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It was an historic moment today for Australian golf as the industry’s milestone national strategy was launched following many months of collaboration and alignment.
Launched at the newly opened Australian Golf Centre in Melbourne, the Australian Golf Strategy is said to provide a roadmap for the game at all levels for the foreseeable future, flagging “an ambition to grow golf as efficiently, collaboratively and sustainably as possible”.
Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said: “This national strategy gives golf in Australia a strong sense of direction. It has allowed us to collectively lift our eyes to golf’s enormous potential as a sport for all.
“We share the industry’s excitement about the opportunities ahead – and commit to serving Australian Golf and its millions of golfers.
“The positive appetite for change has been overwhelming and I’m proud to be standing here today representing not Golf Australia but Australian Golf in this industry first.”
Acknowledging the sport was perceived by many as expensive and not inclusive, WPGA Tour of Australasia CEO Karen Lunn said the Strategy was “designed to challenge this perception and change this reality”.
“Golf needs to commit to making all clubs and facilities a welcoming environment,” Lunn added.
“We need to embrace all formats of golf as golf and enable more people to play more often in ways that suit their lifestyle and interests.
“There is a clear opportunity to better service our members, attract newcomers and to make the game more appealing to women, children and families. It’s affordable, it’s accessible and it’s fun, but we know that’s not how its perceived, and we are determined to change that.”
CEO PGA of Australia, Gavin Kirkman said the strategy provided guidance on the industry’s aspiration for customer experience that drives enjoyment through playing and being involved in golf.
“We all have a role to play in this – golf club managers and staff, PGA professionals, volunteer administrators, and others employed in the industry,” Kirkman said.
“We want all those that play our great game, no matter of their ability or the preferred format they choose to play, to have fun and keep coming back for more.“
Kirkman noted significant growth in the sport through the global pandemic was not something to be taken for granted.
“While Australian golf has seen a material spike in interest and participation through Covid-19, after a 20-year downturn, the industry is not shying from the fact that issues remain and need to be addressed to ensure the growth experienced is sustained,“ said Kirkman.
“Golf has such a great story to tell but needs to get better at telling it. It’s a game that can be played by anyone, at any age, in any format. Growing the game is key to golf’s success and working together is the only way we will do that.”
Kirkman also noted a need to focus on aggregating and packaging key tournaments to help showcase the game in new ways.
“From Karis Davidson to Min Woo Lee and Cam Smith, our competitive golfers come from all walks of life and genuinely reflect the diversity and accessibility of our sport.”
More than 10,000 people were consulted in the development of the strategy, including golfers, club representatives, PGA Members, industry partners, public, government, equipment suppliers and industry experts in a series of webinars, meetings and surveys.
When Golf Australia unveiled its ‘Vision 2025’ strategy in 2018 to embed more women into leadership positions throughout golf and to encourage greater female participation, Claire Elvidge took the responsibility personally.
A PGA Professional who completed the PGA Trainee Program (now the Membership Pathway Program) under Dale Wharton, Elvidge did not see Vision 2025 as an opportunity but more as an obligation to be at the forefront of providing women new to the game with a positive experience.
Currently splitting her coaching time between Wembley Golf Course in Perth and Cottesloe Golf Club on the coast, Elvidge now devotes 95 per cent of her teaching time to women, whether in a group setting or one-on-one.
“We have women coming to golf who could go to tennis, they could go to pilates or play lawn bowls so I’ve got to make sure that they really enjoy this one lesson so they come back,” says Elvidge.
“I came to Cottesloe with the idea to start teaching these women to use the bigger muscle groups that they can create and rely on in the golf swing.
“That approach has been very successful. They’re coming back to the game and they’re enjoying the elevation we get from the extra power by using the bigger muscles.
“I’ve adapted my teaching for women from the core, and really from the trunk rotating set of muscles. I don’t concentrate so much on the upper body in the early stages and it’s been really good to see women deriving their energy from that point.”
Chasing her dream of becoming a professional tennis player, it was an injury as a teenager that led Elvidge to take up golf in the first place.
Her father was an avid golfer and after a couple of trips around Mount Lawley Golf Club as his caddie became fascinated by the range of emotions the game would elicit within her dad.
Transferring her work ethic from the tennis court to the golf course, Elvidge soon played her way into WA state teams and in 1989 was offered a position in the PGA Trainee Program with Dale Wharton at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.
