. It was check-in from 6am until 4pm.
“He rang to see how I was going and genuinely cared about what was happening.
“As the COVID stuff started happening, he rang me to see whether Bailey had been able to get back from the US in time because he was going to offer to fly him out if he was still at college.
“That’s just the type of guy he is.”
Despite the generosity that has been on show throughout his extended stay at home, Scott has been less than giving in regular matches with his former junior sparring partner.
Arnott estimates that they have played together two or three times a week over the past two months and despite all his riches, Scott has no hesitation in putting out his hand at the end of a round.
“Everyone says how nice he is but they’ve obviously never played golf against him,” Arnott jokes.
“He took $5 off me the other day. I got it out of my wallet and said, ‘You want this don’t you?’ And he said yeah and pocketed it.
“He and I played against (Ladbrokes Legends Tour regulars) Brad Burns and Glenn Joyner the other day and they beat us 2&1. They came ready to play, don’t worry about that. I think I let the team down that day.”
As for the lasting legacy Scott’s visits will have on the club, Arnott has no doubt the juniors will talk about the time they got to spend with one of the best players in the world for many years to come.
“It creates a whole new vibe amongst the golf club because he has been out here quite a bit,” said Arnott.
“The kids look up to me as the PGA Professional but it goes to another level when they know you’re mates with Adam Scott.”
In racing terms, Blake Windred had jumped clear of the stalls in his maiden debut, found his stride and settled into his work, only for stewards to step in and cancel the race less than a furlong in.
Top 10 in his first two starts as a professional and tied for 16th at the Australian Open in December at the course he calls home, The Australian Golf Club, Windred went into 2020 with an eye to graduating to the European Tour by the end of the year.
The coronavirus pandemic that threw the world golf schedule into disarray put paid to those plans yet Windred refused to wallow in self pity, instead dedicating himself to practice that will pay off when opportunity knocks again.
“I feel like I’ve treated this period of my career pretty well actually,” said Windred, who finished inside the top 30 at the Vic Open, Queensland Open and New Zealand Open before his tournament schedule was temporarily placed on hold.
“I’ve been able to stick to training every day and feel like I’ve gotten fitter and stronger and gotten better on the golf side of things.
“I’ve been very lucky. I’m still very motivated and trying to get ready for when my opportunity does come around.
“I don’t look at it as though I am practising for an event in six weeks’ time. I think about it as a journey. This is just what I do every day. This is my work, so why should I get to take six weeks off just because there are no tests in six weeks?
“It doesn’t make sense in my head so that’s why I kept going hard at it. That’s something I’m trying to pride myself on, working hard, so no reason to stop.”
Working with Gary Barter at The Australian, it was the podcasts that provide the backdrop to his practice routine that first alerted the 22-year-old Novocastrian that 2020 wasn’t going to pan out the way he had originally planned.
“I was practising at The Australian and I started listening to podcasts – just the usual ones I tend to listen to all day while I’m practising,” Windred revealed.
“On one of the podcasts he started talking about how the country could go into lockdown. I couldn’t believe it.
“We talked about it at dinner that night but it still seemed far-fetched at that time. But then all of a sudden everyone was going to the supermarkets to stock up on food.
“From there a lot of the golf professionals that I spend time with who play on the Australasian Tour and in Asia started saying that we might not be playing for the rest of the year.
“That was kind of shocking to hear but at the same time I felt like I couldn’t have handled it any better.”
An unexpected reward to present itself recently has been the invitation to join TAG Heuer as an ambassador for the brand new Golf Edition of the third generation Connected watch.
Released in June 2020, the watch is the second Golf Edition from TAG Heuer created specifically for the golf community following the success of the first edition presented in 2019 alongside the TAG Heuer Golf app.
Given it comes loaded with features such as 3D mapping of some 40,000 courses, distances to hazards and shot tracking in a classical look synonymous with TAG Heuer, Windred is unlikely to be allowed to wear it in competition but already has a special occasion in mind to show it off.
