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He didn’t know it at the time but as Justin Speirani was taking his first steps towards becoming a PGA Professional he was laying the foundation for a move into management.
A role at Cobram Barooga Golf Club that evolved over the course of 17 years opened Speirani’s eyes to a career progression that now sees him serving as the General Manager at Leongatha Golf Club two hours south-east of Melbourne.
But the aptitude and knowledge base came much earlier.
After learning his golf at Mount Martha Public Golf Course on the Mornington Peninsula, Speirani was intelligent enough to recognise that players he couldn’t beat in the amateur ranks would make a professional playing career a challenge.
He set his sights on becoming a coach and a club-based PGA Professional, Speirani beginning his PGA training under Phil Boulton at Rosebud Public Course and completing it under Steve Grange at Moorabbin.
They would prove to be influential on exposing Speirani to the business acumen necessary to run a golf facility but most importantly gave him the instinct to listen and absorb the information made available to him.
“You get better at it through coaching,” said Speirani, who has been able to access financial and HR experts within the Leongatha membership to benefit the club’s operations.
“If you learned to listen to what your pupils wanted, that’s where you can break it down into two or three really pertinent points.
“I’ve been pretty good at breaking down the critical points and working out what I can learn from any situation.
“That makes sense to me. It’s about being able to figure out what makes sense.”
Speirani’s path to Leongatha included stints at Seabrook in Tasmania, Brighton Golf Course and Mount Martha before landing the position of Director of Golf at Cobram Barooga.
The club’s expansion to offer leisure activities beyond the golf course and the on-site accommodation provided Speirani with the opportunity to extend his area of influence and develop his management skills.
“The last couple of years they built the motel so I had the Sporties Health and Fitness Centre and the Bridges Villas that I looked after as well as the golf,” Speirani explains.
“The extra role at Cobram really grew organically, to be honest with you, 25 years of working in golf operations.
“It was just at a normal review that I said to the CEO, ‘I can do my job really, really well with my eyes shut.’ And that sort of tweaked his ear. He said, ‘Well, I think I should challenge you a little bit.’
“That’s how the jump towards the management came.”
With a well-rounded skill set and a willingness to listen and learn, Speirani felt equipped to step up into a General Manager’s role at Leongatha and use all of his knowledge of golf operations to their full effect.
He has become a sounding board for young PGA Professional Tyler Marotti and has developed a connection with the membership that other clubs may lack in senior management positions.
“One of the things that I heard for 25 years in golf operations from the membership was that they didn’t know who the manager was,” says Speirani.
“I try to get out and speak to the members. There is a shotgun start here every Thursday so every Thursday when they come in I get out of the office and walk around the room and talk to them.
“It lets them know where I am and that the door’s always open.
“A big part of that is due to my grounding as a PGA Professional and the positive influence of Phil and Steve as I started out.”
If you would like to pursue a career in the golf industry visit pga.org.au/education where you will find information on the Membership Pathway Program, PGA Centre for Learning and Performance and PGA International Golf Institute.
The PGA of Australia has ramped up its push to attract more women as golf professionals. Applications are now open for the PGA Women in Golf Scholarship Fund (WiGSF), launched in 2021 with the goal of increasing the number of Vocational female Professionals.
Whilst primarily established to provide scholarships to women undertaking the PGA Membership Pathway Program (previously known as the Trainee Program), the scope of the fund has been expanded to encompass all programs leading to Vocational Membership of the PGA, in addition to providing support for current female golf professionals to continue their education via industry-relevant higher education opportunities.
The scholarships encompass two key funding areas.
The first relates to the next generation of members, providing assistance to new or currently-enrolled women to meet the financial obligations associated with undertaking the relevant program requirements. Scholarship funding is available for programs leading to PGA membership including the PGA Membership Pathway Program, the PGA Performance Program and the Diploma of Golf Management.