Rather than going straight into teaching, Elvidge’s career diverted slightly to establish an inbound golf tourism company from Asia into Perth and then serving as General Manager at Jagorawi Golf and Country Club, a Thomson-Wolveridge-Perrett design in Indonesia.
After returning to Perth Elvidge resumed her coaching career at Wembley and Cottesloe but it was a visit by Golf Australia’s Female Engagement Senior Manager Chyloe Kurdas that narrowed her focus again.
“I made a decision in 2019 to dedicate 95 per cent of my teaching to female participation,” Elvidge says.
“Whether it’s older women, young women, girls, I go from four to 80. And to a certain extent, I really put my energy into that for the 2025 vision.
“It’s just amazing how important it is because we know if the women get here, the juniors get here and there were only 12 per cent at that time playing when they are 50 per cent of the population.”
Drawing on her own experience, Elvidge has targeted beginner golfers of late and adopted a methodology that communicates the concepts of golf and the swing in simple terminology that is easy to digest.
“Communication wise, my teaching at the moment is programmed to fully explain the concept of the sport,” she adds.
“In the first lesson I get them to understand what we are trying to achieve, highlighting aspects such as not having to hit the ball hard to get it airborne and that golf is a non-dominant hand sport to build that basic understanding of the golf swing.
“I’ve really pinpointed my teaching to more beginners, more intermediate women and getting them on the golf course.
“That’s been a great program at Wembley, to develop a really succinct pathway and show these women exactly where we’re going on their journey in golf.”
All PGA Professionals receive extensive training in inclusive golf coaching methods, including the effective coaching of female golfers of all ages and abilities. Visit your local PGA Professional for all your game improvement needs or connect with a PGA Professional at pga.org.au/find-a-PGA-pro/
Unheralded Kevin Smith has taken the first round lead in the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links after an opening 67 in windy conditions on the Mornington Peninsula.
Teaching PGA Professional Smith put his stellar opening round down to “dumb luck”, but he made six birdies and just the one bogey at the par-three third hole where he missed a putt of less than a metre.
The 38-year-old secured his place for this week by finishing in the top three of the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria at Commonwealth last month. He leads by a shot from Brad Kivimets, Peter Lonard, Josh Clarke, Dimitrios Papadatos, James Grierson, Michael Sim, and Andrew Martin.
“Just luck. I’ll put it down to luck,” Smith said after his five-under par round on the Legends course in the morning.
“I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was just luck. It was windy. But the course is awesome. You see it pretty early on and as long as you get the ball rolling on line it’s not going to miss. The greens are so good.
“So it was just dumb luck. It could be the absolute opposite tomorrow. I finished fourth to last or something here last year, so if I improve on that, I’m happy. I know that sounds ridiculous.”
Smith, who hails from Waverley Golf Club in Melbourne, turned professional in 2012 but lost his playing card after a year and turned to teaching. He completed a greenkeeping apprenticeship at his home club, and more recently worked as the manager at Warburton Golf Club outside Melbourne and he is now teaching and in the shop at Drummond Golf in Dandenong.
“I’m just happy to play,” he said. “Someone will go lower, someone will shoot nine under today, one of these guys who’s a decent player. You can tell. Someone will go crazy.”
No one did “go crazy” as the 50km/h morning winds proved the best time of the day to play.
Portsea club pro Kivimets, who also graduated to the field via last month’s event in Melbourne, and two-time Australian Open champion Lonard, took advantage of the early conditions to card 68s.
“On the sixth hole the wind really started to pick up, but I was somewhat comfortable with these conditions. It forces you to hit one shot and you can’t overthink it,” Kivimets said.
In the afternoon, the New South Wales trio of Clarke, Papadatos and Grierson, plus Queenslander Sim, slogged it out to put themselves in a good position in the tournament’s initial stages.
For Papadatos, things looked far more bleak when he was two-over through three holes and thinking “maybe 78. I was packing my bags”.
“I got off to a terrible start. I missed a really easy birdie on one and bogeyed two and three, so it wasn’t looking good. I just hung in there and hit a couple of good shots coming in.”
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Grierson relished the challenges the weather and the course presented today.
“I had a fair bit of control over my ball, which was nice,” he said.
“I tried to hold myself to my high standards, and if I signed for 73 or 68 or whatever it is, treat myself to how I can do it and go from there.”
“I love hard golf. It means you have to hit the fat of the green, pars are gold, and for some reason I love that type of golf.”
