Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Seventy years a member of the PGA of Australia. Forty-five years as the Head Professional at Royal Queensland Golf Club. No person better encapsulates the union of Australia’s PGA Championship and Royal Queensland than Charlie Earp.
One of only four people to be elevated to PGA Immortal status, Earp is best known for guiding the game of a young Greg Norman, turning a raw talent from North Queensland into someone whose record as world No.1 has been bettered by only one golfer.
Yet Earp’s influence on Australian golf stretches far beyond the waters surrounding the Great White Shark.
Major champions Wayne Grady, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Karrie Webb and Cameron Smith have all spent time in Earp’s orbit, a man who applied the rhythm of horse-riding to how the body needed to move in the golf swing.
Days out from the start of the 2024 BMW Australian PGA Championship, Earp shares his unlikely rise from a dairy farm in northern New South Wales to one of the most revered members in the history of the PGA of Australia.
The second day that I set foot on a golf course was my first day of work to become an Assistant Professional under Reg Want, who was the Professional at Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club.
It was explained to me by my boss that you’re a professional, and you carry yourself like a professional because you are the backbone of the club. When the people first come in, you’re the guy they’re going to see. And you’re the guy that they’re going to see after they finish their game.
I used to ride horses a fair bit on our dairy farm and the coordination I learnt to work with the horse, not the horse work with me, helped in understanding what Reg was talking about with regards to the golf swing. It’s about finding the swing that suits them − for their body. There’s not two people in the world who swing the club the same. They’re all built differently, so you have to design a swing based on what they’ve got to work with.
The most important thing to me was to work on a pace. To get people to slow their swing down, you’ve got to find something for them to do. I would tell people that it’s like starting an outboard motor on a dinghy. You can pull it with your right hand and do it as quick as anything, because you’re trying to crank it over. Now do the same thing with your left hand and you can’t do it as fast. I used to get right-handed players to push the club back with their left arm. That would slow them down to a pace that suits them.
Norman Von Nida paved the way, a bit like Joe Kirkwood. I think he had 67 or 68 tournaments that he won over the years and he went over there without a pound to his name. He paved the way. I admired him so much for what he was capable of doing. He wasn’t a very big man but pretty strong in the arms and the legs. He set a great example. Always dressed very nicely, and he thanks Walter Hagen for that.
I really think the person who deserves more credit for what he’s done in the world of golf is Joe Kirkwood. He went overseas to America and he teed up with Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood was a big part of where the golf tour is today. The PGA of Australia is very lucky to have a person of that calibre to name our PGA championship after. He deserves more media, more respect.
When I first started at Royal Queensland, I wasn’t allowed in the clubhouse to have a drink or anything. You’d go out the back to be able to get a drink. I think we were the first golf club in the Commonwealth to allow the Professional into the bar.
I never seriously thought of leaving RQ in the 45 years that followed. Some of the guys asked me to go to Royal Sydney after Alex (Mercer) had finished there but they’ve been good to me. They’ve looked after me and been wonderful all the way through. It’s a wonderful club.
Greg (Norman) was so easy to teach. He was already a good golfer. I’d see him and might only say a few words while he was hitting balls. The good players are all easy to teach; it’s just finding out the solution that’s going to help them to get the result they want.
The story of Greg hitting a ball over the Gateway Bridge is absolutely true. Excuse me for dropping names but (Federal politician) Sir James Killen was with us. I said to Greg, ‘Do you reckon you could hit a ball over that bridge?’ He said, ‘Yeah, no problem.’ We went back to where the original tee was for the 12th and he hit six balls, three over and three under. And they were still rising as they went over the bridge. The gantry was still working, building the bridge, and so there’s the bridge and then the gantry on top of that, and he hit them over the gantry.
Corinne Dibnah had a silky swing. She won a British Open and a European Open. I never got to see Ben Hogan. One of my wishes in life was to see Ben Hogan and meet Ben Hogan but I never met him.
Karrie (Webb) used to come down here and come away on a couple of state trips with us. She had mongrel. She was determined. I don’t know where she picked it up from – it might have been born in her – but her attitude was that ‘this is my tournament and you’re not going to take it away from me’.
It never felt like a job; it felt like a pleasure to me. To be doing something that you like and something that you love, what more do you want in life? Helping people to enjoy themselves. Couldn’t get anything better than that.