The second is under the banner of creating new leaders, with funding available to current Full Vocational female Members with the aim of lifting current female professionals in to leadership roles within the industry. Funding can be used to access relevant higher education opportunities via the Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management or other relevant courses.
There are a total of 15 scholarship opportunities under the WiGSF.
Alongside the PGA, support and investment into the WiGSF has been provided by ISPS Handa, Acushnet, Callaway and TaylorMade. As partners of the PGA they have continued to demonstrate their shared commitment to developing further female professional pathways, and we anticipate further support from existing and new PGA Partners or organisations who are keen to support this initiative into the future.
To be eligible, applicants need to be a female Australian citizen or permanent resident and meet the eligibility criteria to undertake the program of their choice.
Applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with priority of scholarships awarded to individuals who have had to overcome or are overcoming disadvantage in pursuit of their studies. Disadvantages may include but are not limited to the following:
• Financial difficulty or low-income earner
• Family/caring responsibilities
• Geographical isolation/significant distance from major capital city
• English as a second language
• Disability or medical condition
• Family crisis or difficult family environment
• Career/ study disruption
• Other difficult circumstances
Currently only six percent of Vocational Golf Professionals in Australia are women.
PGA of Australia Chief Executive Gavin Kirkman said he was delighted to see the WiGSF coming to fruition in Australia.
“This is a very important project for us going forward,” said Kirkman.
“The PGA is committed to increasing the not only the number of female PGA Professionals but helping to elevate our current women members into leadership roles within the industry; and we are very optimistic these scholarships will facilitate that. It’s an exciting time in golf with the boom in participation and more women coming to the game as we improve some of the barriers that have been there in the past, recognised all formats and make our sport more fun and accessible. This is an initiative that we are very proud of at the PGA, and we hope that there is a strong take-up of what’s on offer.”
For additional information please contact the PGA Education Department at [email protected]
Fate can be unspeakably cruel, and few golfers suffered more from a single twist of it than Jack Newton, writes Mike Clayton.
Growing up in Sydney in the late 1960s, he was the golden child of Australian amateur golf. He was the one with the swing, the talent, the power and the looks to follow the generation of Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Bruce Devlin and Bruce Crampton.
Bob Shearer, not the favourite to win the match, beat him in the semi-final of the 1969 Australian Amateur at Royal Adelaide and soon after he committed to playing golf for money.
As most did in those days, he took himself to Britain, then the thriving heart of the European Tour. He breathed a little life into a tour dominated by home players, most of whom went quietly about their business. Jack and his mates, Shearer, Ian Stanley and Stewart Ginn were a revelation to the British, unused to pros playing first-class golf by day and then closing the clubhouse bar long after the day’s final putts had gone down.
By 1975 Newton was one of the best players in Europe and he arrived at Carnoustie for The Open with some reason for optimism. He tuned up by playing a practice round with Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf and 65 in Friday’s third round had him one behind South African Bobby Cole, one ahead of Johnny Miller, two ahead of Tom Watson with Nicklaus another shot back.
The American superstars, Nicklaus and Miller, had to fancy their chances. Watson, playing his first Open, had just choked away the US Open the previous month and neither Cole nor our man had much experience of the final day pressure of a major championship.
The wind changed direction for Saturday’s fourth round and Carnoustie, likely the toughest of all the Open courses, played at its most difficult. Miller took two to get out of the fairway bunker at the 18th, made a bogey and tied with Nicklaus at 280. Watson, playing with Miller, came to the 18th one behind his partner, hit a 9-iron to 25 feet and made the long putt for 279.
The wind switch made the into-the-breeze 17th a brutal hole and Jack, needing two fours for 278, hit the wrong club off the tee, barely carried the burn running across the fairway and made an almost inevitable five.
Cole took 76 to tie Nicklaus and Miller, leaving Newton and Watson to play for the Claret Jug over 18 holes on the Sunday.
The wind switched back, the last was a drive and a 2-iron and after 17 holes they were tied. Watson hit the green, Jack the greenside bunker and four to a five it was after the Australian missed from 12 feet coming back down the hill.
