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It’s not a skill that can be learned in a textbook, through an online course or by watching a video on YouTube.
Tony Di Tommaso’s innate ability to not only remember the names of his members at Carbrook Golf Club but their football team of choice, names of partners and golf ball preference comes from his passion for people, a passion he has shared with indentured trainees for the past 30 years.
It comes naturally to Di Tommaso, but he is adamant that a passion for the club and the people you are serving will bring such a talent out in anyone.
The PGA Professional at Carbrook in Brisbane’s south-east since March 1991, Di Tommaso has guided a dozen trainees through the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program and as they worked hard on their studies and playing, urged them to take great joy in the career path they had chosen.
“I try to make sure they’re gregarious in terms of talking to the members, not just treating it as a 38-hour-a-week job,” says Di Tommaso, who has worked alongside younger brother Paul for the majority of those 30 years at Carbrook.
“One of my great assets is the ability to listen to people and create conversation that engages them.
“It’s not talking down to them or listening to them and not caring about what they’ve got to say.
“I try to get that across to my kids, to really engage in the conversation and bring out the best in their personality.
“I’ve got a young guy working with me at the moment from Colombia and he says to me, ‘How do you know everybody?’
“It’s just about paying attention and showing people that you care.”
One of the PGA Assocaites to have come through under Di Tommaso is current Carbrook Golf Club General Manager, Scott Wagstaff.
Wagstaff, who has since employed another Di Tommaso graduate in Angus Porter as the club’s Manager of Membership and Development, believes it is his manner with the members and visitors that has entrenched Di Tommaso as a fixture at Carbrook.
“He’s always looked after others, whether that’s an Associate or a member,” says Wagstaff, who completed his PGA credentials under Di Tommaso from 1997-1999.
“He’s often put others in front of his own needs, to his detriment in some instances.
“He will look after people and make that his highest priority and if he happens to make some money then that’s a bonus.
“That’s why someone like Tony has lasted more than 30 years, because everyone rates him as a human being.”
Growing up four doors down from The Brisbane Golf Club, Di Tommaso’s first foray into the golf industry was to fox balls for Errol Hartvigsen out the back of the pro shop.
A talented junior athlete, he began playing, did some caddying, won the 1979 Queensland Junior Championship and then in 1984 began his traineeship under Hartvigsen.
There was time on tour playing the mining towns littered throughout the Queensland Sunshine Tour – where he honed his skill for remembering names of pro-am partners – spent time working in the pro shop at both Brisbane and Indooroopilly before ultimately accepting the position at Carbrook at the start of 1991.
When he joined Carbrook Michael Billington was into the final year of his traineeship, Di Tommaso taking great pride in the relationships he has forged and the people he has guided through the PGA program.
“I’ve probably had about a dozen trainees, and I still have a great relationship with all of them,” says Di Tommaso.
“They’ve always enjoyed their time and I think that’s because I’ve never looked down on any of them. I’ve always tried to treat them as equals.
“It’s been my life, and my brother’s life, and I just feel like I want to keep fostering the game and to keep people playing golf.
“If I can pass that onto the trainees that come through Carbrook then hopefully that has a positive impact on the industry as a whole.”
Chris Crocker’s continual education and a subtle shift paved the way to become Director of Golf at Royal Adelaide Golf Club. Written by Chris Crocker with Tony Webeck
I look at my career and I’ve always had semi visions of where I’ve wanted to land at certain points but I’ve never actually landed there. I’ve always morphed and moved in a slightly different field again. Early days I just loved the game and was very set on wanting to coach.
I did that first at Kingston Beach in Tasmania after completing my traineeship at Country Club Casino in Launceston. I moved to North Adelaide Golf Course first as the golf professional but Adelaide City Council were very good with professional development and put me through an Emerging Leaders program so towards the end of my time there was more of a management element.
To be honest, when I left North Adelaide I could have thrown it all in the bin. My shift to Royal Adelaide was very much a left-field move for me. I applied for the position as Golf Operations Manager but I wasn’t sure that was exactly what I wanted to do.
At that point I was thinking more down the General Manager’s path as a career option. The club is very supportive of professional development so I locked in to do my Diploma in Golf Management through the PGA IGI as soon as I moved here.