“It looks amazing. For me, it was a bit of a surprise when I got the e-mail to be even associated with a prestigious brand such as TAG Heuer,” said Windred.
“It’s nearly like getting a start in a big tournament. I feel things like this may pop up in my career if you work hard, be a good person and play good golf.
“I probably won’t be able to wear it during tournaments but hopefully one day when I’m holding up a trophy I’ll have it on.”
As for his prospects of tournament golf in 2020, Windred says he will be on the first plane to Europe once a schedule is confirmed.
The next event on the Challenge Tour calendar yet to be cancelled or postponed is the Euram Bank Open in Austria from July 16 and Windred is prepared to play mini tours in the meantime.
Windred’s management Modest! Golf – a company headed up by music superstar Niall Horan – recently entered into a partnership with the Clutch Pro Tour that offers playing opportunities throughout Europe, an opportunity Windred is open to exploring.
“Even if the Challenge Tour wasn’t on this year at all I’d pay good money to go and compete overseas right now,” said Windred.
“I feel like it can’t be too far away. If there are all these plans for the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and then into European Tour… The boys were talking about maybe not getting out this year but I just find that hard to believe.
“I’ll be doing everything I can to get overseas as soon as possible.”
Sanctuary Cove PGA Professional Michael Jones never once considered cancelling his second annual ‘Morning Tee’ in aid of the Cancer Council in this age of COVID-19, he just had to find a different way to deliver it.
Jones and Oregon State University representative and Sanctuary Cove member Isabelle Taylor last week hosted three clinics for lady members at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club on the Gold Coast, the restrictions on public gatherings keeping each clinic to a maximum of eight participants.
It’s a far cry from the 75 ladies who attended the inaugural ‘Morning Tee’ conducted by Jones last year but represents an opportunity to do some good as so many people are doing it tough.
“I had testicular cancer when I was 30 and went through the whole gamut of chemotherapy, the whole lot,” explains Jones, who in addition to his role as Golf Instructor at Sanctuary Cove has worked with tour players such as Brad Kennedy and Matthew Millar.
“The treatments have come a long way since then and that’s in large part because people have been able to help research by raising money.
“As a golf pro I thought about what I could do and so last year we had the first of our ‘Morning Tee’ clinics where we raised around $3,500.
“Even though we are in the middle of this coronavirus pandemic it shows that people are still trying to do things to benefit people going through cancer treatment, diagnosis and recovery.
“So many things are having to be cancelled due to the coronavirus and the restrictions but I just thought that if there was a way and a means of doing it, why not.”
Despite the country being in lockdown for much of the past three months, the ladies at Sanctuary Cove responded just as Jones expected they would when he announced that he and Isabelle would be conducting the clinics again.
“We sold out the clinics in about 45 minutes. It was like they were tickets to a U2 concert or something,” says Jones, laughing.
“We put on two clinics and they sold out really quickly, put on a third and that also sold out. We could probably have put on two more if we’d wanted to.
“There are a few ladies here going through breast cancer and ovarian cancer so the cause is quite close to them and they got behind it straight away.
“It’s another good example that while we’re in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment, if we can still help out some people who are doing it a bit tougher than us then why not.”
Given the number of members who are residents at Sanctuary Cove, demand for tee times and lessons has been high as Aussies have been forced to stay close to home.
And not only have existing members increased the frequency of their play, Jones is seeing some former golfers return to the sport in strong numbers.
“I’ve got a number of lessons this week with people who are getting back into golf. With all the restrictions people are genuinely looking at activities they can participate in,” says Jones.
“They might have played when they were a kid and because they can get out and play have dusted off the clubs and got back out there.
“The overwhelming feeling during this time here has been gratitude. The members at Sanctuary Cove have all been terrific in accepting the way they have had to play their golf the past couple of months and they all adhered to it really quickly. Like most courses, they recognised that something was better than nothing.
