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Still thriving in the wake of a pandemic-inspired resurgence, the golf industry in Western Australia has gathered to celebrate the people, clubs and facilities that continued to elevate the game throughout 2021.
To celebrate the achievements of 2021, the WA Golf Industry came together on Friday 15 July at Joondalup Resort for the ADH Club Car WA Golf Industry Awards Night.
Over the course of the year, PGA Professionals led the charge for the golf industry in Western Australia – their efforts duly recognised in front of their peers by WA Golf Industry Awards night Chairman, Gary Thomas.
“It is encouraging to see so many individuals recognised for their tireless efforts in assisting the growth and development of golf within the state of Western Australia,” he said.
“The night is truly an evening that is dedicated to those showing commitment to the game whether it be those playing, teaching, managing… or having worked as part of a team to be successful.”
The five awards presented last Friday for PGA Professionals were for Club Professional of the Year, Coach of the Year – High Performance, Coach of the Year – Game Development, Management Professional of the Year and PGA Associate of the Year.
Operations Manager at Wembley Golf Course, Jason Roach was the recipient of the Hilary Lawler Club Professional of the Year Award. Having won the equivalent award in Queensland in 2019 when he was at Cairns Golf Club, Roach has gone above and beyond in his role since crossing to Wembley in April 2020.
Roach led his team exceptionally well, generating increased shop revenue, offering improved customer experience, as well as maximising tee-time availability and an increase in patronage.
Pleased by Roach’s recognition, General Manager of Wembley Golf Course Josh Madden, was keen to praise the entire team.
“What a night and what a win from Jason Roach,” he said.
“This award goes out to the entire WGC team because we are better together.”
Now a PGA Professional for more than 20 years, Ritchie Smith of Royal Fremantle Golf Club was named WA PGA Coach of the Year – High Performance for a stunning ninth time.
A glittering record, Smith remains one of the pre-eminent coaches in world golf and a wonderful ambassador for golf in Western Australia. A worthy recipient, he supports the continued excellence of Australian stars Minjee Lee (world No.2), Hannah Green (world No.18) and Min Woo Lee (world No.71).
Additionally, Smith’s stable of elite amateurs continued to perform strongly throughout 2021 – Josh Greer, Hayden Hopewell and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard all recorded impressive results at home and abroad.
Mark Tibbles – Teaching Professional at the Vines Resort and Country Club – won the award for Coach of the Year – Game Development. Tibbles’ dedication toward the development of the game in all areas – particularly juniors, ladies and all-abilities – makes him a very worthy winner.
Throughout 2021, Tibbles spent nearly 950 coaching hours coordinating 452 clinics and 280 individual lessons, for more than 1,000 total participants. As a result of his dedication, more than 40 new members joined the Vines after participating in his clinics or private lessons.
Named PGA WA Management Professional of the Year, Desmond Shearer’s receipt of the award comes three years into his second five-year plan for Bunbury Golf Club.
Having already overseen the completion of key projects including an irrigation system upgrade, the introduction of an online golf retail store and the development of a Membership Retention Program, Shearer continues to ensure Bunbury can offer an optimal experience for all members and guests.
Currently in his final year of the Membership Pathway Program, Joshua Herrero from the Rockingham Golf Club was named the PGA Associate of the Year. Herrero has excelled in the playing component during 2021 with a stroke average of -1.29. This, combined with his strong academic results, makes him a deserving winner of the PGA Associate of the Year Award.
PGA Membership Manager for Western Australia, Brendon Allanby was thrilled to see PGA Members recognised last Friday.
“It was an opportunity to recognise the incredible work being done by our PGA Members in service of the golf industry in 2021,” he said.
“Each of our winners were thoroughly deserving of their PGA award and are directly contributing to more Australians playing more golf.”
PGA Professionals Peter Maidment and Ackzel Donaldson also received Industry awards on the night. Maidment, from Mount Lawley Golf Club was named Employee of the Year, while Donaldson was the winner of Outstanding Game Development Program of the Year, for his work at the Joondalup Junior Academy.
Friday also marked Robert Farley’s final awards night as WA PGA Chairman. He gave a brief speech before presenting the awards for the evening. We look forward to recognising Robert for this long-standing contribution to the WA PGA Committee at the upcoming WA Annual State Meeting on Thursday 25July 2022 at Royal Perth Golf Club.