All that study was done self-paced online which is just perfect. The online structure means you can jump in and do two hours of a night-time or go in early and do an hour before you go to work, or whatever it might be. It’s certainly not easy – it’s still a fair lump of time to get it done – but the flexible arrangement certainly makes it more appealing.
What that did was to fill a hole between what we covered in our traineeship 15-20 years ago versus what the guys cover now through the Membership Pathway Program. For me, a lot of that was around the financial side of things, risk management and HR. When we did our traineeship, the program was a little bit heavier on the coaching and the pure management of a pro shop from a retail perspective. Whereas now I see the focus of the program being a lot broader and a lot more inclusive and covers all those other areas of the business.
I feel like I’ve managed to get advanced status in each stream which gives you the ability to provide really rounded thoughts and opinions on all aspects of a golf club’s operations. I can sit in a management meeting and have a valid opinion on some other areas of the business as well. It enables you to see the club in a far more holistic light. I’m not just looking at it from a pro shop perspective, or a tee time management perspective or something like that. You’re able to see how that fits within the greater scope of the whole club and everything working together.
If more PGA members work into management positions and develop those skills that’s going to create some great general managers. They won’t just bring a financial background or a HR background, they will bring a very rounded approach to what they’re doing.
I’m really lucky that I still do some coaching and I’m reasonably heavily involved in coaching programs. Overall, it’s the variety that motivates me and excites me every day. I’m part of the admin team, I head up the operations team, I’ve got a hand in lots of different areas of the club and lots of different events, and then the pro shop and the business side of things. It’s amazing to look at your day and see where it goes but you generally work on so many different areas of the business which all lead back to member satisfaction and member engagement.
I genuinely feel golf facilities need to become more family friendly. We talk a lot about time and I think the time taken is relative to who it involves. It’s hard to get five hours or six hours alone time and solo whilst the family might be doing something else. I just feel clubs need to be more understanding of that and more welcoming of that. If we can provide greater opportunities for the rest of someone’s family – or at least make the clubs more welcoming for spouses and kids and whatnot – then I think we go a long way to being able to retain players.
When we talk about players being committed to the game, we’ve got to still provide some flexibility and look at that age bracket where we do lose a lot of players and how we can best fit into their lifestyles. That might be clubs providing more than just golf where they can. It may be that little bit of diversification where is there space. A couple of tennis courts. A gym. A swimming pool. A creche. That sort of stuff that just makes it that bit easier to justify.
Losing players once you’ve done so much hard work to get them in is such a shame. It’s very rarely because they’ve fallen out of love with the game, or because they’ve had an injury and it prevents them from playing like they do with other sports. It genuinely comes back to time and involvement, and again, I find time is only part of the reason. There are other factors to that and if you can provide something more than just golf, then time becomes less of a factor.
Coming up with the name was easy.
“I just really enjoy a pun,” says Melissa Taylor, Assistant Professional at Eastwood Golf Club in Melbourne and proponent of Taylored To You Golf Coaching.
Exposed to the concept of personal branding and marketing as she completed her PGA traineeship under Luke Bower at Eastwood, Taylor made the decision to embrace social media as a way of growing her clientele beyond the club membership.
Promoting your business through social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn remains a relatively new concept for many PGA Professionals but Taylor understood its power as she set about targeting beginner women golfers with little previous exposure to the game.
“I just believe you can reach so many people using it,” Taylor said of her use of social media.
“A lot of the guys and girls that I’ve come through my time with all seemed to latch onto that same kind of idea whereas some of the older PGA professionals tend not to and rely on word of mouth to market their services.
“I want to be reaching more than our membership base at our club and a lot of the time I’m trying to market to those who have never even played golf before.
“The great thing with social media is that when you’re doing promotional marketing you can target certain people. So whilst they might not have a specific interest in golf, you can choose the fact that they’re interested in fitness and all of a sudden that comes up in their news feed and that’s a seed that’s planted, that maybe they want to try golf.”
In designing her logo Taylor had front of mind the type of golfers she wanted to attract.
With the help of best friend Molly Drane who runs a marketing company called Good Golly Creative, Taylor wanted a logo that was appealing to the female eye, from the colours down to the font.