Defending champion Christopher Wood is two shots from the lead alongside Victorians Ben A Campbell and Edward Donoghue, New South Welshmen Andrew Dodt and Justin Warren, and Queenslander Shae Wools-Cobb.
Only 26 professional players in the field of 90 broke par for the day and they’ll tackle the Legends Course again tomorrow to try to secure their place for the weekend which will be staged on the Open Course.
A rejuvenated club in Canberra, more than 200 new female golfers at a regional golf club, close to 100 juniors engaged across two Sydney golf clubs and victories on two of the world’s biggest professional golf tours.
These are just some of the accomplishments of the four recipients of the 2021 NSW/ACT PGA Professional of the Year awards.
Nominations for each of the four categories were again of the highest order as PGA Professionals guide newcomers to the game, foster new areas of growth amongst juniors and women, guide the fortunes of elite amateurs and world-class professionals and take an active leadership role in the performance of many of our top golf clubs.
“Our PGA Professionals have perhaps never been busier than the past two years and their influence on golf facilities has never been greater,” said NSW/ACT PGA State Manager David Barker.
“Their skills are diverse – from conducting lessons, coordinating golf operations all the way through to being actively engaged in management decisions at golf clubs.
“Our four award winners this year have been exceptional in their particular areas of expertise but I’d like to congratulate all of our PGA Pros for the way they have contributed to the game in the past year.”
Few have made a greater impact on their golf club than NSW/ACT Management Professional of the Year, Anthony Sinclair.
The General Manager at Federal Golf Club in the heart of the ACT, Sinclair has had an extraordinary influence on all areas of the business.
Through his leadership and skill set Sinclair has turned around the club’s previous financial struggles, instituted a rebrand and comprehensive marketing plan and implemented new course management practices that has the layout in superb condition.
The results of that are some 400 new members, close to double the number of monthly rounds, an increase of more than 200 per cent in equipment sales and the addition of 15 new corporate partners.
With a high priority placed on service, James Single’s devotion to the membership at Port Macquarie Golf Club on the Mid North Coast has earned him the coveted crown as the NSW/ACT Club Professional of the Year.
With a focus on the little things and providing the connection between the members and their club, Single has built a strong rapport since coming to the club eight years ago and continually looks for ways to engage new golfers.
One of his great success stories of the past 12 months is the Swing Fit program that has attracted more than 200 new female participants to Port Macquarie Golf Club.
More than 30 of those women have since become regular playing members and the ladies who have taken part in the Swing Fit program have encouraged partners, parents and even children to also give golf a go.
Giving golf a go has also been a key driver for Ryde-Parramatta Golf Club Professional Anthony Summers.
Summers has been named the NSW/ACT PGA State Coach of the Year (Game Development) largely due to the junior programs he has conducted not only at Ryde-Parramatta but also at St Michael’s Golf Club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
An accomplished player on the PGA Tour of Australasia and now PGA Legends Tour, Summers is engaged with 36 juniors at St Michael’s, writes and conducts the program with 56 juniors at Ryde-Parramatta and has also contributed to the Western Sydney Academy of Golf High Performance program.
At a time when many juniors in Sydney have been restricted in terms of accessing the golf course, Summers went above and beyond in establishing online programs to keep the kids engaged and continuing to improve even when they couldn’t get on course.
The restrictions imposed by COVID-19 have also presented new challenges to coaches of elite players based overseas yet Gary Barter has experienced another year of great success.
Director of Tuition at The Australian Golf Club and a PGA Member for the past 33 years, Barter’s international movements have been limited the past two years but that hasn’t prevented him from guiding Matt Jones to a second PGA Tour title and Stephanie Kyriacou a second Ladies European Tour win in 2021.
Barter has also worked in elite amateur golf programs for Golf Australia and Golf NSW and his insights a highly sought after as a keynote speaker, appearing at both the NZ PGA and Victorian PGA teaching summits as well as presenting to the Australian PGA Teaching Summit.
A PGA Professional for the past 47 years, Allan Telford was honoured with the Services to Golf award at the South Australian Golf Industry Awards. Here he shares his philosophy on growing the game at every age.
It’s trying to grow the game, trying to grow clubs, which is important. Help clubs in developing their membership, which is hard to do, because generally the people at the club lack the confidence to step up and lead the way so they generally call on a PGA Professional to do that for them.
The golf course serves as a nice greenbelt in a lot of small country towns but it’s also a gathering point for community. A lot of the country clubs not only use their venues for golf, but they might use them for weddings and funeral services and that type of thing. A golf club certainly adds something to a country town.