A full list of award winners from the ADH Club Car WA Golf Industry Awards Night is available below:
PGA WA Associate of the Year
Josh Herrero – Rockingham Golf Club
Hilary Lawler PGA WA Club Professional of the Year
Jason Roach – Wembley Golf Course
PGA WA Coach of the Year- Coach of the Year
Ritchie Smith – Royal Fremantle Golf Club
PGA WA Coach of the Year – Game Development
Mark Tibbles – The Vines Resort and Country Club
PGA WA Tournament of the Year
Nexus Risk Services South West Open
PGA WA Management Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Des Shearer – Bunbury Golf Club
Apprentice of the Year – Proudly sponsored AFGRI Equipment
Jon Christmas – Lakelands Country Club
Superintendent of the Year – Sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Lance Knox – Busselton Golf Club
Environmental Award
Mount Lawley Golf Club
WA Golf Industry Recognition Award
Jim Barr
Outstanding Game Development Program of the Year
Ackzel Donaldson – Joondalup Junior Academy
Employee of the Year – Sponsored by MiClub
Peter Maidment – Mount Lawley Golf Club
Volunteer of the Year – Sponsored by Bowra and O’Dea
Leon Temby – Lancelin Golf Club
Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
The Western Australian Golf Club
Regional Golf Course of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Kalgoorlie Golf Course
Metropolitan Golf Facility of the Year
The Western Australian Golf Club
Regional Golf Facility of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Bunbury Golf Club
Outstanding Golf Achievement Award
Minjee Lee
Ask any of the more than 1 million people to have played The Scramble to recount their experience and inevitably there is a treasured memory to share.
Whether it is a glorious moment of triumph, an abject failure that is never forgotten or simply the opportunity to play in a team environment with friends and family, The Scramble generates memories that stay with you long after the final putt drops.
In 2022 The Scramble celebrates 30 years of making memories with the promise of many more to come.
Since 1997 alone there have been 12,178 Scramble events conducted at golf clubs throughout Australia, 64 per cent of those held in regional areas.
An estimated six million swings have produced some 1.8 million birdies all with the primary purpose of securing a place at the coveted Championship Final.
But with an average of more than 30,000 competitors every year for the past three decades, The Scramble offers so much more than a shot at glory.
“When we speak to people about their experience playing The Scramble the words we hear most often are ‘team’, ‘friends’, ‘family’ and ‘fun’,” says PGA of Australia Events Manager, Lou Meagher.
“Golfers don’t often have the opportunity to play in team events and each and every year we see a great sense of camaraderie not only within individual teams but all the teams who take part.
“It’s quite extraordinary to think that over the past 30 years more than one million people have teed it up in a Scramble event.
“There really is nothing else like it and why after 30 years it continues to grow in popularity.”
The 2021/2022 Scramble season saw 32,364 participants take part on the way to the Championship Final at Twin Waters won by Bankstown Golf Club (Mixed) and Rossdale Golf Club (Womens).
The addition of a dedicated Womens competition in 2005 added a new dimension to The Scramble and given the influx in golf participation the past two years, the expectation is that it will continue to grow.
“Golf has experienced a significant period of growth in participation and The Scramble is an ideal format for those people who are perhaps relatively new to our sport,” said PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman.
“Anyone with a registered handicap can take part and the team element and Ambrose format creates the ideal mix of a competitive yet fun environment.
“Each year since 2005 we have seen an increase in events staged specifically for women and I have no doubt we will see that trend continue in the upcoming 2022 Scramble season.
“Australia’s club golfers have made it the most popular team event for the past 30 years and we’re excited to see their support continue for many years to come.”
Don’t miss out on being part of the 30th year celebrations of Australia’s largest teams golf event. Grab three friends and enter an event near you today.
For the full Scramble schedule visit: https://thescramble.com.au/event.
If your club would like to host a Scramble event click here.
The PGA of Australia and Golf Australia are calling on golf clubs across the country to dedicate a members’ day to the memory of Jarrod Lyle and help raise much-needed funds for Challenge, a charity devoted to supporting children and families living with cancer.
Since its inaugural year in 2019, #DoingItForJarrod has turned golf clubs into a sea of yellow and this year will be no exception with the campaign to run during August, September, and October and will culminate with Yellow Day on Friday 25 November at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Having been diagnosed with cancer three times throughout his life, Jarrod Lyle understood the hardship that young people and their families face when battling this disease.