“The fact that my name’s actually written in more cursive writing, that really appeals to me,” said Taylor, who coaches both men and women at Eastwood. “I felt it made it look a bit more feminine than just normal block writing.
“Molly gave me different colour palettes to choose from and we went with the blues and the softer tones. Not particularly because I looked into whether that would be better but to me it looked softer and more welcoming. A bit more inviting and a bit more feminine.
“I listen to different business podcasts and I get a lot of information from those about the need to be marketing a tone of voice and that tone of voice is included in your colour schemes.”
Estimating that a third of her coaching clientele has come by way of her social media activations, Taylor also utilises Facebook in particular to turn her beginners into bona fide golfers.
If the golf club environment is still intimidating for some, Taylor connects her students from her various programs into one dedicated Facebook group to provide an online community that gathers in the real world to share their love of golf.
“Whilst some of my content is presented to everybody, I actually have quite a lot of content on Facebook specifically for them,” Taylor says of her dedicated Facebook group that currently boasts 48 members.
“For the girls who haven’t particularly shared numbers or what have you, someone might put out a post and say, ‘I’m going to the driving range to have a practice. Does anyone want to join me?’
“They’re all part of that community and have a place to be able to reach out to each other. Quite a few of them that have exchanged numbers which has been a really great thing to see.”
There are some obvious skills and attributes that you need before embarking on a career as a PGA Professional.
A certain proficiency playing the game is important for those entering the Membership Pathway Program.
You need to have at least an interest in the fundamentals of the swing and desire to expand your understanding so that you can share that knowledge with others.
Work ethic and time management skills are integral for anyone hoping to balance hours working in the pro shop with playing commitments and the educational responsibilities of the program.
But perhaps what is not evident on the surface are the depth of communication and people skills necessary not only to become a successful coach but to become an entrenched and valuable member of the golf club where you are employed.
As a keen golfer growing up on Sydney’s North Shore, Neil Rolfe sent letters to every club within reach of his house looking for a way to work in golf.
Having first joined the club as an 11-year-old junior, Rolfe worked as a casual at North Ryde Golf Club for three years before being offered the opportunity to take up a traineeship under Marty Lyne in 2002.
Now the Director of Golf at Pennant Hills Golf Club, that early experience working with a broad demographic at a public golf course reinforced to Rolfe that as he progressed in his career communication would be key.
“I underestimated the people skills and communication skills that you need in the job,” admitted Rolfe, whose sole focus in beginning his traineeship was to become a club professional.
“Having access to such a busy public course, I found I had to deal with a lot of different personalities and a lot of different people. It challenged me, but it also helped bring out communication skills and you learn to get an understanding with a student or a member.
“I am extremely lucky to have a great team around me here at Pennant Hills in Rachel Bailey, Andrew Potter and Liam Shiels. Communication is the ultimate key to my success and something at the start of my career I didn’t understand the importance of.
“You need a great team around you of staff that all communicate really well and have the same goal, the same vision.
“I never ever thought when I started out being a pro that I would need those skills as much as I do now.”
After more than a decade working at North Ryde Rolfe joined Rod Brown at Bayview Golf Club in 2012, taking over as Head Professional in 2013 for a period of five years.
That led to the position at Pennant Hills and a new membership base extremely proud of their club and their status as one of the premier clubs in Sydney.
Again, it was those communication skills that he employed to appreciate the standard of service that Pennant Hills members have come to expect.
“I was quite obviously very thrilled to get the position but I also felt like I had a really important responsibility to take on the legacy of the club,” said Rolfe.
“A really great camaraderie, great membership to be a part of and I really embraced it because it was a really amazing opportunity to be a part of the tradition of the club.
“Meeting so many different people at other clubs, I knew that I had the skills to deliver the membership what they wanted from their pro.
“My role is really making sure that the members engage with their golf club. I’ve got to be that approachable person that they can come to, to help them with their experience.
“I’m a big believer that if someone engages with their pro at their club, they’ll stay at that golf club and they’ll play golf if their pro takes an interest in their golf.
“If they’re engaged with me, I know that they’re happy here and they’re going to continue to be a member at Pennant Hills.”
