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If golf is indeed a game for everybody then there is a golf swing for every body… you just need to be guided to the swing that is perfect for you.
Rather than trying to get everyone who attends a lesson to swing like Adam Scott, PGA Professionals understand that outside of some basic fundamentals that everyone’s ideal swing is one that is uniquely modelled to their own physical characteristics.
Few understand that better than Peregian Golf Course PGA Professional Katelyn Must.
A promising amateur with dreams of playing professional golf around the world, Must suffered dislocations of the L4 and L5 vertebrae while doing deadlifts in an effort to get stronger.
She remains passionate about competing and continually striving to improve as a golfer but such a setback opened her eyes to the opportunity to move into coaching and to help others also fulfil their potential.
Must’s own experience dictates that a person’s physical make-up is a critical foundation for the way they will swing the golf club and it begins as soon as they walk through the door.
“I always look at someone standing in front of me or even as they’re walking towards me, watching how they walk, how they move,” Must explains.
“Then I would be looking at their length of limbs, those kinds of things. If they roll on the outside of the feet… I’d be looking at everything of how they moved before they even swing the golf club.”
Of course, there’s not a golfer alive who doesn’t want to own a swing that makes playing partners swoon.
But for every Minjee Lee there is a player that finds success without following the model swing. Must takes steps to guide golfers into the swing that is going to work best for them.
“I’ll put them through a series of tests but I’m not necessarily telling them that this is what they need to be. But I’m showing them. They’re learning themselves,” says Must.
It is this connection between a person’s physical and mental performance that Must finds most engrossing.
And if that means convincing them that a picture-perfect swing might not yield the results they are seeking, how to shape their thinking to embrace the swing that is perfect for them.
“I really love the mental aspect of coaching, the subconscious and conscious mind,” says Must.
“Would you prefer a swing that looks good or one that is going to help you reduce your score by three or four shots every round? All of a sudden, they’re choosing the one that gives them three shots less.
“You’ve shifted their mind from what they believed they needed, to a place of where you want them.
“By asking a lot of questions you can get down to more of the nitty gritty of what they’re actually wanting.”
PGA Professionals are experts in helping you find the swing that will allow you to play your best golf! Book a lesson with your local PGA Professional at pga.org.au.
West Australian Minjee Lee has been awarded the Greg Normal Medal for the second time in four years at a gala dinner held at Brisbane’s City Hall on Tuesday night.
Victorious in 2018, Lee edged out a hot field to receive Australian golf’s highest honour, a field that included her younger brother Min Woo.
A celebration of the 2021 performances by the country’s high-performing men and women on the golf course, the Greg Norman Medal also serves as the official launch of the 2021 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and Fortinet Australian WPGA Championship to be played at Royal Queensland Golf Club starting Thursday.
About to commence her eighth season on the LPGA Tour, the consistency that has been the hallmark of Lee’s career was again evident in 2021 but the high point came with a maiden major title at the Amundi Evian Championship.
A five-time winner on the LPGA Tour prior, a major was all that was missing from Lee’s list of accomplishments, coming back from a seven-stroke deficit to defeat Jeongeun Lee6 to join Jan Stephenson, Karrie Webb and Hannah Green as Australia’s only winners of women’s major championships.
“Winning a major championship was the realisation of a lifelong dream and to be able to cap it off with the Greg Norman Medal makes it even more special,” said Lee, who had a total of seven top-five finishes on the LPGA Tour, won $US1,542,332 in prizemoney and ended the year ranked No.7 in the world.
“There were so many outstanding results by Australian golfers in 2021 so to be recognised in this way is a great honour.
“The fact that my brother was also nominated is also a great source of pride and joy for our family.
“Being awarded the Greg Norman Medal in 2018 was a significant achievement in my career and winning it for a second time only adds to a year that I’ll never forget.
“I’d also like to congratulate all of the winners in the other categories in what was a great year for Australian golf.”