For many years Jarrod was an ambassador for Challenge, a not-for-profit organisation that supports children and families living with cancer and aims to lighten the cancer journey for the whole family, 365 days of the year.
“I would like to encourage all golf fans and golf clubs to get behind #DoingItForJarrod so that Challenge can continue to honour Jarrod’s legacy and continue his mission to support other families living with cancer,” said David Rogers, chief executive officer of Challenge.
“To date, with the help of golf clubs nationwide, the campaign has raised more than $425,000 and has been enjoyed by thousands of amateur and social golfers. This year, we’re excited to grow that total further and see many more golfers enjoying their day on the course in yellow.”
PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman was honoured to continue the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship’s relationship with #DoingItForJarrod.
“Yellow Day on Friday at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship is an incredibly special day every year. It is a true highlight of the tournament and I cannot wait to see Royal Queensland covered in yellow this November,” Kirkman said.
“The players love playing in Jarrod’s honour, the fans love getting involved too and PGA Professionals working in clubs around the country have thrown their support behind #DoingItForJarrod days and we look forward to seeing them bring their clubs together throughout August, September and October.”
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland was also delighted to play a role in carrying on Jarrod’s legacy and supporting those impacted by cancer.
“Every year the Australian golf community is reminded of what a champion Jarrod was off the course,” Sutherland said.
“#DoingItForJarrod showcases the incredible spirit and power of golf clubs across the country by helping those in need. We once again ask all clubs to get involved with the campaign again, or for the first time, this year.”
Creating yellow-themed events, encouraging club members to don yellow and selling Challenge merchandise at your club are just some of the ways you can help raise money. All donations are tax deductible.All monies raised through #DoingItForJarrod will go towards a special legacy, Jarrod’s Gift, that has been created by Challenge in Jarrod’s honour.
You can help Challenge by donating directly, or purchasing clothing and pins carrying the Leuk the Duck symbol Jarrod Lyle wore as a Challenge ambassador, by visiting www.challenge.org.au.
To register your club for #DoingItForJarrod in 2022, or for further information, please visit the Challenge website.
Mark Parry attributes the result to a confluence of varying factors but he is seeing undeniable proof that more and more young girls are becoming attracted to the game of golf.
Working with up to 220 kids across three locations in Perth – Rockingham Golf Club, Lake Karrinyup Country Club and Collier Park Golf Course – Parry has seen a dramatic increase in girls joining his junior clinics.
Whether inspired by the deeds of fellow West Australians Minjee Lee and Hannah Green on the LPGA Tour, the greater exposure provided to women’s sport in general or the opportunities offered by the Australian Golf Foundation Junior Girls Scholarship program, girls are coming to golf in their droves.
“Looking through my whole academy over the three locations, it’s probably looking at a quarter of my students are now girls where before it would have been maybe 10 per cent,” Parry explains.
“Through the education system, girls are being encouraged and have the opportunities now to play all these sports, including golf.
“Golf WA, Golf Australia and the PGA are embracing this with the girls’ scholarship and the girls are embracing that as well.
“They feel more comfortable to get involved in these programs and try these games and realise it’s not just for the boys. It’s great.”
Originally from England and having spent time in China before arriving in Perth five years ago, Parry’s focus has been in the junior space for much of his career as a PGA Professional.
The brother of DP World Tour winner John Parry, Mark has recognised the ways in which girls learn the game and the environments in which they feel most comfortable.
“I really enjoy teaching the girls because they’re a bit more mature and they can focus on the smaller details,” says Parry.
“With the boys it’s a lot more game-based and higher speed drills – hitting shots and aiming for targets – but the girls take in a lot more information.
“They can focus a little bit better sometimes than the boys and have that mindset where they want to learn the techniques and learn how to do it.
“We actually had a girl turn up last week for her first lesson and when she saw the girls’ clinic straight after she said, ‘I want to move to that class.’
“Having them together relaxes them for sure and becomes more sociable for them.
“They can just get on and do their thing without the boys taking over.”
Parry’s approach has proven particularly effective at Rockingham, where he estimates the number of junior girls engaged at the club has doubled in the past 12 months.
The Junior Girls Scholarship program has been integral to that and provided a direct pathway to club membership.