The Queensland Golf Industry is pleased to announce the finalists for its upcoming Awards Night to be held at The Star – Gold Coast on Thursday 28th October, 2021.
Represented by the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia, Golf Course Superintendents Association of QLD and Golf Management Australia, the QLD Golf Industry Awards Night acknowledges the achievements the finalists have accomplished during a time that the game has experienced unprecedented activity.
“We have had a record number of nominations in many categories this year and it is pleasing to see so many deserving individuals, golf clubs and events,” said PGA State Manager Broc Greenhalgh.
“The judging period was expanded this year due to a move of the Awards Night from its traditional March date to its new home in October, and therefore award nominees were judged on their activity for the period of January 2020 to July 2021.”
Golf Australia State Manager Luke Bates explained how the evening is a great opportunity to bring the industry together at a really important time.
“The game of golf has been extremely busy at golf facilities since the beginning of the pandemic and our focus has now turned to maintaining the momentum that the game is experiencing. The awards night recognizes those who will play an integral part,” said Bates.
Having all areas of the industry represented by governing bodies, the night is truly an industry-wide event and, as Golf Management Australia (QLD) President Aaron Muirhead explained, it’s an integral part of the golfing calendar.
“It is an opportunity, not only to look back at those who have excelled, though to celebrate the health of the game,” said Muirhead.
“We are fortunate that our game was well geared to thrive over the past 18 months and after the awards were conducted virtually last year, this year’s awards night is another milestone that we are close to returning to a new normal.”
The unsung heroes of our sport are often those who prepare our playing surfaces and for this reason recognising the golf club ground staff has become an increasingly important part of the QLD Golf Industry Awards Night.
Golf Course Superintendent Association (QLD) President Paul McLean is pleased to see the support that this part of the industry has received over recent times.
“Golf courses are busier than ever. To keep them in the condition we have come to expect in QLD has been tough, however there have been some standouts during the last 18 months and we look forward to putting them up in lights,” said McLean.
The finalists for their respective awards (in alphabetical order) are:
Golf Club of the Year
Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members)
Golf Supplier of the Year
Junior Program of the Year (MyGolf Centres of the Month – QLD)
Volunteer of the Year
Coach of the Year (Game Development)
Manager of the Year
Coach of the Year (High Performance)
Club Professional of the Year
Management Professional of the Year
Golf Club Staff Member of the Year
Golf Club Board Member of the Year
Tournament of the Year
Superintendents Achievement Award
Metropolitan Tournament of the Year
Regional Tournament of the Year
PGA Legends Tournament of the Year
Golf Course Turf Apprentice of the Year
PGA IGI Excellence in Golf Education Award
Additional awards presented at the QLD Golf Industry Awards Night that don’t attract finalists include:
To book your tickets or for further details about the QLD Golf Industry Awards Night, please visit www.qldgolfindustryawards.com.au or alternatively contact the PGA (QLD/NT) office on 07 5657 6100 or via email [email protected].
Given his access to the family business as funeral directors in Canberra, Paul Smith developed an eye for business at a young age.
When he combined that intuition for enterprise with his passion for golf and found his way into the PGA of Australia’s Membership Pathway Program, Smith began to establish a connection between the two that would shape his career.
Owner/Manager of the Bank of Queensland Branch in Southport on the Gold Coast, Smith’s pathway to the financial sector had its grounding in the PGA traineeship he undertook at Queanbeyan Golf Club in the ACT under Geoff Gorham… and an opportunity to test the market for himself.
“I had a boss who was quite liberal in letting me learn as much as I could in the shop,” Smith recalls.
“He decided to go overseas for five or six weeks and let me run the place while he was away.
“He gave me an incentive. He said whatever I could sell while he was away he’d give me 10 per cent. Back in those days you could sell a full set of clubs for about $350.
“While he was away for that six weeks I think I sold $6,000 worth of product, which was probably as much as we’d sold all year.
“By him doing that it gave me the reins of how to run the shop, what you need to do to sell product at x amount of price to make the profit to pay the bills and all the rest of it.
“That was a very good learning curve to a) be doing an apprenticeship and b) learning how to run a business at the same time.
“That earlier grounding does give you a great understanding of how business works. Using the PGA curriculum as an example, it was very, very good for me in going into business.