Eight years later The Open was at Royal Birkdale. Watson won the last of his five Opens and Newton was in Australia commentating for Channel Nine.
In the years after Carnoustie, Jack won the 1979 Australian Open after Greg Norman three-putted Metropolitan’s final green and five months later was second behind Severiano Ballesteros at Augusta.
Seve liked and respected ‘Yak’, as he called him. They had played together in Europe when Seve was starting out and at the post tournament press conference the Australian made it clear he was tired of the lack of respect some Americans had for the Spaniard’s game.
“I’ve read some of the newspaper articles this week and, you know it’s almost as though you guys are waiting for Seve to blow up,” Newton said.
“I’ve also heard some pretty snide, completely uncalled for remarks from some of the players that he’s lucky and a one-putt Jessie and all that crap.
“America’s considered to be the tops in professional golf and here comes a young 23-year-old and he’s taken some of the highlight away from your superstars. But, you know, the guy’s a great player and the sooner Americans realise it the better.”
A year later Newton lost his tour card in the United States and whilst still a young man his game was some way from its best and he wasn’t exempt at Birkdale. With a nice television offer on the table, flying all the way to England to qualify with hundreds of others for a few meagre spots in the Open field likely seemed a bad idea.
Of course, had Watson not made that long putt across the 72nd green, Newton would have been the champion, an exempt player and teeing up at Birkdale and playing a few weeks in Europe on the way home.
Instead, the very next week he walked into the spinning aeroplane propeller and life as he knew it irrevocably changed.
There was only one way Jack was going to manage his tragedy. He learned to write beautifully with his left hand, he got his handicap down to 12, was the Chairman of the Board of the PGA Tour of Australasia for years and his Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation introduced thousands of kids to the game.
He was a brilliant television commentator who could have worked in America but with his family in Australia he eschewed the opportunity. As bland as the world of television golf commentary is these days, he’d have been a revelation because he was never afraid to say what was exactly on his mind.
Ironically the year after the accident he was working for the BBC at St Andrews.
Vincente Fernandez, John Bland and Freddie Couples came to the final hole on Friday (by now the second day) and one after the other they played far to the left of the usual line off the 18th tee. Alex Hay, the long-time British commentator was on with Newton and with each successive drive he expressed some surprise at how far left they were driving.
Jack suggested the position of the pin and the angle of the wind had a lot to do with it, but Hay wasn’t having it.
In his post-round television interview Couples was informed there was some dispute in the commentary box about the strategy on the final hole.
“Well, we all thought the direction of the wind and the position of the pin advantaged a drive further left than normal.”
“Well, Alex,” said Jack, “I guess that’s why you were a club pro and I played the tour.”
He never worked for the BBC again but that was Jack. He called it as he saw it and he didn’t suffer fools.
Hiding away in the corner and doing nothing was never an option for him and in the four decades after his accident Newton made an extraordinary contribution to the game in Australia.
Tributes are pouring in from people of all walks of life and from across the globe following the passing overnight of Jack Newton OAM.
In a statement released by the Newton family, it was confirmed that Jack passed away overnight due to health complications, his health deteriorating in recent years with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Current and former Tour players such as Greg Chalmers, Rod Pampling, James Nitties and Aron Price all took to Twitter to express their sympathies while others in the media, entertainment, sport, business and the disability sector also paid tribute.
Blessed in equal measures with talent, competitiveness and sheer bloody-mindedness, Newton rose to the highest levels in professional golf.
He won throughout the world and was the 1979 Australian Open champion at Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, finishing one stroke clear of Graham Marsh and Greg Norman.
An accident involving an aeroplane propeller very nearly took Newton’s life at age 33, his playing career coming to an end when he lost his right arm as a result.
Yet it was his contribution to the broader Australian golf community that has been remembered by those who he influenced.
Newton established the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation in 1986, providing the platform from which many professional careers were launched yet which is most renowned for the thousands of young lives it has impacted through golf.