“We’ve got six girls into that, obviously all becoming members of the golf club,” says Parry.
“Two of them have got their handicap so far and we’re only halfway through the program. The goal is to try and get all six with handicaps and then progressing and moving forward.
“From that we’ve also had another couple of girls join up into our academy looking to join the golf club too so, as far as Rockingham goes, that’s been huge.”
Heavily involved in also taking golf into schools – he introduced some 1,000 kids to golf in visits to 12 different schools around Perth last year – Parry says his passion for coaching juniors stems from the opportunity to introduce new people to the game.
“I guess a lot of pros want to get in with the better players and enjoy coaching single-figure handicappers but I’ve always really enjoyed growing the game,” Parry adds.
“It’s always been about getting out there and getting as many people involved as possible.
“For me, it’s just a lot more fun. It’s a lot more flexible. It’s not always just about being technical. There’s lots of different ways to engage with kids, doing different activities and games, rather than simply, ‘You’ve got to swing it this way.’
“It’s always been my passion.”
PGA Professionals are the best people to guide your son or daughter in their formative stages of playing golf. To find the PGA Pro closest to you visit www.pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro.
West Australian Ben Ferguson and South Australian Jak Carter have finished on top as 29 players advanced at the First Stage of Qualifying School for the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
Ferguson and Carter finished four-under par across the 54 holes at a chilly and blustery Open Course at Moonah Links on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
The West Australian saved his best for last shooting a final round 67 that included a breathtaking back nine blitz where he went on a birdie-birdie-eagle-par-birdie run to finish off the week.
First year PGA Associate Carter – this year is the first time PGA Associates have been allowed to enter Q-School -produced a similarly stunning effort when he hit every green in regulation in his second round 69, but the round of the week belonged to New South Wales’ Benjamin Clementson with his 66 on Thursday that included five birdies and an eagle.
Five nationalities are represented among the 29 golfers who have advanced – 23 Australians, three New Zealanders, one Laotian, one Viet and one Czech.
There are 25 players exempt from the first stage awaiting them in next week’s Final Stage, which will again be played at Moonah Links, as this year’s Q-School is one of the most hotly contested due to many of the playing categories carrying over from the previous season as a result of the pandemic.
The return of the Australian Open and the New Zealand Open to the tour schedule, along with the co-sanctioning with the DP World Tour of both the Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship, make the cards for the upcoming summer of golf even more desirable.
The leading 15 players and those tied for 15th position at next week’s Final Stage will be eligible to become Full Members (Tournament) of the PGA of Australia for the following year and will be placed in a Tournament Exemption Category.
The 29 players to advance to the Final Stage:
Dual Vocational Award winner Anne-Marie Knight has been chosen to lead the Australian team to contest the second Women’s PGA Cup in New Mexico in October.
Designed with the purpose of promoting female PGA Professionals working in the industry, joining Knight in the Australian team will be Paige Stubbs (Castle Hill CC), Katelyn Must (Peregian Springs GC), Nicole Martino (Western Australia GC) and Angela Tatt (Ballarat GC).
Representatives from six world PGAs will compete in the Women’s PGA Cup that will take place from October 26-29: Australia, Canada, Great Britain & Ireland, South Africa, Sweden and the United States.
The field competes in a 54-hole, strokeplay format, with each team’s lowest three scores counted after each round. The winning country is the team with the lowest 54-hole aggregate total.
To be eligible to represent your country in the Women’s PGA Cup, members must be engaged in a full-time position in the golf industry and Knight brings strong credentials both as a coach, club professional and as a player.
The 2019 South Australian Game Development Professional of the Year and 2016 South Australia Teaching Professional of the Year, Knight was elected by the PGA of Australia’s Vocational Members Council to captain the Australian team, almost 20 years since representing her country at the 1994 Queen Sirikit Cup.
After more than a decade on tour – which included victory at the 1999 Ladies German Open – Knight undertook the PGA Bridging course when her health forced her retirement from tournament golf and views the Women’s PGA Cup as the ideal opportunity to bring those two facets together.
“When I stopped playing, there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for me to play in the position that I was in,” Knight explains.
“I wasn’t a member of a club, I didn’t have a handicap, I felt uncomfortable playing as a Professional in a club event.