TPS Victoria champion and Order of Merit winner Brad Kennedy was named PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year while two-time Ladies European Tour winner Stephanie Kyriacou was awarded WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year.
The Greg Norman Medal also recognises the coaches and PGA Professionals who have achieved high levels of success in their own endeavours.
Coach of Cameron Smith and 2021 Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar, Grant Field was named High Performance Coach of the Year, Albert Park’s Jamie McCallum received the Game Development Coach of the Year gong, Port Macquarie Golf Club PGA Professional James Single was named Club Professional of the Year and Luke Altschwager the Management Professional of the Year for the transformation he has overseen of Parkwood Village on the Gold Coast.
Greg Norman Medal winners list
Greg Norman Medal: Minjee Lee
ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Brad Kennedy
WPGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year: Stephanie Kyriacou
SParms Legends Tour Player of the Year: Andre Stolz
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (High Performance): Grant Field (Pelican Waters Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Coach of the Year (Game Development): Jamie McCallum (Albert Park Driving Range)
PGA of Australia National Club Professional of the Year: James Single (Port Macquarie Golf Club)
PGA of Australia National Management Professional of the Year: Luke Altschwager (The Club at Parkwood Village)
PGA of Australia National Associate of the Year: Elliott Beel (Mackay Golf Club)
PGA of Australia Life Member and 1983 Australian PGA champion Bob Shearer has passed away at age 73.
One of Australia’s most decorated professionals and a gregarious personality who was popular among both his playing partners and the adoring galleries, Shearer suffered a heart attack on Sunday morning.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Shearer shot to prominence by winning the 1969 Australian Amateur and then joined the professional ranks the following year.
In his playing career that stretched across four decades, Shearer amassed 27 professional wins including the 1983 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club and the 1982 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney, defeating Americans Jack Nicklaus and Payne Stewart by four strokes.
Shearer won twice on the European Tour in the 1975 season (Madrid Open and Piccadilly Medal) and in 1982 won the Tallahassee Open on the PGA Tour and lost in a playoff to Ed Sneed at the Houston Open that same year.
He was a four-time winner of the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and will be sadly missed by all those who he touched throughout his career around the world.
“Bob was a giant of the game here in Australia in the ‘70s and ‘80s and I am just absolutely devastated that I have lost another of my great mates,” said PGA Chair Rodger Davis.
“Bob and I travelled a lot together playing in Europe and as tough as he was to beat on the golf course you couldn’t find a better bloke to have a beer with after the round.
“On behalf of the PGA of Australia I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to his wife Kathie and all of Bob’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time.”
A four-time winner on the European Seniors Tour, Shearer was also prolific course designer, joining the Australian Society of Golf Course Architects in 1993 with his most significant work taking place at his beloved Southern Golf Club where his golf journey began almost 60 years ago under resident professional Harold Knights.
He played golf at Southern on Thursday and was planning to play again on Monday, his wife Kathie paying this tribute.
“I’d like to say he was what he needed to be. He was golf. It was his life and his love.
“He played three or four times a week and it was everything to him.”
Shearer is survived by his wife Kathie and their two sons, Brett and Bobby.
Pacific Dunes PGA Professional Jamie Hook was in a state of disbelief after completing a PGA Professionals Championship win and earning a place in the field for next week’s Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.
Beginning the final round with a two-stroke advantage under cloudy skies and the constant threat of rain, Hook added to his course record of six-under 65 on Thursday with a round of one-under 70 at Links Hope Island on Friday, enough for a two-shot win.
Par at each of his first seven holes was the steady start Hook was hoping for and when he picked up a birdie at the par-5 eighth hole edged further clear of the field.
When the chasing pack needed Hook to falter he responded with more nerveless golf, completing a bogey-free round with 10 straight pars and a handy buffer as he played the final hole of the $30,000 championship for Australia’s PGA club and management professionals.