Given his blue-collar upbringing in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Newton became an important voice too in the television commentary booth, pulling no punches and taking even casual golf fans into the heat of the battle.
One of Australian golf’s most iconic and influential figures, Jack Newton OAM, has passed away at age 72.
In a statement released by the Newton family on Friday morning, it was announced that Jack had passed away overnight due to “health complications”.
Newton had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for a number of years, he and his family sharing his plight with the broader community as his health deteriorated.
Born in Cessnock in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales on January 30, 1950, Newton’s athletic prowess was ultimately channeled into golf and he turned professional at the age of 21.
He would go on to win tournaments on the PGA TOUR (1978 Buick-Goodwrench Open), European Tour (1972 Dutch Open, 1972 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf, 1974 Benson & Hedges Match Play Championship) and was a three-time winner on the PGA Tour of Australasia, most notably the 1979 Australian Open at Metropolitan Golf Club.
But his playing career is perhaps best remembered for his runner-up finish to Seve Ballesteros at the 1980 Masters at Augusta National and his playoff defeat at the hands of Tom Watson at the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie, a tournament many fellow Australians felt he deserved to win.
An accident involving an aeroplane propeller brought his playing career to an end at just 33 years of age but he would continue to impact Australian golf in a myriad of wonderful ways.
A no-holds-barred TV commentator and acclaimed course designer, Newton’s greatest legacy is the Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation that has fostered the careers of many elite professionals and impacted the lives of thousands of others while the Jack Newton Celebrity Classic has raised millions of dollars towards diabetes research.
“Jack has been such an influential figure in Australian golf and his contribution and legacy will live on for many decades to come,” said PGA of Australia CEO, Gavin Kirkman.
“He was as tough off the course as he was on it yet underlying everything was his deep passion for the game of golf and the positive impact it could have on people’s lives, particularly young people.
“Today, our thoughts and best wishes are with the Newton family and the countless friends he met along the way but Jack Newton’s name will forever hold an important place within Australian golf.”
Just last December Golf New South Wales renamed the NSW Junior Boy’s Championship Trophy the Jack Newton Cup, a fitting tribute to one who did so much to encourage junior boys and girls to participate in golf tournaments.
In the statement released on Friday morning, Clint Newton asked for the family’s privacy to be respected but promised that his father’s life will be celebrated in a way befitting such an extraordinary life.
“On behalf of our family, it is with great sadness I announce that our courageous and loving husband, father, brother, grandfather, and mate, Jack Newton OAM has passed away overnight due to health complications,” the statement read.
“Dad was a fearless competitor and iconic Australian, blazing a formidable trail during his professional golfing career between 1971 and 1983 before his career tragically ended following an accident involving an aeroplane propeller at the age of 33.
“He fought back from tremendous adversity as only he could, and chose to selflessly invest his time, energy, and effort towards giving back to the community through his Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation, sports commentary, golf course design, and raising significant funds for several charities, most notably, diabetes.
“His passion for sport and contributing to future generations of golfers and the Australian community demonstrates the character of our father, beloved husband, proud brother, adoring grandfather, and maverick mate.
“Dad’s legacy will live on through his wife Jackie, daughter Kristie, son Clint, grandchildren Matilda, Hope, Jessie, Noah, Paige, and Indie.
“In true Jack Newton style, we will celebrate his incredible life; however, for now, our family asks for privacy and we appreciate everyone’s love, support, and friendship throughout his life.”
Christine Burton and her husband Graham Blum know how golf clubs operate.
Christine was an accomplished player who spent three years on the Ladies European Tour before becoming the first female club professional in Wales; Graham is the resident greenkeeper at North Haven Golf Course in Adelaide that the couple run under their company, JAG Golf.
Their daughter, Kristalle Blum, was the inaugural winner of The Athena in 2021 and is making her way in professional golf so when they took over the operations at North Haven in 2016 their plans came from a place of care and understanding.