From his years playing on tours around the world, Brad Lamb had an innate understanding of how a fully-functioning body was crucial in executing an effective golf swing.
Coming through the Victorian Institute of Sport system alongside the likes of Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley, Lamb was exposed to the benefits of physical fitness in playing better golf.
He worked with trainer Martine Dennis to get the best out of his body and now he and Dennis have joined forces to offer a revolutionary indoor golf centre in Geelong.
The Golf Institute is not simply an indoor golf facility boasting five simulator bays but a space where everyday golfers can be exposed to the same type of physical training that players on tour receive on a weekly basis.
“We’re exposing the average person to what an elite player gets in terms of training and practising properly,” said Lamb.
“The good eye of a coach and someone who can help them with their body in combination.”
After 14 years of coaching at Barwon Valley Golf Club, Lamb understood the tendencies of club golfers seeking to save shots from their game.
They would express good intentions of incorporating stretching and training into their golf development, yet carrying it forward proved more challenging.
When an opportunity to be part of an indoor facility presented itself, Lamb explored the concept of providing instruction and golf-specific training in the one space.
“I saw from my mentor Gary Edwin’s indoor facility on the Gold Coast that you can influence a person’s technique better in a controlled environment,” said Lamb.
“But the other component from my perspective is helping people understand how their body is so important for not just swinging the golf club, but their function of everyday life.
“That’s why we’ve got a crossover of half exercise, half golf.”
Key to that was engaging Dennis, who is now an accredited Exercise Physiologist and founder of the Springys exercise system.
Upstairs in The Golf Conditioning Centre are eight Springys systems along a 35-metre wall where classes are held and individuals can warm up prior to their lessons.
Osteopath Sandy Stewart from Renew Wellness Collective will be joining the team in the first week of December for the launch of Golf Wellness, where he will offer Pilates and Springys classes.
Combined with the Springys app that offers more than 700 individual exercises, Lamb and his team can prescribe holistic and individual programs for every person who walks through The Golf Institute front door.
“For a person who’s functionally poor and got issues with their hips or their knees or their shoulder, then lifting weights is the last thing they need to be doing,” Lamb said of identifying the type of exercises he wanted to incorporate in the facility.
“I wanted to create a space where it felt very modern but I wanted the feeling of movement and space. “We just want people to feel happy about their golf and happy about their bodies. And if we can combine the two, then we’re doing all right.”
Two weeks ago, nearly 500 attendees converged on the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre for the 2024 Golf Summit.
Over two days, the Golf Summit brought together a diverse range of attendees from all corners of the golf industry to lead, grow and innovate within Australian Golf.
Featuring world class keynote speakers, attendees were able to learn from an expert in their field, as well as use the Golf Summit as a chance to network and share ideas with others in the industry.
Keynote speakers included NRL legend Billy Slater, Vice President of Engineering at PING Paul Wood, Paralympian Elle Steele, and NBL CEO David Stevenson, among many others.
For PGA members, the Golf Summit was a chance to learn about the latest global coaching trends and connect with fellow members from around the country, while keynote speaker and world-renowned golf coach Will Robins was a particular hit.
One PGA member remarked after the Golf Summit: “Seeing Will Robins in person was by far the best thing the PGA has done coaching wise since I’ve been a PGA member.”
PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman said he was pleased to see so many PGA members from across the country together at the Golf Summit.
“To have PGA members make up close to 40 percent of the Golf Summit attendees was incredible to see, and demonstrated the hunger our dedicated members have to always continue learning,” he said.
“Working collaboratively with Golf Australia on this event was a living example of how connected the golf industry is in Australia, and the positive impact this has was evident in the room.”
For attendees from Australia’s clubs and facilities and broader industry, the Golf Summit provided an opportunity to take learnings away and ensure facilities thrive into the future, with Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland praising the quality and variety of speakers.
“There truly was something for everyone at the Golf Summit,” he said. “From the impacts of Artificial Intelligence on the golf industry, to environmental trends and the importance of golf courses to urban biodiversity, every attendee could take learnings away.
“The power and importance of bringing the entire Australian golf industry together cannot be understated, and I look forward to working with the PGA of Australia on future Golf Summits for the betterment of Australian Golf.”
For information about future Golf Summits, REGISTER HERE to be the first to know.
Photos from the 2024 Golf Summit can be accessed HERE.