Mt Coolum’s TJ King (70) finished in outright second but given he had qualified earlier in the week through the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program, third-placed Matthew Guyatt (68) earned the second exemption into the Australian PGA at Royal Queensland Golf Club from next Thursday.
Hook’s victory and PGA berth were all the more unlikely given he wasn’t even in the field a week ago, grateful for all the messages and support he has received the past two days from his home club.
“It’s hard to believe I am standing here with the trophy. I wasn’t in the field until last week and felt really fortunate just to be playing let alone winning,” said Hook.
“All of the members at Pacific Dunes Golf Club have been amazing and the number of messages and calls have been overwhelming.
“I wasn’t sure if we were going to get out onto the course over the last couple of days given the impact of Cyclone Seth but the ground staff at Links Hope Island did an amazing job to prepare the course and all of us PGA Professionals are really grateful for their efforts.
“To be going to Royal Queensland Golf Club for the Australian PGA Championship is quite surreal.
“I have made the cut two out of the last three PGA’s that I have played so hopefully I can keep up the form heading into next week.”
A former Japan Tour player, Matthew Guyatt is now the Assistant Professional at Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane and despite picking up birdies at the 16th and 18th holes thought he and finished shy of a start at the PGA.
“I was really disappointed looking at the leaderboard after my round not knowing that TJ was already in next week’s field,” said Guyatt.
“To hear the news that I am into the PGA Championship in my home-town of Brisbane the week before the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club is amazing.”
The PGA thanks each of our partners who have helped bring the PGA Professionals Championship to life in Acushnet, Club Car and Coca Cola Europacific Partners.
The PGA of Australia and Club Car are pleased to announce a new five-year partnership which will see Club Car become the official golf vehicle of the PGA of Australia, ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia and Fortinet Australian PGA Championship until 2026.
Club Car will also support a range of PGA Member programs including the PGA Member Pathway Program, National and State PGA Associate Championships and the PGA Professionals Championship.
“Club Car is the world’s leading manufacturer of golf and lightweight utility vehicles, we are delighted to have them continue their commitment to PGA Professionals and the Australian Golf Industry through this partnership with the PGA,” said Michael McDonald, Commercial Director of the PGA of Australia.
“The relationship between our two organisations has always focused on education and the continued expansion of knowledge of PGA Associates and PGA Professionals,” added Club Car Vice President Kevin Gates.
“This renewed partnership will continue to support the PGA in providing industry-specific training and the delivery of programmes designed by Club Car to enhance golf fleet operations within Australian clubs.
“We also look forward to working closely with PGA state and national offices to collaborate and provide assistance to each other as our industry continues to grow.”
2021 was an exciting and dynamic year for Club Car. After more than 25 years of Ingersoll Rand ownership, the company was acquired by Platinum Equity in a transaction of around $US1.7 billion.
Under the new structure, Club Car operates independently and speaking from company headquarters in Augusta, Georgia, President and CEO Mark Wagner said, “Throughout our 60-year history, Club Car has always been committed to the game of golf.
“We are excited about our future as a standalone company and continuing our partnership with the PGA of Australia will only help continue our growth and our support of golf.”
A range of Club Car golf and utility vehicles will be used by tournament officials at the upcoming Fortinet Australian PGA and Australian WPGA Championships to be held at the Royal Queensland Golf Club from January 13-16.
Pacific Dunes PGA Professional Jamie Hook has taken advantage of a late call-up to establish a two-stroke lead at the PGA Professionals Championship Final on the Gold Coast.
The Dan Cullen Cup and a spot in the field at next week’s Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will go on the line in Friday’s final round at Links Hope Island on the Gold Coast with Hook firing a course record six-under 65 in Thursday’s opening round.
Despite starting and finishing his first look at the Links Hope Island layout with bogeys Hook peeled off eight birdies in the space of 16 holes, including a run of three straight at the short par-4 16th, the signature par-3 17th and the water-lined par-5 18th.