They understood that at a public golf course, the perception that any member of the community might not feel welcome had to change.
They understood that this would cause consternation within the existing small but passionate member base who might resist change, but they knew it was necessary.
“Golf clubs to Graham and I are our home and our family,” says Burton, North Haven’s Golf Operations Manager who also coaches at nearby Penfield Golf Club.
“That’s how we treat every single one of them we’ve ever worked at and hopefully the people that come in feel that.
“Consequently, it’s about the experience they have when they get here. If we can put on things such as the Hangover Cup – a par-3 18-hole event on New Year’s Day – that’s gone from 24 players the first year in 2017 to being oversubscribed with 48 this year, it just creates this wonderful atmosphere around the club.
“When we took over, not everyone liked what we were doing. But even if they leave you get so many new people coming in that want what you have created.”
In the past two years the biggest growth sectors within the North Haven membership have been in women and the 25-to-40-year-old male category.
The appeal is not so much the nine-hole course lovingly cared for by Graham to the north of Adelaide that sits by the edge of St Vincent Gulf but the people found within.
“They just never realised what a club and what golf could offer them,” Burton says of the young men who have hung up the footy boots in favour of a 5-iron.
“You’ve only got a short lifespan as a player in footy but they have found something that has been able to take its place. They didn’t realise how competitive it was and they’ve loved the competitive side.”
The latest engagement initiative was Graham’s baby and again proved popular with the North Haven membership.
A popular event at golf clubs throughout the UK, the inaugural Greenkeeper Revenge Day gave North Haven’s golfers the competitive outlet and fun environment that they crave.
“The Greenkeeper’s Revenge certainly got more interest than I was expecting,” Burton conceded, Graham setting up all manner of weird and wonderful challenges including one hole in a bunker, a green littered with pull buggies and even one hole protected by a toilet seat.
“We’ve started a nine-hole women’s comp. The women could always play with the fellas in their normal comp day but they didn’t have anything just for themselves.
“That’s certainly proved popular. Even though we might only have a dozen women, we had no women, so a dozen’s great. We’ve gone from having no members to 35 women members in the past two years.
“We’ve just got to keep pushing it. We’ve just got to keep pushing the barrel, and every time you feel like you’ve hit your head up against brick wall, you just step around it and go again.”
If your club is in need of some fresh ideas, talk to your resident PGA Professional about ways in which the club can foster a fun and inclusive environment for all levels of golfers. Visit pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro/
The ground-breaking Golf Business Forum and the hugely popular PGA Expo are combining to deliver a spectacular event for everyone in the business of golf later this year in Melbourne.
The Golf Business Forum and PGA Golf Expo previously ran as separate events, the privately-operated forum in 2016 and 2018, and the PGA Expo (run by the PGA of Australia) in 2017 and 2019 with both suffering cancellations due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
But as the world moves back to some normality and the events prepare for their resumption, for the first time from 2022 the events will come together in a demonstration of the Australian Golf Strategy, with its key pillar of alignment between key bodies.
The Golf Business Forum \ PGA Golf Expo, launched today, will be held on October 12 and 13 at CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park, a state-of-the-art conference venue, ideally positioned at the heart of Melbourne’s premier sports and entertainment hub.
It will be Australia’s most influential golf business event, one not to be missed by anyone in the industry and wanting a career in our sport.
“The aim is to be bigger, broader and bolder,” said Guy Chapple, event Director who has helped drive the change.
“The objective is also to provide our industry’s already committed workforce with valuable information and development opportunities, while also linking to the new Australian Golf Strategy,” reiterated PGA CEO Gavin Kirkman, with the PGA behind the previously successful PGA Golf Expos and multiple PGA Coaching Summits.
The Australian Golf Strategy, launched in December, 2021, urges those with influence in golf to break down the barriers and bring the strands of the game together where possible, under the pillar headed ‘Work Together’.
Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the merging of these two big events validated the thinking behind the Australian Golf Strategy. “We can talk about these things but the actions are important, and this is a great example of collaboration.”