“Teaching-wise it’s been probably one of my busiest periods because whatever people are allowed to do, they seem to be doing a lot of it.
“We have a lot of elderly members here who might live on their own these days so if they don’t come to golf they don’t get the opportunity to talk to too many people.
“I’ve spent quite a few half-hour lessons just talking to people more so than worrying about hitting golf balls.
“In this current climate people are searching for something positive and to at least have the satisfaction that they did something with their day and golf has been able to provide that for them.”
If you would like to donate to the Cancer Council click here.
Deyen Lawson will use the framework of some of the best players in world golf as he makes a temporary return to the teaching ranks under Todd Sleep at The Glades driving range on the Gold Coast.
With the resumption of the European Tour schedule continuing to be a fluid proposition, Lawson has decided to put the traineeship he completed at Curlewis Golf Club in Victoria to good use, assisting Sleep in the shop and making himself available to give lessons.
With his first lessons booked in this week with Glades members and juniors eager to learn from a European Tour player, Lawson will highlight what the finest swingers of the golf club have in common and how golfers at every level can incorporate those elements into their own games.
“Being around a lot of really, really good players, none of them swing it the same but there are a couple of things in either set-up or impact position that 99.9 per cent of really good players do,” said Lawson, who earned a European Tour card at Qualifying School in 2018 and was tied for 10th at the 2019 Australian Open.
“If someone isn’t doing that I’ll try to see why they’re not doing that and keep it simple to try and get them in that position, whether it be through grip, set-up or something else and then take it from there.
“I’ve always been pretty good at communicating. I think I’m reasonable at reading people too and the way they like to learn when it comes to the golf swing.
“Some people are visual, some people are mental, some people like seeing their swing, some people don’t. I’ve had five years of being around coaches and some of the best players in the world and everybody is different.
“There are so many different ways to be taught and with the golf swing there is no one right way.”
Determined to return to life on tour as soon as it is safe to do so, Lawson will continue to work on his own game in between commitments at the TS Golf Academy.
Manning the shop on Sundays and available to give lessons during the week, Lawson said even with his practice schedule it is a workload that he is used to.
Having begun his traineeship under Drew Robertson at Curlewis, Lawson’s responsibilities grew prior to David and Lyndsay Sharpe buying the club and, despite the hours, now values what it taught him about the inner workings of a golf club.
“Ever since I was 15 I worked two part-time jobs or was doing my traineeship or played full-time so I felt like I needed to do something,” Lawson said of his decision to get back in the shop.
“Last year I was in Europe for 33 weeks and played six or eight events here and in between you’re practising. For me to go back to work one day and do a bit of coaching, it doesn’t really feel like that much.
“At the start of my traineeship I was doing Saturdays and Sundays from 6am-6pm.
“When Lyndsay and David Sharpe bought the club I went from doing Saturdays by myself from 6am-6pm with 200 in the comp to be able to do what a trainee should do.
“There was around two months where we didn’t have a manager or a Head Professional so I was kind of running everything and doing silly amounts of hours. It was good in the sense that I could see how everything at a golf club works.
“Then when Lyndsay and David took over, who have a lot of successful businesses, it was good to be able to see the way they operate and why they have so many successful businesses.”
As for taking on a position as a Head Professional himself in future, Lawson didn’t rule it out completely but has his sights set on a return to the tour, whenever that might be.
“I can’t imagine it,” Lawson said when asked whether he will return to Europe this year. “Maybe this time next year.
“Until players from every country can travel it’s hard to see how you could have an event.
“If you’re from Italy and you’ve got status but you’re not allowed to travel then you can’t really have a tournament. That’s not fair on them.
“I wouldn’t say no (to a Head Professional position) but at the moment I love playing and I love competing.
“I know where my game stands and there’s still a lot I would like to fulfil in playing.”