Three-time champion Matthew Docking, 2017 winner Murray Lott and 2016 champion Chris Duke are all seeking further success in the championship that brings together 50 of Australia’s leading club, teaching and management PGA Professionals from around the country but it was Hook who stole the show on day one.
“It is one of my favourite events each year and I am really grateful we were able to play given all of the uncertainty around the country at the moment,” said Hook.
“I only got into the field after someone withdrew due to Covid-related challenges and therefore it is nice to get off to a good start and make the most of the opportunity.
“I have not played at Links Hope Island before and it is not hard to see why it has staged PGA Tour of Australasia events here in the past. It is a wonderful layout and a great test.”
The 36-hole tournament boasts prizemoney of $30,000 in addition to the leading two PGA Professionals receiving an exemption to play in the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship next week.
Hook finished fourth the last time the event was played in 2019 at Hamilton Island Golf Club and will begin Friday’s final round with a two-shot buffer from Mt Coolum Golf Club’s TJ King (67) with Kooindah Waters Golf Club-based PGA Professional Nathan Miller (68) a further shot back in outright third.
The final round commences at 8am on Friday morning and a new national champion to be crowned in the early afternoon.
Click here for the full leaderboard after round one.
He’s had a taste of what it takes to compete in a PGA Tour of Australasia event and now Victorian Bradley Kivimets has the chance to play his way into the Australian PGA Championship at the 2021 PGA Professionals Championship Final.
Originally scheduled to be played at Hamilton Island Golf Club in September, the uncertainty around travel restrictions forced a shift to Links Hope Island on the Gold Coast starting Thursday, January 6.
To be played over 36 holes with $30,000 in prize money, the tournament showcases the playing ability of PGA Professionals from around the country with Kivimets earning his spot as the leading qualifier in the Victorian PGA Professionals Championship at Commonwealth Golf Club late last year.
That result also earned the Portsea Golf Club Professional a start at the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links where he shocked the more-fancied members of the field – and himself – by taking the halfway lead.
“I was pretty nervous most of the day yesterday and all day today,” Kivimets said of his unexpected spot at the top of the leaderboard through 36 holes.
“It was nice to feel that, to have the nerves going and be able to still take advantage and do what I needed to do.”
Rounds of 75-76 on the weekend saw the 27-year-old fall to a share of 13th by tournament’s end but the confidence he gained form the experience will make Kivimets one of the favourites to snare one of two invites to the $1 million Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club the following week.
But in a field boasting a number of familiar names with extensive Tour experience Kivimets won’t have an unimpeded run to RQ.
The Assistant Professional at Nudgee Golf Club – home of the 2021 Queensland PGA Championship from January 20 – Matthew Guyatt has played throughout Asia and contended regularly on the Australasian Tour, recording top-10 finishes at both the Australian Open (2017) and the Australian Masters (2012, 2015).
Veteran Glenn Joyner was a winner in his last start at the Casino Legends Pro-Am on the SParms PGA Legends Tour while three-time champion and Royal Hobart Golf Club PGA Professional Matthew Docking will be out to continue his impressive record in the championship.
Royal Canberra Golf Operations Manager Bree Arthur is the lone female to qualify and will draw on her experience of playing six seasons on the Ladies European Tour as she takes it to the boys.
In addition to the $30,000 individual championship, the Vicar Shield team event will be played in conjunction where two representatives from each state combine their scores in each round, the winners having their names engraved on the trophy.
When PGA Professional Josh Shaw plans out his week at Flinders Golf Club on the south-east tip of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, he schedules days off on Wednesday and Sunday.
Not that it made any difference this particular Wednesday morning.
Most PGA Members live for the golf industry and on his day off Shaw was picking up a new benchtop to be installed in the pro shop and had an afternoon of paperwork scheduled for later that day.
It’s a familiar tale for most PGA Professionals throughout the country but highlights the demands on time and the diversity of attributes necessary to keep a golf club’s golf operations running smoothly.