“I hadn’t played for 15 years so when the opportunity arose for me to try and qualify for the Women’s PGA Cup, I realised that I’m in this industry because I love playing.
“I should have been playing more in those 15 years.”
In 2019, the PGA and the then ALPG announced a new alignment that would encourage an increase in the female representation within the ranks of PGA Professionals.
Those numbers are steadily increasing and PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman hopes that the Women’s PGA Cup will continue to inspire more women to join the industry.
“Whether through playing, coaching, management or golf club operations, there are a wide range of opportunities for women to work within the golf industry,” said Kirkman.
“I appreciate that talented amateurs want to pursue a professional playing career but the Women’s PGA Cup highlights that there continue to be playing opportunities for Vocational Members.
“With Anne-Marie leading the way, this Australian team is a great representation of the PGA and I know they will do us proud in New Mexico.”
It is this extra sense of responsibility that Knight believes adds an additional element to her representative experiences as an amateur.
“As an amateur representing Australia, it really was just for myself but this is different,” adds Knight.
“You’re representing the PGA, you’re showcasing your product and representing all the female PGA club professionals within our industry.
“It’s a really unique experience. I feel incredibly proud to have represented Australia in my teens but to be in this position at nearly 52 leading a group of very inspiring young women is truly humbling and a very proud moment for me.
“I feel that we can showcase women in our industry and expose to other young women that want to have a career in golf that along with playing you can be a coach, you can work in golf shop operations or a club management role.
“I just feel that we’re perfect role models for that.”
For more information on the Australian team as they prepare for the challenge ahead, be sure to keep an eye on the PGA of Australia website and social channels over the coming months.
Australian team for PGA Women’s Cup October 24-29
Anne-Marie Knight (Captain): A full Vocational Member since 2009, Knight is the Head Teaching Professional at West Beach Parks Golf. She is a former Ladies European Tour Winner and was named the LET Rookie of the Year in 1999. Coaching achievements include SA – PGA Teaching Pro of the Year (2016) and SA – Game Development Professional of the Year (2019).
Nicole Martino: A full Vocational Member since 2013, Martino is the Golf Manager at Western Australia Golf Club. Martino is a former ALPG Tour player and has played on the China LPGA Tour.
Katelyn Must: A full Vocational Member since 2012, Must is a Teaching Professional at Peregian Springs Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast. A current member of the WPGA Tour of Australasia, Must finished 20th at the Australian WPGA Championship in January and was tied for 23rd at the Vic Open.
Paige Stubbs: Having achieved full Vocational Member qualifications this year, Stubbs is employed as the Teaching Professional at Castle Hill Country Club in Sydney. She has previously played on and member of the Ladies European Tour, LET Access Series, China LPGA Tour and WPGA Tour.
Angela Tatt: A full Vocational Member since 2009, Tatt is the Assistant Professional at Ballarat Golf Club in Victoria. An outstanding amateur who represented the Victorian state squad and was the 2005 Victorian Country Champion, Tatt won the 2008 ALPG Castle Hill Golf Club Pro-Am shortly after completing her traineeship.
Golf had always been a passion for Elliot Beel yet it existed largely on the periphery. While a career in golf was part of the plan, life continued to get in the way.
Golf had always been a passion for Elliot Beel yet it existed largely on the periphery.
While a career in golf was part of the plan, life continued to get in the way.
There was a stint working in a sports retail in Brisbane following time spent overseas, his interest in golf leading to a sales position at Drummond Golf.
He was playing well enough to represent Ashgrove and went through the entire Brisbane District Golf Association Pennants season undefeated before he and wife Jo decided to relocate to Mackay, winning the 2009 Mackay Toyota Men’s Open.
They had their first child in 2010 – a second would follow little more than a year later – and Beel was working part-time in the Mackay Golf Club pro shop with Jeffrey Reid.
The first time he considered undertaking the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program was in 2011 but a diagnosis of osteoarthritis prevented him from playing golf for the next 18 months.
It wasn’t until 2018 that Beel – at the urging of his wife and following the departure of Joseph Rickman – approached Reid with the idea of becoming his 43-year-old PGA Associate.
“The opportunity came up to work back in the industry and I was like, ‘Yep, let’s go,’” says Beel, who completed the Membership Pathway Program in 2021 and was named the National PGA Associate of the Year.