In an incredibly close final day at Heritage Golf and Country Club, Samuel Eaves has broken through to capture his first PGA Professionals Championship National Final title.
With a 3-under 69 final round, and 9-under total, Eaves was the champion by three shots, this win a long time coming for the Queenslander, who has finished second and third at this championship in the past.
Courtesy of his win, Eaves takes home the winner’s share of the $65,000 prize purse, as well as a spot in next month’s BMW Australian PGA Championship, and a place on the Australian team heading to the Four Nations Cup next year.
Sharing second at 6-under was four time champion Matt Docking, and overnight leader Mitch Smith. With a closing birdie, Docking forced a playoff for the second place on offer in the BMW Australian PGA Championship and place on Australia’s Four Nations Cup team, which he subsequently won.
Finishing just outside the playoff at 5-under in fourth was West Australian Scott Barr, with Queenslander Brenton Fowler fifth at 4-under, and Sydneysider Alexander Simpson sixth at 3-under.
In the inaugural WPGA Professionals Championships , Katelyn Must was the winner with a 3-over total over the three days at Heritage.
With scores of 71-76-72, Must’s consistency proved the key to her win over runner-up Grace Lennon who finished at 10-over.
As the leading two women of the week, 2024 Australian team members Must and Lennon will be heading back to the Women’s PGA Cup in 2026.
Must finished in a tie for 16th overall, while Lennon finished in a tie for 34th.
After eight holes today, all four players in Eaves’ final grouping were tied at the top, the former Warwick Professional turned Real Estate Agent admitting he was battling with his game early in the round.
“I had no idea where we were all sitting, I never looked at the leaderboard once all day,” said Eaves. “I just played golf and there was a stretch there from five through to 11 where I didn’t hit it very well.
Climbing the steep hill to Heritage St. John’s 12th hole must have got the blood pumping that Eaves’ needed, as he proceeded to make three birdies in a row, before a perfect hybrid set up an eagle on the par-5 15th which really separated him from the pack.
“It just came out of the screws,” he said. “It actually turned over a little bit left on me and it was between the flag and the bunker and I’m like, ‘that’s not where I wanted it, I wanted it on the other side’, but yeah, it was just lovely.”
Three pars coming in was all Eaves needed to secure the win, before a few of his fellow PGA Members could run onto the 18th green and drown him in champagne.
Having qualified and played in every BMW Australian PGA Championship since it has been held at Royal Queensland, Eaves is extremely excited to head back to the event next month.
“I’m over the moon, can’t believe it, and I play really well around Royal Queensland,” he said.
“I’m a golf fan who gets to be inside the ropes with no pressure or expectations on me to do anything, and I get to go and have the most fun for a week.
“I’m not here to keep a tour card or go places in golf. I’m here to just enjoy golf as much as I can and that’s why I play so good, because I’ve got so much freedom.”
Having lost his father less than 12-months ago, Eaves says it was hard not to think of the man who had such an influence on his golf while playing today, and knows how proud he would be of him.
Mitchell Smith has held onto to his overnight lead after day two of the PGA Professionals Championship National Final, with the stage set for a thrilling final day at Heritage Golf and Country Club tomorrow.
Smith was able to back up his day one 67 with a 2-under 70 today to lead the championship by one at 7-under. Fellow Queenslander Samuel Eaves shot the round of the day, a 6-under 66, to catapult himself to second on the leaderboard.
A further shot back at 5-under is New South Welshman Alexander Simpson, with Queenslander Brenton Fowler and defending champion Matt Docking looming at 4-under, Docking bouncing back from a sluggish opening round with a 5-under 67 today.
In his first National Final, Smith is showing no signs of nerves, however he has two very well credentialled players in Eaves and Docking on his back as he looks to make it a debut to remember tomorrow.
Eaves is very happy to be in contention, the ex-pro from Warwick Golf Club now real estate agent says that he is enjoying his golf more than ever at the moment.
“It’s a nice change, and when I get out and have a game, I just love it more than I ever have and I’m sort of playing better than I ever have too,” he said.
“When I get out there it’s exciting, it’s like being a kid again really.”
Eaves managed five birdies in a row on the Heritage St. John back nine today, that flurry singlehandedly getting the Queenslander into contention.
“It was nice to hit them close where you just had to tap them in and not really think too much about the putt in front of you,” he said.