“I’m not sure all of the trainees would get that kind of experience but I was blessed with my boss in Geoff Gorham who is still a PGA Member to this day.”
Introduced to the game by a father who played off scratch at Huntingdale Golf Club in Melbourne, Smith’s interest was sparked when the family moved to the ACT and bought a house backing onto the 10th tee at Queanbeyan.
As his game developed aspirations of world domination ensued but after seven years of slogging away on the PGA Tour of Australasia circuit reality set in.
“Like all budding PGA Members I wanted to get out there and be another Greg Norman,” says Smith, who attempted to qualify for the 1984 Open Championship at St Andrews but missed out.
“We all tested our luck and had mixed success but all in all not much success.
“You soon realise that you’ve got to do something else.”
Smith ultimately joined the family business and it was that background in conjunction with his golf experience that landed him the job as Director of Golf when Hyatt Regency Coolum opened in 1988.
He spent five years in that role and then 10 more on-site running major events at the resort that morphed into a sports management company.
That introduced Smith to the likes of Wayne Grady and Peter Senior, cricketers such as Ian Healy and Andrew Symonds and Brisbane AFL premiership winner Simon Black.
There were 12 Wizard home loan branches in south-east Queensland before Smith and Black made a move into the banking sector, opening a branch in Kallangur in Brisbane’s north and then the one in Southport in rather unfortunate circumstances.
“The day after we bought it was the start of the Global Financial Crisis,” Smith adds.
“We played catch-up for six or seven years before we got it going properly but now it’s going really, really well and growing all the time.”
Understanding the financial strain that golf professionals – both Tour and Vocational – experience, Smith has gone out of his way to assist PGA Members with their lending needs, whether personal or for the business.
“With the pros who may be unsure as to exactly what they want to do we give them a free appraisal on where they’re at with their bank and their borrowings and what their costs are,” says Smith.
“If they’re on a good deal we tell them that but if they could be on a better deal we tell them that as well and then they make a decision whether they want to move or not.
“We also have a ‘Family and Friends’ offer which varies during the course of each year, such as waiving the application fee and other ways of giving funds back to the PGA Member.
“We try and give them something extra that a normal BOQ customer is not going to receive.
“I’ve been a PGA Member for 43 years and it’s been a great tag to have with the guys, especially with the guys that don’t know me or the new guys coming through.”
Reigning Queensland PGA Trainee Order of Merit winner AJ McCoy is on track to claim the Coca-Cola Pampling Plate after coming through two tough opening matches on day one at Caboolture Golf Club on Tuesday.
The match play tournament that honours PGA Tour and recent Champions Tour winner Rod Pampling’s Caboolture upbringing, the champion will have to win five 18-hole matches across three days to claim the title.
Drawn against 2020 Queensland PGA Trainee Championship winner Luke Parker in the opening round, McCoy only advanced at the first playoff hole after the match finished all square through 18 holes.
McCoy’s next assignment was against last year’s Pampling Plate winner Luke Macklin and again the match went the full distance, McCoy winning the 18th hole to claim a 2-up victory and move into Wednesday morning’s third round.
“It was great match with only a hole in it all round and it took a bit of bad luck for Luke on the 19th for me escape with a win,” said McCoy of his Round 1 near miss.
The afternoon bought strong winds as Round 2 began with the winners from Round 1 taking on the fresh and rested top-eight qualifiers from Monday.
Harrison Wills backed up his morning victory win with a 6&4 victory against Ryan Paul.
“I am lucky to be in the field after my qualifying rounds however the match play game seems to suit me. So far so good,” a confident Wills said.
Round 3 and 4 matches will be played on Wednesday before the 36-hole final round on Thursday.
For live scoring click here.