“I’ve always enjoyed the coaching aspect and wanted to be able to impart my passion and my knowledge of the game, particularly to young kids. I enjoy that side of things.
“The only real way I could do that was to venture down the Membership Pathway Program.
“I knew what I was getting into. Having a family at home, we knew it was going to be a challenge, but we went into it with our eyes wide open.”
Given his sales experience and familiarity with the membership at Mackay Golf Club, Beel’s transition was a smooth one, but not without its challenges.
Two school-aged children leave little spare time in the day yet Beel was able to manage his time, utilise Mondays for the completion of assignments and maintain a high standard in terms of both education and playing throughout his three years.
“Having that experience on my side and being more of a mature-aged student helped me in some areas,” Beel explains.
“I had a lot more ability to manage my time better and I had the attitude towards assignments of, ‘I’m going to get in, get stuck in, get it done and then move on to the next one as quickly as possible.’
“I wasn’t concerned about how old I was. It was the pathway to where I wanted to go.”
Now working as a PGA Professional at Mackay, Beel is intent on making good on the intent that he first told Queensland State Manager Broc Greenhalgh and Joe Janison in his interview before embarking on the Membership Pathway Program.
“I said in my interview that my goal was to grow the game of golf in North Queensland,” says Beel.
“That was what I went in with and I’m trying to do my best to honour that.
“We’re running junior programs now, we’ve got ladies programs in the mix and we’re trying to introduce more and more people to the game.
“You can play golf with a friend. You don’t need to have a team. You can play it on your own. You can play it with mum, play it with dad. It’s that type of sport.
“I think there’s a lot of potential to grow it, without a huge amount of burden.”
Applications are opening soon for the Membership Pathway Program. If you have a passion for golf and for helping others visit www.pga.org.au/membership-pathway-program for more information on how you can become a PGA Professional.
It wasn’t until Aaron Cox became the Head PGA Professional at Caboolture Golf Club at 26 years of age that he discovered the joys of coaching.
A former student at Kelvin Grove State College in Brisbane who would at times cross paths with a kid from Beaudesert two years his junior named Jason Day, Cox harboured the dreams of many junior golfers showing proficiency at a young age.
Yet his success in golf would come later, on the other side of the world developing a junior program that is now the envy throughout England.
Cox was named the Participation and Development Coach of the Year at the 2022 England Golf Awards in April in recognition of the establishment and flourishing junior development program at Blackwell Grange Golf Club in the north of England.
When he applied for and accepted the role in January 2019 it was to work 20 hours in the shop servicing the 750 members; how he filled the rest of his week teaching was entirely up to Cox.
With only two juniors currently engaged at the club and having spent the past 12 months conducting 15 junior classes a week at Golf World Stansted, Cox invested his time and energies into building what was at the time a non-existent junior base.
He offered free, four-week programs and e-mailed, called and visited local schools as a way of introducing kids to the game.
Of the 45 in his initial intake, 38 continued on with the program. Those numbers doubled in the second offering and within four months the club’s base of six juniors had expanded to 120.
He has since developed a seven-level junior development book, with a uniquely Australian twist.
“Each level was a colour but also an Australian animal,” Cox explains.
“Over here it works as a good little joke. Level one’s koala. Then you move to wombat. Then I threw in tiger for Tiger Woods. And then the shark for the Great White Shark, my hero, my idol, Greg Norman.
“My philosophy with junior coaching is creating a process and a discipline that they follow. I teach G-A-S-P-T-T-R and I’ve got six-year-olds who know what those letters mean. They’re the main structures of my discipline: G for grip, A for aim, S for stance, P for posture, T for triangle, T for takeaway, and then R for rotation. They learn about those words and what those words mean. I then use those seven letters as the core of their entire golf game.”
Yet as a trainee at Phillip Island Golf Club under Marcus Liberman who would twice Monday qualify for the Australian Open, coaching was initially a daunting proposition.
“Funnily enough, through my traineeship, I was scared out of my mind of coaching,” admits Cox, who coached rising amateur Justice Bosio in her formative years at Caboolture.
“I went through Q School and spent 12 months on the Australasian Tour in 2011 and realised pretty quickly that I was absolutely nowhere near good enough to play on tour.
“In 2012 I got the Head Professional role at Caboolture and that’s where I started getting my confidence to teach. It took me nearly four years to get 100 per cent confidence in my teaching ability and the information that I was giving out.