“The strategy indicates that we need to collaborate more,” said Chapple. “That’s what we’re about. Together, we’re delivering an industry-wide event to connect and inspire the diverse range of golf businesses, industry leaders, industry organisations and commercial partners that service Australia’s golfers.”
At least 550 people are expected to attend the event, representing all the various segments of the industry, offering a chance for attendees to engage with the owners, leaders, and key decision-makers of the sport.
They will hear from speakers from Australia and abroad, and engage with other industry leaders under the banner of: ‘Ideas, tools, trends, connections.’
Initially, two streams of education will be offered at the 2022 event – golf business, and a PGA Member specific stream of golf coaching and game development. It is anticipated the education streams will be expanded at future events.
Kirkman also indicated that he was delighted that the event would again highlight the PGA’s contribution to golf industry education. “The event is another example of the importance of training, education and workforce development for our industry and the PGA is pleased to be in a position to support the whole sport in this area.
“We are fortunate that we have a long and proud education history, and working together on this event will benefit everyone and make the sport even stronger. Not only that, we’re taking the strengths of the two, combining them into a better delegate and commercial partner experience. I know that it’s going to be successful, and I know that people in the business of golf are going to need to be at this event and want to be at this event.”
Sutherland echoed Kirkman’s sentiments. “The end result, I think, will be quite spectacular and it’s going to be a gathering of the industry like we have not really seen before. In that context Golf Australia is delighted to partner with Golf Business Forum \ PGA Expo and we know that it will be a raging success as an industry-wide education and networking event in October.”
Tickets for Golf Business Forum \ PGA Expo go on sale early in May. Commercial partnership opportunities will be available very soon. For further information, go to www.golfbusinessforumpgaexpo.com
Bexley Golf Club PGA Professional Kyle Francis (pictured with fellow PGA Member Paul Firmstone) recently celebrated his 50th year as a Member of the PGA of Australia. He shares his early influences in the game, the legacy he has created and the greatest gift the game has given him.
My grandfather used to run The Lakes and Eastlake back when they were combined in the 1930s, my dad was a member of Eastlake and you just follow on. I caddied at The Lakes and got on really well with Billy Holder who I did my apprenticeship with. It was all I ever wanted to do. I would hate to think what it would have been like if I’d had to work for a living.
I used to pester Billy all the time. I’d pick up balls of an afternoon and sometimes I’d get the impression, Oh, here’s this kid again. He did a lot of teaching so he put me on to run the shop in 1968, look after people when they came in and I learned my club-making trade under him. I finished my apprenticeship in ’71 and stayed with him at The Lakes until he died in 1976.
At that time he was the best friend I’d ever had. And he was the hardest man I’ve ever known in my life. That’s where I earned so much respect for him because he was fair, but he was hard. If you wanted to be a golf pro, you did what was required. If I wanted to play a trainee match on a Monday, I had to buff 300 sets of clubs on a Sunday afternoon. We got on really well so it wasn’t a hard gig. It was hard work, but it wasn’t a hard grind.
He was renowned for his teaching and I picked up his methodology with teaching but club making was his specialty. He used to have his own clubs. Towards the end of his life, I was probably the only trainee or assistant who he let finish off and make golf clubs for him. I’ve still got one in the shop. One of the old blokes brought it in to me for the last club that I made for him. It’s a 4-wood with the Billy Holder plate on it and his sticker on the top. We used to have to shape them, cut it out of the block of wood, and put the screws in all matching. And then swing, weight it and stain it, and cut it back and polish it and bind it. And then we used to put a celluloid sleeve over the binding so it was tidy. Club making was a big part of our trade.
Bill was a very handsy player and very right hand dominant. His methodology was very simple. Keep it on plane and hit it as hard as you can. He got a lot of his methods from back in the 30s when some of the American guys came out and he was spending a lot of time with them, picking their brains as to how they were teaching. And I’ve just followed on with keeping it simple.