Round 1 results
AJ McCoy def. Luke Parker 19th hole
Curtis Eldering def. Jesse Egea 20th hole
Harrison Wills def. Zoe Maxwell 4&3
Aden Morrison def. Mitch Dunbar 1 up
Ray Harris def. Cody Davis 4&3
Harrison Law de. Nicholas Barney 4&3
Peter Lyon def. Jamie Rooney 1 up
Tanner Jackson def. Zachery Kelly 2&1
Round 2 results
AJ McCoy def. Luke Macklin 2 up
Harrison Wills def. Ryan Paul 6&4
Ray Harris def. Elliot Beel 1 up
Mitchell Smith def. Aden Morrison 19th hole
Bailey Arnott def. Tanner Jackson 19th hole
Curtis Eldering def. Robert Spence 3&2
Dean Jamieson def. Harrison Law 5&3
Peter Lyon def. Jackson Jubelin 5&3
Droves of new people are coming into golf; Barwon Heads Professional Jess Bramble wants to ensure their first experience of golf is a fun one.
Comparatively speaking, golf came fairly easily to Jess Bramble.
With a background playing tennis, badminton and basketball, Bramble followed her father to Swan Hill City Golf Club as a 13-year-old and discovered an instant affinity, able to hit the ball in the air almost from day one.
As such golf was fun… and she wants to share that joy with newcomers who have found their way into the game.
“I’m not going to be someone who teaches a player on the Tour but I don’t aspire to,” says Bramble, currently on maternity leave from her position as a PGA Professional at Barwon Heads Golf Club on the Bellarine Peninsula.
“I just want people enjoying golf because I think somewhere along the line we’ve forgotten that golf is a game that’s meant to be fun.
“I tell people that no one picked up a golf club and was good straight away. Just try and really encourage and be sympathetic because I understand what it was like starting out and learning new skills.
“When people come to a golf lesson for the first time, ultimately they’re very nervous about whether they are going to be able to do it.
“You can get people to enjoy that process by being social, talking to them, being friendly and encouraging and infectious with your enthusiasm for golf.
“Sometimes that can really rub off and make people feel comfortable.”
An excellent junior player whose lowest handicap as an amateur was plus-1, Bramble had plans of being a sports journalist, spent a year studying primary school teaching at Federation University in Ballarat, worked in the pro shop part-time at Murray Downs Resort and found herself working for a Swan Hill financial planner.
But it was the desire to combine her love of golf and teaching that made the PGA Membership Pathway Program an enticing proposition.
“I always entertained dreams of playing but I don’t know how realistically I took those to be honest,” she concedes.
“I’d enjoyed my teaching course at uni so I thought I could combine the two and be in golf and teach it.
“That’s when I started thinking that a traineeship might be the best way to combine those two things.”
She found a supportive mentor in Dom Azzopardi at Ballarat Golf Club and after three years was named the 2011 Victorian Trainee of the Year.
Bramble stayed on at Ballarat for a further year and from day one was focused on helping beginners to fall in love with the game.
“I love the entry-level golfer; they’re my favourite to teach,” says Bramble.
“I like to keep things really simple and clear and ultimately I just like people to have fun and I try and have a bit of humour in coaching.
“Golf can be incredibly difficult even when you’ve been playing for a long time and have some idea of what you’re doing, let alone when you’re picking it up brand new.
“I just try and show people that you can improve relatively quickly and to celebrate the small goals along the way.”
Barwon Heads is already blessed with a nine-hole short course that is all about fun and with a growing number of facilities such as nearby Thirteenth Beach and Barnbougle Dunes adding miniature versions of their primary layouts, Bramble hopes that this latest golf boom will be one that is fun-filled.
“Golf courses are becoming crazy hard and I’d rather see them go the other way, reverse this notion that the harder the golf course the better it is,” she adds.
“I’d love to see members making birdies and pars. The par 3 course is really good for that but reducing the stigma that it’s not real golf is really difficult.
“I’d love to change that perception.”
It is synonymous with junior golf in the United States but the success of the First Tee program in Hobart shows its application in Australia can be equally as effective.
It’s a simple tenet of the game of golf; count every shot and be honest in the score you keep.
But what if a teenager with no previous exposure to societal expectations such as honesty, discipline and integrity is given a nine-hole putting course and a scorecard to chart their success?
“The feedback we have received from day one is that their behaviour around the school has been better,” says Tasmania Police Senior Constable Steve Rose.
“I don’t know that I can directly attribute that to the First Tee program but certainly there has been noticeable changes in the way the kids are at school when we’re not around.”
First Tee was launched in Australia in December 2019 in conjunction with the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, the program first established in America in 1997 with nine core principles and a mandate to improve the lives of at-risk youth through the game of golf.