Shaw’s connection with the membership at Flinders runs deep.
He completed the PGA Membership Pathway Program under fellow PGA Professional Gavin Coyle at the club and plans to remain the club’s Professional for the foreseeable future.
“Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday we’re doing a lot of important coaching of our golfers,” says Shaw in an acknowledgement of the importance of coaching in assisting golfers with their enjoyment of the sport.
“I try and coach all day on a Monday if I can, which is generally from 9am until 5 or 6pm.
“We introduced a beginners program called Pathways to Golf which has been very popular.
“It was a group setting designed for people that had never touched a golf club before in their life and has gone above and beyond our expectations. We are at the point where we run two classes on a Monday, Friday and Saturday.
“That’s 36 brand new golfers entering the game and has certainly been an achievement for myself and the club.”
The positive influx of new golfers has put further pressure on a timesheet already being stretched to its limit and which has required constant adjustments by Shaw according to ever-changing COVID requirements.
The role of the PGA Professional also sees fitting days with equipment companies such as Callaway Golf, TaylorMade and Wilson Staff, and stock within the pro shop that requires regular consideration as part of the overall business.
“There’s something at the club, in the Pro-Shop and in the coaching activities that keeps me on my toes all the time as a PGA Professional,” Shaw admits.
“You’re always trying something new and something different to help our golfers enjoy the sport more, have more fun or play better. And if it doesn’t work, then you put a line through it and try something different.
“I find it very difficult to sit still. This whole job and how it all pans out keeps you busy,” he adds.
“I certainly wouldn’t want it any other way.”
PGA Professionals all around Australia are the heartbeat of the sport and custodians of the game. Find your local PGA Professional for everything golf at pga.org.au.
Lucas Herbert’s dual wins on the European Tour and PGA Tour has seen Dominic Azzopardi crowned Australian Golf Digest’s 2021 Coach of the Year.
The Player of the Year Awards are an annual feature of Australian Golf Digest’s January issue and the performances of our top men’s and women’s players across the globe made the Coach of the Year award one of the most hotly contested.
Winner in three of the past four years, Western Australia’s Ritchie Smith had another outstanding year, guiding Minjee Lee to her breakthrough major championship at the Aumundi Evian Championship, Min Woo Lee to the top 50 in the world rankings and Hannah Green to another strong season on the LPGA Tour.
Khan Pullen’s star pupil Cam Davis earned his first PGA Tour title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Gary Barter helped Stephanie Kyriacou and Matt Jones to wins on the Ladies European Tour and PGA Tour respectively and Grant Field took Cameron Smith to the top 20 in the world, got Australian Amateur champion Louis Dobbelaar ready to join the professional ranks and helped Andre Stolz to become the dominant force on the SParms PGA Legends Tour.
The likes of Michael Jones, Tim Wood, Gareth Jones and Adrian Wickstein all enjoyed great success in 2021 but the Australian Golf Digest judges deemed Azzopardi’s influence on Herbert as the best performance of the year.
A winner on the European Tour for a second time at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in July, Herbert finished tied for fourth at the first event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to effectively seal his promotion to the PGA Tour.
He missed the cut in each of his first two starts as a full member of the PGA Tour but when Azzopardi answered the call for help and flew to the US to take a closer look at Herbert’s swing the results were instant, Herbert coming from four shots back on Sunday to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Bermuda.
Immediately following his win Herbert paid tribute to the sacrifice his coach made in flying to the United States to make the adjustments they needed to get back to his best.
“I was taking the club back a long way inside, inside plane going back and from there it was very hard to match it up,” Herbert explained.
“I was kind of leaking the ball to the right or double-crossing left, which is not a really good way to play golf.
“We just worked on that takeaway a lot. It’s a lot to work on because then it throws out a lot of your feels of how the ball’s going to launch. I just felt like I was going to hit a lot of shots left.