In those towns you’ve got to get to know the people first and you’ve got to show a genuine interest. You’ve got to show a genuine interest in what they’re trying to do and what they’re trying to achieve. Clinics at the local school, fostering some kids out of the school to come over to the golf club and showing the club how to do that. That’s very important.
You’ve got to have the strongest primary schools program you possibly can because that’s where your golfers are coming from. Twenty per cent of your population is in schools. You get them at a young age, you’ve got every chance to get them into the game for life. I spent 20 years at Tea Tree Gully Golf Club, which has a thousand members, so it’s a busy club to get juniors on the golf course. But to keep working, keep grinding at the development of juniors in those clubs, is so important.
If you’re getting one kid in the school ground to come over to the golf club and stay there for 20 years, at a club like Tea Tree Gully, that’s a fair few gold nuggets to get into the club. Clubs have to recognise that every kid in the school yard is a little gold nugget.
I fell in love with golf through watching Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf on the ABC on Friday nights and then I went out and created a little six-hole golf course in a paddock about a couple hundred metres from my house.
Junior golf in our town was started with all the kids. We all played golf, and we went up there and started mucking around for a few weeks, and all of a sudden the adults took an interest in what we were doing. A couple of mums of the kids started running a bit of a program for us and that’s how we started junior golf in Pinnaroo.
We run our South Australian primary schools competition statewide. The year I got involved they were down to 39 kids participating and I thought, Well this is no good. We have 16 qualifier regions, 22 events. We make sure that wherever a kid is in the state, there’s a qualifier that they can get to. My goal is to get 480 kids at that qualifying stage. We’re up to about 320 now and we bring 160 of those kids to Adelaide to play at the state final, made up of 80 metropolitan kids and 80 country kids.
I’m happy with where the school program is going but you’ve got to keep pushing, keep going with that.
I’ve been lucky to be in this industry for 47 years. I’m lucky that it hasn’t been one thing. I’ve done a lot of things in the golf industry. That’s been a very good thing. Staying passionate for the game is a key to it all. I still want to get people playing, encourage people all the time to keep playing. It’s a challenge this sport but it’s a great sport for life.
To find a pathway into junior golf in your region visit golf.org.au/mygolf/home or sportaus.gov.au/schools
Tim Wood has been named High Performance Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year as the state’s high-achieving PGA Professionals were honoured in front of their peers at the Commonwealth Golf Club for the presentation of the PGA Vocational Awards.
As we inch towards the end of another hectic year in golf facilities throughout the country few have had such challenges as those faced by PGA Professionals in Victoria over the past 18 months.
Extended lockdowns and changing operational requirements have meant that golf club staff have had to adapt quickly with PGA Professionals often leading the way both in the pro shop and in club management positions.
The four awards presented on Monday were for Club Professional of the Year, Coach of the Year (High Performance), Coach of the Year (Game Development) and Management Professional of the Year.
The recipient in 2020 for his work with Tour players and continuing to advance his knowledge base, Wood refused to rest on his laurels this year.
Splitting his coaching time between Rosanna Golf Club, Growling Frog Golf Course and the Plenty Views Driving Range, Wood (far right) has not only become a highly sought-after coach for amateurs looking to improve their game but also fellow PGA Professionals seeking to advance their knowledge base.
In recent years Wood has helped both Josh Younger and Terry Pilkadaris find success in Australia and on the Asian Tour and takes great pride in the professionals who have come seeking input in search of improvement.
“I guess I’m most proud this last year with all the challenges is that I’ve had 41 professional golfers seek my advice since July 2020,” said Wood.
“Quite a few I’ve since become mentors to with their coaching careers and I’ve also helped eight international players and a constant growing PGA Associate list.
“Fourteen Associates since July 2020 have come seeking my clarity as well as wanting to help their own coaching skills.”
Making junior golf a priority has led Jamie McCallum (second from left) at Albert Park Driving Range being acknowledged as the Game Development Coach of the Year.
In addition to a flourishing MyGolf program that has welcomed some 400 kids to Albert Park McCallum has actively sought new opportunities to engage kids with golf.
He has aligned with the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre working closely with their holiday program ‘Planet Sport’ to introduce more than 100 children to golf every school holidays and worked with country schools such as St Patrick’s College Ballarat and Hamilton College to develop and run a ‘City Experience’ golf program at Albert Park as part of their annual school camp.