Having multiple top-25 finishes at the BMW Australian PGA Championship, and a second and third in this championship already, Eaves is hungry to finish the job and earn himself another start in Brisbane next month.
Also hunting down Smith tomorrow will be Docking, the four-time champion keen to etch his name into the trophy yet again and book another trip to Brisbane.
“I was just really anxious yesterday. It was one of those days where I just couldn’t shake it off,” said the defending champion. “But no, felt back to myself today.”
As the Head Professional at Murray Downs, this year’s host of the NSW Open, Docking has been extended an invitation to play that event, and says the prospect of booking himself another trip to Brisbane is made all the more exciting off the back of that.
“I would love to get back there, because playing here this week, then we’ve got New South Wales Open in three weeks and then into that, so I would actually have a bit of golf under my belt, so that’d be something special,” he said.
The Queensland PGA Associate Championship will continue to call the City of Logan and Windaroo Lakes Golf Club home after a new three-year deal was struck on the eve of the 2024 event.
This year’s championship began with a pro-am on Sunday with Round 1 to begin at 7am Monday morning.
The 2024 champion will be crowned on Thursday afternoon with the final round to feature its very own ‘party hole’, marking the sixth year in succession that the Queensland PGA Associate Championship has been held at Windaroo Lakes in the City of Logan.
That run will extend to nine years by the completion of the 2027 event as more than 250 attendees including players, spectators and industry officials from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia converge on the City of Logan.
With past winners including Greg Norman and Rod Pampling, City of Logan Mayor, Jon Raven, is thrilled that the championship will continue to feature on the City of Logan sporting calendar.
“It’s great to have visitors come from all over the region for this fantastic event in Logan,” Mayor Raven said.
“Locking this is in for another three years demonstrates what a great asset Windaroo Lakes Golf Course is for our city.”
The three-year extension was also warmly received by Windaroo Lakes Golf Club owners Kevin Dilks and Henri Vanbaak.
“We see great value in this event not just for our club, but the community,” Mr Dilks said.
“This being our sixth straight year in hosting, it has become the big event of the year that our members get behind and make it a real spectacle for spectators and players alike.
“To lock it in until 2027 and hopefully beyond is fantastic.”
Murwillumbah’s Riley Taylor triumphed in 2023 but won’t be back to defend his title having completed the PGA’s Membership Pathway Program.
Last year’s runner-up, Jack Wright (Coolangatta-Tweed), Damon Stephenson (Parkwood), Zach Ion (Virginia) and Dylan Knox (Indooroopilly) are the best of the Queensland chances yet will face stiff competition from West Australian Aaron Dobson, New South Welshman Hayden Gulliver and the Victorian quartet of Matthew Stenson, Joel Mitchell, Luke Porritt and Lachlan Robinson.
As for the local hopes based in the City of Logan, Mt Warren Park trio Yevin Samararatne, Kai Oide and Tiger Boontang will have plenty of hometown support along with Anand McCullum from Meadowbrook Golf Club.
A total of 130 players will tee off in Round 1 on Monday with the winner to be crowned on Thursday, October 24.
With a career of expertise in construction as a registered electrical contractor, Andrew Lacey has now set about transferring his extensive skillset and experience to the golf industry.
Director at Luxury Golf and Scenic Tours Victoria, Lacey, who is originally from Beaumaris and is now based in Shepparton, is one of the PGA Institute’s Diploma of Golf Business and Management scholarship recipients for 2024 and is excited to be broadening his horizons through study.
“I’m really looking forward to getting to know more about the golf industry, and even just connecting with people as well,” he said. “I’m loving who I meet in the golf industry; it’s very different to the construction industry.”
Having worked as an electrician once he completed his schooling, Lacey noticed as his career was progressing his work life was becoming less fulfilling while his passion for golf kept growing.
Knowing that he wanted a career change, Lacey had an idea that had been brewing for some years and took the opportunity to act on it when he met the Director of Luxury Golf and Scenic Tours Tasmania, Adam House.
“I had always thought of doing something similar to Adam in Victoria, trying to combine a lifestyle around golf trips and wine tours,” said Lacey.
“When I met him, I just thought, let’s approach him about partnering up and starting Victoria. That’s sort of been the last 12 months.”