I went and worked with Alex Mercer at Royal Sydney for a couple of years in the late ‘70s. Alex was a well-renowned teacher so I had the best of both worlds as far as working on methodology and putting the stuff in the mix for what I wanted to teach.
Alex didn’t focus so much on the hands, but the hands were an important part of what he was teaching. They were the two at the time that were recognised as the best teachers. I remember Tony Gresham came to Billy. He compared him to Alex and there wasn’t a great deal of difference. Jim Ferrier came and caught up with him and the same sort of thing. Basically their principles were the same, but they interpreted it different ways.
Glenn Whittle used to annoy me as a little whipper snapper up at New Brighton when he was seven or eight years old. He came through there when I went to Concord and he did his traineeship with me. Paul Riley, Wayne’s brother, he did his traineeship with me, Matthew Laverty, Anthony Summers went through with me, so there’s been a few. And now I’ve got young Corey Cruickshank.
I talk to them about what they want in their future, what they’re looking to do. Some have an idea of what they want to pursue and others will take what comes but I’m there to offer anything to anybody. Put in and you’ll reap the rewards. And never be afraid to ask or talk to anybody. Any pro that’s been around a while, I’m sure they’d be happy to give them their knowledge or tell them what their experiences are and give advice.
Back in the ‘70s we were taking bets to see if we’d make it so the greatest gift to me is being a PGA member for 50 years. All the great people that I’ve met and the friends that I have – being in a place where I’ve been able to meet my wife and have my family, all through golf and being a PGA Member. At the end of my career, I’m now at a place at the golf club where the feedback to me is terrific. They really enjoy me being there and they’re a great bunch of people, so it’s not a hard gig. Life has been really good.
PGA Professionals have the experience and knowledge to bring the best out in your golf. To find your nearest PGA Professional visit www.pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro
Technology upgrades are now part of our daily life. Whether it’s an app update, a new phone or a car that drives itself we are in a constant search for the latest way to make our lives more efficient and – let’s be frank – fun.
When Colin Holmes devised an indoor fitting centre at Narooma Golf Club on the New South Wales South Coast, it wasn’t a way to play with the latest golf gadgetry but rather provide a complete suite of professional golf services to regional golfers rarely catered for to that degree.
The Golf Tech Centre run by Holmes at Narooma is the only one of its type between Sydney and Melbourne. It allows for Holmes to provide lessons in any weather, utilise technology to provide feedback on swing mechanics and to conduct club fittings that ensure each golfer has the correct equipment for their specific needs.
The Tech Centre has been in operation for the past eight years and given Holmes the ability to deliver anything that his members may need but also provide a service to other golfers in the region.
“I do have a lot of people who now get lessons or come down whenever they want clubs from far and wide,” says Holmes.
“I’ve heard people from way out west or Canberra or all over the place in the state as well, just because they know what I do, they know how I do it, and, for whatever reason, like the way I do it.
“I’m teaching a lot of people that are not from Narooma, and I’m club-fitting and selling clubs to a lot of people that aren’t from Narooma itself.
“I thought it was the only way of showing someone you’re an actual professional in the trade. If you’re just saying here’s a club off the rack, hope for the best, you’re not really retailing. You’re not really selling yourself as an expert in the industry. Whereas to me, this was the only way that you could actually show people you were actually providing professional service.”
Central to the Tech Centre is a GC2 launch monitor and simulator with supporting video cameras that can capture the player from three different angles.
Holmes has recently incorporated a mobile Garmin launch monitor that he can use on the club’s outdoor range, further adding to his ability to provide the right guidance on swing mechanics and possible equipment adjustments.
“What I’m finding with some people is that they’re making a bad swing because of the club that they’ve currently got and that you can actually make a change in their swing by getting them to use a different club,” Holmes explains.
“That’s where I think it’s important as the PGA Members to actually push people into the right equipment.