“And the rest, as they say, is history.”
Cox’s impact at Blackwell Grange extends far beyond engaging juniors with fun lessons that develop their core skills.
With the support of the club, he converted a spare fairway into a six-hole junior course – complete with flags and signage provided by a local sponsor – and conducts junior tournaments in line with professional golf’s showpiece events.
Starting with the Players Tournament in March, the series of eight, two-round tournaments for kids aged between five and 12 includes The Masters in April, Blackwell Grange Classic in May, the Tour Championship in June and the big one, the Junior Academy Open Championship in July, complete with its own claret jug.
More recently, Cox has established the ACED Academy (Aaron Cox Elite Development) and is guiding golf-mad teens down the same path he walked thousands of kilometres back in Australia.
“The fun thing for me is that I’ve now got a junior section at my golf club and I’m becoming the mentor for kids also looking to become PGA Professionals.”
There are numerous career avenues available within the golf industry. To find your pathway to becoming a PGA Professional visit www.pga.org.au/education.
Jay Simpson remembers clearly witnessing Jed Morgan break par for the first time. Morgan was 14 years of age and playing the family-owned Fairways Tavern Golf Club course at Hatton Vale 30 minutes west of Ipswich.
Eight years later, Morgan will make his major championship debut at this week’s storied US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a world and 15,672 kilometres from where talent first saw possibility.
“There was a lightbulb effect at that point where he knew he could play the game,” says Simpson, PGA Professional at Meadowbrook Golf Club and the founder of First Swing Golf who is regularly reminded of finishing second to Morgan that day.
“He’d been knocking on the door, shooting even par or even a couple over for a long time and then one day everything clicked.
“He knew in himself that he could actually do it.”
It has taken eight years for Morgan to become an overnight sensation.
A star amateur who counts the NSW Junior State Championship, Queensland Boys Amateur, Singapore Junior Championship, NT Amateur and 2020 Australian Amateur among his conquests, Morgan burst into the consciousness of Australian golf at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in January.
His 11-stroke victory complete with fist pumps and raucous engagement with Royal Queensland galleries bursting with family and friends broke a record-winning margin held by major champions Greg Norman and Hale Irwin.
It also gave him a virtually unassailable lead on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit that would ultimately provide direct entry into the US Open field.
Many of our major champions come from humble beginnings and Morgan fits the mould.
The country upbringing and athletic prowess that made a career in rugby league a very real possibility gave the PGA Professionals he has worked with a great starting point from which to build.
“He had talent. He had a natural ability. His swing was fluent and he had the work ethic to go with it,” adds Simpson, who first met Morgan at Brookwater Golf and Country Club where Morgan would attend the Kookaburra Club clinics conducted by Simpson.
“I look at a nice solid set-up. If a player has got a very good set-up in terms of posture and stability, then you know he’s going to have a pretty good swing.
“He had the ability and flexibility to be able to put the golf club in the right places.
“The biggest thing that he lacked to start with was short game. He could hit the ball no problem – his ball-striking was mint – but he just had to learn to get around the golf course. He had to learn how to play.
“Once he honed those skills he was going to be unstoppable.”
Part of that education involved becoming familiar with bunker play, not an easy skill to practise at a golf course devoid of any sand traps.
Yet somehow even that learning curve was not too steep for Morgan.
“He’s always understood how it works, even without explaining,” Simpson adds.
“Even before he got into a bunker he’d been there before; it was as if in a past body he knew what golf was about and how to play it.”
With Simpson’s blessing, Morgan and his parents, Laurie and Julie, decided to move into Greater Brisbane with an eye to breaking into state junior teams.
He joined Gailes Golf Club and linked with Royal Queensland Golf Club Head PGA Professional Chris Gibson who guided the next phase of his development.
Amateur wins followed and he became entrenched in state teams run by Golf Queensland and the Queensland Academy of Sport, going through the 2018 Interstate Team Series undefeated.
It was his selection in state junior teams that first brought Morgan to the attention of Grant Field, his progression into the QAS squad bringing the pair together for the first time.
“He was just a really good athlete,” says Field, who took over as Morgan’s coach last August.
“He’s always been strong and athletic which makes it easy to work with.”
When Morgan rang “out of the blue” last year to ask whether Field would take over as his full-time coach, the man who has guided Cameron Smith to the top of world golf understood the areas where he thought he could help.