Lacey has conducted trips to several regions in Victoria, highlighted by trips to both the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, where golfers were treated to world-class courses, as well as the chance to witness the Vic Open and Victorian PGA Championship on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia.
Planning on using his learnings from the PGA Institute to help grow his business, Lacey is especially grateful for being chosen as a scholarship recipient.
“The scholarship was really helpful because starting a new business, the cash flow is pretty tight so that definitely helped,” he said.
Having made the leap of faith and changing careers, and now reaping the rewards of following his passion, Lacey is a strong advocate for those thinking about exploring careers within the golf industry through the PGA Institute.
“Definitely do it, follow your passion,” he said. “For me, the simple thing is it’s easier to get up in the morning and do something I love.
“I’m not doing it for the money as much as for the love of the game.”
For more information on entry points into a career in golf, CLICK HERE.
A trip to Mataranka, in the red dirt south of Katherine in the Northern Territory, has come up trumps for the sport of golf and the students at Mataranka School.
In his years as a PGA Professional in Darwin and Queensland, Darwin head pro Kurt Watts has never been moved so much as he was by this four-hour trip south from the NT capital for a set of school clinics.
The clinics came about after Mataranka School applied and succeeded in winning a Sporting Schools grant via Sport Australia, aimed at increasing sports participation. The school wanted to follow it through with some golf clinics, and as it happened, GA’s Relationships Manager in the NT, Brodie Morcom, had previously dropped a MyGolf kit at the school.
GA has run clinics in Katherine before but never so far south as tiny Mataranka, where three days of clinics took place under the watch of GA’s Sam Wright and Watts at the end of term three. Almost 20 children of all ages from five to 18 took part.
For Watts, it was not only an eye-opener but highly rewarding.
“It was an opportunity for us to expose golf to kids who might have never get the opportunity,” he said. “It was a pretty cool experience, that’s for sure.”
Watts and Wright found a level of keenness that was off the charts, and a glimmer of knowledge of the sport, in particular Tiger Woods. “I said to this kid, ‘you’re seven or eight, how do you know Tiger Woods’?”
There was also some talent on show. “There are some gifted athletes,” said Watts. “We asked them to duplicate what we were doing and they were like ‘no worries’. Twenty minutes into the session, they’re loving it.
“I think contact is important. From a holistic perspective, it’s above and beyond golf. Some of these kids are in off stations or farms, some of them are from indigenous communities, and having that contact with us makes a difference.
“I think it was a massive success. It was the most rewarding school trip I’ve done. I’ve done my fair share – probably 25 different Sporting School grants over the last five years – and this was by far the most rewarding.
“I don’t think any of those kids, regardless of demographic, would have had the opportunity to access golf as a sport.”
The clinics at Matarenka are set to continue in 2025.
Kew Golf Club Assistant Professional Ben Jewell is urging fellow PGA Professionals to sign up for Will Robins’ keynote address at the 2024 Golf Summit after transforming his business under Robins’ guidance.
Focusing on the power of on-course coaching, Robins (pictured) will present multiple times during the two-day conference, hosted by Golf Australia and PGA of Australia, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on October 16-17.
It was the announcement of Robins’ attendance that led Jewell to investigate his background, ultimately reaching out to learn more of his philosophy.
Jewell implemented Robins’ strategies from April and has not only transformed his business, but been infused with a new-found enthusiasm for coaching.
“It was pretty disillusioned with my coaching business at that point,” said Jewell.
“It had been a while, probably 12 months, of starting to lose any passion I had for it. It was so transactional.
“It wasn’t giving me any pleasure at all to be doing it that way.
“I reached out to Will and it’s just absolutely changed my coaching outlook and the results I’m getting and the people I’m working with.
“I’ve turned it around in well under six months and I’m so excited to come to work now.
“I’m probably going to make three times the amount of money I did in this season of golf that I did last year. It’s just unbelievable.”
At the heart of Robins’ coaching methodology is to position the PGA Professional as the expert in golf, not someone employed purely to serve the membership.
“We’re in the pro shop, we’re serving the members and we’ve got to make sure they’re happy but when we go down to the driving range, it doesn’t work,” says Robins.
“The member says what they want to work on and, as such, they don’t get given true expert advice because we’re having to put it into a broken framework.
“The impression is that they are paying for our time when what they should really be paying for is our expertise.”