“When I club fit, I don’t push a brand. Once I get their spec, then I’ll just give them every club that I can build in that spec and say, “Okay, let’s just look at the data,” and it all gravitates towards something they want.
“If you can put a club in their hands that does fit versus a club in their hands that doesn’t, they can immediately feel a difference.
“They can’t often explain to you why, and I don’t need them to explain why, but they can see and feel the difference.”
Wherever you are, PGA Professionals can assist you with not only your swing but in ensuring the equipment you play is best suited to your needs. To find your nearest PGA Professional visit pga.org.au/find-a-pga-pro/.
A more diverse and qualified workforce servicing the six key pillars of the Australian golf industry will be the driving motivation of the PGA Golf Learning Hub that opened officially at Sandhurst on Wednesday.
The relocation of PGA administrative staff to the Australian Golf Centre in Melbourne has paved the way for an expansion of the PGA’s educational infrastructure already in place at the Sandhurst Club alongside its two championship golf courses.
To operate in conjunction with the existing PGA Membership Pathway Program, Accreditation and Continuing Education Program and the PGA’s Registered Training Organisation – the PGA International Golf Institute, the PGA Golf Learning Hub will serve to provide the entry point to a career in golf as well as a place where the existing workforce can advance their skills and education.
A world-first golf industry education hub, the facility will not only provide additional training opportunities to the more than 25,000 people currently employed throughout Australian golf but provide a clear pathway to anyone wishing to pursue a career in golf.
The six primary pillars that will be catered for are:
• Small Business
• Management
• Coaching
• Turf-grass management
• Tourism and events
• Hospitality
Officially opened by PGA of Australia Chair Rodger Davis and Cr. Nathan Conroy – Mayor Frankston City Council (pictured), the PGA Learning Hub will also aim to raise the profile of under-represented groups within the golf workforce for a more complete and inclusive industry where everyone feels welcome to participate at every level.
“When developing the concept of the PGA Golf Learning Hub, we were determined that the Hub should service all six of the primary workforce pillars of the industry and we are proud that will become a reality,” said Geoff Stewart, PGA General Manager, Membership and Education.
“We believe this is a world-first, with all six of the primary pillars of the industry provided with training and education opportunities via one facility.
“As a sport and recreation, golf has grown significantly over the past few years and the PGA Golf Learning Hub will play a key role in servicing this growth with a well-trained workforce.”
The PGA Learning Hub includes a collaboration with Holmesglen Institute in assisting with the delivery of training to some of the industry’s six workforce pillars.
The project would also not have been possible without financial support from the Victorian Government and the Frankston City Council.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said the Victorian Government’s investment would support the growth of jobs in the state.
“The Hub will be a real asset for the game and will establish Victoria as a key destination for people seeking world-class education and training in the golf industry,” Mr Pakula said.
“Golf is a major employer in Victoria and initiatives like this will ensure the next generation comes through well trained and ready to hit the ground running.”
By offering industry-specific training and qualifications the PGA Learning Hub will not only become a central point for Australians seeking a career in golf but also a major drawcard for international students throughout Asia and the South Pacific.
With 110 years of history including 17 as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), the PGA of Australia is ideally positioned to deliver every aspect of golf education and training at the one facility at Sandhurst.
The PGA is currently the only RTO in Australia with golf-specific qualifications (Diploma of Golf Management and Diploma of Sport – Golf Professional) and has a proven ability to work on training and education projects with other golf industry stakeholders.
In the near future, the Hub also plans to provide secondary school students will the opportunity to complete entry-level qualifications across the six pillars of the golf industry whilst completing their school education, before moving into core programs guided by their individual career aspirations.
“Our Association (the PGA) has a strong and proud history in golf industry training and education and we are fortunate that we are in a position to take the lead in the implementation of the PGA Golf Learning Hub,” said Stewart.
“It’s great to see the PGA Golf Learning Hub move from concept to implementation today – we look forward to the positive impact it will have on our industry for many years to come.”
For further information on the learning opportunities available through the PGA Learning Hub click here.