There was some short game work to tidy up and a miss left under pressure that Field thought he could eliminate but, more than anything, Field wanted to unlock Morgan’s personality on the golf course.
Despite Smith expressing afterwards his personal aversion to fist pumps, as Morgan built his lead at the Australian PGA Field continued to encourage his young charge to embrace the unique circumstance he found himself in.
“What we saw at the PGA was a combination of the situation but also being at home in front of friends and family,” adds Field, the 2021 PGA of Australia National High Performance Coach of the Year.
“You’re not going to see that most of the time. That was a little bit specific to that week and where he was and who he had around him. That’s not happening 51 other weeks of the year.”
Field certainly doesn’t expect to see many emotional outbursts at Brookline this week but rather the progression of a career still in its infancy.
He admits that there are elements to Morgan’s new-found fame the 22-year-old could have handled differently but that, like this week, they are lessons you can only learn through experience.
“It’s been a really good learning period for him,” Field said of the five months since Morgan claimed the Joe Kirkwood Cup.
“I just want him to keep getting better and more at ease at being in those types of fields.
“The more he turns up and feels like he belongs you’ll start to see the best version of Jed.”
As one of the premier golf clubs in Australia, there is a reputation that Kingston Heath Golf Club is expected to uphold.
A showpiece of the Melbourne Sandbelt, ‘The Heath’ is a place where the greatest of traditions of the game are observed and where the game of golf is celebrated.
Whether rightly or wrongly, that can be an intimidating place for new golfers to join but under the guidance of club management, the board and Director of Golf Justin Burrage, a new wave of members are being welcomed with open arms.
The construction of the highly anticipated short course will cater to beginners, juniors and the club’s low-markers alike but it is the establishment of the Women’s Heath Gateway Program that has had an immediate impact.
Conducted by PGA Teaching Professional Tom Corker (pictured), the program has proven so popular that after three iterations there is now a waiting list for the fourth.
A total of 105 women have taken part, 35 have already progressed to full membership and it is expected as many as 15 more will join once the third program is completed.
Named the Victorian PGA Club Professional of the Year in 2021, Burrage says the Women’s Heath Gateway Program is just one way in which Kingston Heath is opening its doors to new people.
“It’s essentially a try-before-you-buy program where the women will come in for inductions to golf and the club, go through a series of clinics which have been brilliantly run by Tom Corker and then participate in some social activities,” Burrage says.
“They then have the option to take up a trial membership for a period of six months which provides some access to the golf course and to competitions and some more one-on-one coaching with Tom.
“We’ve developed to a point where it’s actually achieved its goal in getting more female members and a female membership that is slightly younger than what the traditional club has been. It’s ticked a lot of boxes in actually filling the demographic that we were hoping to fill.
“There could be a slight intimidation factor of joining a club such as Kingston Heath so one of the key components was making it about friendship and creating the right atmosphere that we all see that the club has anyway.”
A large intake of the women taking part in the program has come via family members who are existing Kingston Heath members and Burrage expects the short course to have a similar impact on junior numbers.
Designed by the team of Ogilvy Cocking Mead, the nine-hole course will feature holes varying in length from 75 to 130 metres that will also help to foster the feeling that Kingston Heath is a place for the whole family.
“This is a family and we want people to feel part of the family as soon as they walk through the door. That this is their home away from home,” said Burrage, who is coming up on 20 years at the club.
“That’s something that I’ve encouraged my team to really, really work hard on; making sure that everyone that walks in the door feels like they are part of the family, even if they’re only here for four hours.
“I think the short course is going to be phenomenal. It’ll be a great place for nurturing and growth of interest in the game, whether it’s for juniors or for just new people into the game of golf.
“We’re putting that spare land into purposeful use for the betterment of golf, for the betterment of members and for the betterment of members in the future. It’s great to see that the committee and the members have been brave enough to do that.
“The Women’s program with the wonderful support of Women’s Captain Nikki McClure was also a brave thing to do that wouldn’t have happened 15 years ago.
“As one of the people involved there are a couple of decisions that have been made that makes us quite proud to be part of a club that is thinking progressively at this point in time.”
PGA Professionals throughout the country offer programs for all members of the family to get started in golf. To find the nearest PGA Professional to you and your family visit www.pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro.