Tasmanian born and bred, Adam Holden completed his PGA of Australia traineeship before spending 20 years as a PGA Professional predominantly in Canada.
He returned to join the team at Tasmania Golf Club in January 2019 and after a self-confessed “grizzle phone call” to PGA Head Office in early 2020 began hearing more about First Tee and how he could introduce it in Hobart.
After undertaking the First Tee training discussions took place with local schools and two branches of the PCYC and once Holden started offering the program he found willing participants who took the lessons they learned back to school and their community.
“A big thing for me is exposing kids to the environment that golf is conducted in,” Holden explains.
“It’s a healthy environment. It’s much better than hanging around shopping malls or the streets.
“There are so many great lessons to learn in golf and it can open a lot of doors. It’s opened a lot of doors for me in life.
“It’s taught me how to communicate with adults, how to behave. I got my first part-time job after school through golf. I’ve travelled the world, do something I love, met so many great friends through golf so I see golf as a great pathway that can open doors.
“Many of these kids may not have the opportunity to play golf or be exposed to golf if it wasn’t for a program such as First Tee.”
The nine key principles espoused by First Tee are Courtesy, Judgement, Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility and Perseverance.
Success in golf relies on all nine but it is the transference of those principles that has the greatest impact.
“If we were to do ‘Integrity’ or ‘Honesty’ as a focus for that lesson, we could do putting as the skill for the day,” Holden adds.
“We’ll do some basic technique and then set up a nine-hole putting course where they play a game and keep their score.
“We use that as an exercise in honesty and we’ll talk about how you can be more honest at home, at school or in your community.”
Senior Constable Rose facilitates kids from Huonville PCYC and Constable Ben Hughes from the Hobart PCYC and the impact reaches much further than lower scores and fluent swings.
“Our environment that we work in is with at-risk youth, kids who need a bit of a leg-up or might have some behavioural issues and perhaps haven’t been afforded the greatest start to life,” Senior Constable Rose explains.
“Part of golf etiquette is that when you play a bad shot and frustration starts to get the better of you, you take a breath, resettle and move on to the next shot.
“We’ve found that their golf has improved but also their attitude towards difficult situations that they may encounter. Rather than spitting the dummy, they’re calmer and they appreciate that you do make mistakes and the important thing is to correct those mistakes and move on.
“That’s why the schools are supportive of programs like this because the kids are going away from school and learning new skills. When they come back to school they’re coming back with a better attitude.
“Hopefully, some of those nine core principles we teach translate into their day-to-day life both at school and at home.”
It took the round of the tournament on the final day but Rockingham Golf Club Associate Joshua Herrero has successfully defended his ADH Club Car WA PGA Associate Championship crown at The Vines Golf and Country Club.
Trailing 54-hole leader Matthew Hollington (Royal Perth) by two strokes entering the final round on Tuesday, Herrero picked up birdies at two of his first three holes and was 4-under through 10 holes to surge into the lead.
He dropped a stroke at the par-3 13th but a crucial birdie at the par-3 17th saw him post 4-under 68 for a four-round total of 4-over par and the clubhouse lead.
Herrero then had to endure an anxious wait as he watched Lake Karrinyup’s Joseph Ha birdie the 16th and 17th holes to reach 5-over with the par-5 18th still to come.
Unfortunately for Ha his birdie putt on the 72nd hole slid by for a round of 2-under 70 to finish one stroke back of Herrero in outright second, Hollington (75) a further four strokes adrift in third position followed by Calum Juniper (79) from Gosnells Golf Club.
Played in superb weather across all three days, the tournament marked the ninth year in succession that it has been sponsored by ADH Club Car with the Dunsborough Lakes team led by Paris Murdock taking out Sunday’s pro-am.
The WA PGA would like to thank the following sponsors for their continued support of the event and the WA PGA Associate Championship raffle: ADH Club Car, TX Civil & Logistics, Coca Cola, Acushnet, ICAP, Lake Karrinyup Country Club, Cottesloe Golf Club, Joondalup Resort, Royal Perth Golf Club, The Vines Golf and Country Club, Wembley Golf Complex and Grand Cinemas.