With a coaching program now booked out until Christmas, Jewell has had no problem in transitioning those who he coaches to longer-term programs that deliver the result every golfer is seeking; lower scores.
“I’ve only completed one group so far and in that group of four I’ve saved 30 shots between them in six weeks,” Jewell added.
“It is really easy to fall into the trap of being a servant and then no one gets results.
“It’s a long-term commitment. This is your best chance to score lower; are you in or not?
“If they’re not, then I say, ‘Thanks, see you later.’ And if they are, ‘Let’s go do it.’”
Joining Robins as keynote speakers at the 2024 Golf Summit is NRL legend and Queensland Maroons coach, Billy Slater, NBL CEO, David Stevenson, Former PGA Tour caddie, Steve Williams,
Paralympian, Elle Steele, Richmond Football Club triple-premiership player, Bachar Houli, PING VP Engineering, Dr Paul Wood, CEO PGA of Australia, Gavin Kirkman, CEO Golf Australia, James Sutherland, CEO WPGA Tour of Australasia, Karen Lunn, Deputy General Manager – 13th Beach Golf Links, Sally McKenna, 2023 PGA National Coach of the Year – Game Development, Asha Flynn, General Manager – Pacific Golf Club, Amber Williams, PGA Professional – Golf coach and golf educator, Hugh Marr, Biodiversity and Sustainability expert, Monina Gilbey, Biodiversity and Sustainability expert, Kate Torgersen and Lecturer – The University of Melbourne, Emma Power.
Limited tickets to the 2024 Golf Summit are still available by visiting golfsummit.com.au.
Photo: Courtesy PGA of America
PGA Professional Darrell Dalton hopes to use the impetus from taking out the major gong at the Sunshine Coast Community Awards to fulfil his ultimate ambition of a purpose-built golf facility for people with a disability.
Darrell and co-founder Michelle Dalton were awarded Best Sunshine Coast Community Service or Organisation of the Year for their work at Golf Programs Australia Incorporated, a charitable organisation that uses golf to “drive inclusion and break isolation” for various individuals and community groups in the Sunshine Coast region.
Among the services offered, GPAI delivers golf programs every Tuesday at the Glenview Par 3 Course and operates a charity golf shop and retail shop that provides learning and employment opportunities through their Social Enterprise program.
Established in 2014, Dalton’s dream is a purpose-built golf facility that will not only enable expansion of their golf offering but to provide even greater employment opportunities for people with a disability.
Dalton believes that the recognition by Sunshine Coast Council and Mayor Rosanna Natoli is a step further towards bringing their vision to fruition.
“It provides that endorsement and recognition of where we’ve come from, where we are now and where we’re going,” said Dalton.
“The community that we’ve created and work in the disability sector here on the Sunshine Coast, that is the highest accolade that we could have achieved within our sector.
“Moving forward, working with the Chamber of Commerce, Sunshine Coast Council, and of course, the PGA of Australia, absolute gold as far as we’re concerned.”
This week is double cause for celebration for Golf Programs Australia as they mark their recent move to Glenview Par 3 Golf Course with an official welcome function on Tuesday night.
It was a move made necessary after a change in ownership meant that GPAI had to vacate their previous venue on short notice.
Welcomed with open arms by PGA Professional Wade Hooper and those associated with Glenview, the search for a new home for their golf program highlighted to Dalton again the need for a facility they can call their own.
“Venue is key for us, and that’s why our mission and vision to establish a purpose-built golf facility is such a big thing,” Dalton added.
“We operate the largest inclusive disability weekly golf program – we run 48 weeks a year – so to be suddenly homeless was a huge deal.
“I’d been reaching out to Glenview and fellow PGA Pro, Wade Hooper. As soon as he saw our crew and saw the program, he just fell in love with it.”
With community awareness now growing and support coming from both the PGA of Australia and Golf Australia, Dalton is optimistic that the work of the past decade will pave the way for a bright future.
“People are now coming to us because they know what we do. They appreciate what we do,” he added.
“Because we have a charity golf pro shop, the golf community itself has come on board.
“Pacific Golf Club in Brisbane, Caloundra Golf Club, the Oxley District Vets, they donate all this golf equipment that we can sell in the shop.
“That sort of response is enormous and helps to fund us.”
To read more about GPAI and how to donate so that they can continue the wonderful work they do, visit gpai.org.au.