“For him to make that commitment to come out and help me out a lot with my golf swing… we hit a lot of balls over the last two or three weeks getting ready for this event.
“To have it pay off so quickly and to share that win with him, that was really special.”
For his efforts Herbert was named Male Player of the Year while first year Associate Lachlan Aylen (Eynesbury Golf Club) received the nod as the PGA Associate Player of the Year.
For the full list of award winners see the January issue of Australian Golf Digest, on sale now.
In golf, as in life, timing is everything. The Brisbane Golf Club just 10 kilometres from the centre of Queensland’s capital always had a junior program, it was just never a priority.
Long-time PGA Professional and Director of Golf Joe Janison developed a three-level program six years ago that attracted between 20-30 kids but it was the arrival of fellow PGA Professional Asha Hargreaves from the Northern Territory that brought the program to life.
Prior to beginning the PGA of Australia Membership Pathway Program Hargreaves had already completed her Level 2 Junior Titleist Performance Institute accreditation so it was little surprise that upon her arrival at Brisbane turned her attention to the club’s youngest participants.
“The whole reason I started the PGA Membership Pathway Program was to give the golfers what I never had,” says Hargreaves (below).
“I grew up in the NT where the resources are pretty slim so I’ve always wanted to grow the juniors.
“That’s always been a big thing for me and give them a bit more than we got when we were younger.
“I started changing the program up when I first got to Brisbane. I identified that there needed to be more structure. I started doing prizes and getting the kids more incentivised to want to do things. Little challenges and skills tests.
“Joe let me take control of that and the kids really enjoy having the diversity of it all as well.
“For me the structure was paramount because that was something that I only got in the later years of my amateur golf.”
Hargreaves’ enthusiasm had an immediate impact and gave Janison the impetus to expand the junior program, a program that in 2021 was honoured with the Queensland Golf Industry Junior Program of the Year award.
“Asha has an absolutely brilliant connection with them,” Janison said of the club’s growing junior base.
“We started with three introductory levels – B1, B2 and B3 – and we have now expanded that to seven levels purely out of the demand we’ve had from kids who want to be part of the program.
“At the moment we’ve got 62 kids across the seven levels with eight or nine in each group with two of myself, Asha and our current PGA Associate Tyla Vinter involved with each session.
“I’ve seen clinics with larger groups which can be a great way to get kids started but their progress stems more from that personal service that you get with the smaller groups.”
Using the TPI guidelines as a blueprint, the program at Brisbane is all-encompassing, parents needing to be educated when they see their kids throwing frisbees down the fairway or engaged in a pilates class for the first time.
It’s all part of Brisbane’s desire to establish itself as a club that fosters young talent and develops them into elite amateurs and, potentially, globe-trotting professionals.
And Hargreaves wants to be the one leading the charge.
“I wanted to have a program here where I could take these kids from young all the way through and give them everything they need without having to search for it themselves,” says Hargreaves, a nominee for Queensland’s Game Development Coach of the Year and currently studying for her Certificate III in Fitness.
“My biggest goal is to have a high-performance program, a Brisbane academy that feeds into the Golf Australia programs where we also provide mentoring for young players.
“They need to be mentored in how to train and how to prepare for events so my biggest goal would be to establish that and be that program all kids want to be part of.”
For Janison, the development of good golfers is only surpassed by their development as young men and women.
“Parents all say the same things, it isn’t just about the skills that we’ve taught them on the golf course, but how to be responsible socially and all that sort of stuff,” says Janison.
“They come along because of the connection that they have with us, as well as the golf.
“It isn’t just about coming along to play golf, which was really nice to hear.”
All PGA Professionals receive extensive training in inclusive golf coaching methods, including the effective coaching of junior golfers of all ages and abilities. To help get your kids into golf, contact your local PGA Professional, find a PGA Professional at pga.org.au/find-a-PGA-pro/ or go to https://www.golf.org.au/mygolf/home/ to find a MyGolf Program near you.