McCallum has also conducted more than 100 sessions within schools, constructing appropriate golf programs for such schools as St Michael’s Grammar, Scotch College, Haileybury College, Albert Park College, Star of the Sea, Wesley College, Christ Church Grammar, Christian Boys College, MacRobertson Girls High School, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Melbourne High School, Box Hill College and Melbourne Grammar.
As part of his ongoing education McCallum also became one of the first PGA Professionals in Australia to become an accredited ‘First Tee’ instructor.
Striking the right balance between exceptional service and a warm and inviting atmosphere was a key factor in Kingston Heath Golf Club Director of Golf Justin Burrage (second from right) being named the Club Professional of the Year.
Now in his 19th year at the club, Burrage has been integral in not only fostering the right culture befitting one of world golf’s most admired clubs but establishing pathways to bring new members into the fold.
One of the initiatives that has proven to be a hit is the Women’s Heath Gateway program that guides women new to the game all the way from picking up a club for the first time to becoming active members.
“The six-month program provides those enrolled with a limited membership trial, plus extensive education in golf,” Burrage explains. “At the conclusion of the program, club membership is then available.
“Two programs have been run, and even though they have been heavily compromised through COVID, we have had approximately 80 participants involved with 35 progressing to club membership.”
Setting Eynesbury Golf Club on a path to a prosperous future has earned Brad Alton (far left) the honour of Management Professional of the Year.
Following a change in ownership a new direction was required to restore Eynesbury to its former glory and a strategic plan centred around improved course maintenance practices and a family-friendly atmosphere has Eynesbury headed in the right direction.
The construction of an on-site water treatment plant will provide Eynesbury access to water all-year round at a price that won’t break the bank and the course maintenance team has expanded from five to 11, with plans to ultimately get to 18 within the next 12 months.
The surrounding housing estate also provides the opportunity to engage with families of all ages, the Winter Festival that featured a 200-foot ice rink beside the pro shop attracting more than 15,000 people to the Eynesbury precinct.
With a new marketing campaign centred on the tagline, ‘Destination Eynesbury’, Alton is expanding his knowledge base by taking a six-week tourism course and hospitality training to develop Eynesbury into a facility for everyone.
Portsea Golf Club PGA Professional Brad Kivimets has secured a start at next week’s Victorian PGA Championship at nearby Moonah Links Resort courtesy of his victory at the PGA Professionals Championship of Victoria.
Kivimets and Warburton Golf Club’s Kevin Smith finished tied with rounds of one-under at Commonwealth Golf Club with Kivimets claiming the crown at the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Not only does Kivimets ensure his place at the PGA Professionals Championship Final on the Gold Coast in early January but a return to Moonah Links for a PGA Tour of Australasia event worth $137,500.
Kivimets missed the cut at the Moonah Links PGA Classic in February but qualified for the weekends at both TPS Victoria at Rosebud and the Golf Challenge NSW Open at Concord.
Although he missed out in the playoff the consolation for Smith is that he and David Tapping (73) will join Kivimets at Moonah Links next week while the top 13 qualifiers from the PPC of Victoria all qualify for the 36-hole Championship Final at Links Hope Island from January 6-7.
Three players finished tied for 13th at five-over 78 with Leigh Deagan earning the spot in the final, Michael Bainbridge and James Hartley the first and second alternates respectively.
The leading two players from the Championship Final will be exempt into the $1 million Australian PGA Championship the following week at Royal Queensland Golf Club.
Rossdale Golf Club Director of Golf Michael Moore (above) was the winner of the Victorian Club Professional Championship also held at Commonwealth, fighting back after a rough start to post two-over 75.
Royal Hobart Golf Club Teaching Professional Scott Laycock has been honored with a unique double feat, winning the Tasmanian PGA Championship less than 24 hours after being awarded the Tasmania Coach of the Year (High Performance) title.
Trailing by four shots after completion of round one, Laycock stormed home recording a four-under-par round of 67 to claim the Tasmanian PGA Championship at Country Club Tasmania.
After a long and successful career as a Touring Professional, Laycock undertook the PGA Tour Articulation Program in order to upskill his coaching qualification. Since completion, Laycock has built a successful coaching operation, integrating his experiences on Tour with the theory learned via the PGA education program.
Royal Hobart Head Professional Matthew Docking was awarded the Tasmania Club Professional of the year, while Golf Australia’s Regional Development Manager Simon Weston was recognized as the Tasmania PGA Management Professional of the Year.
The Tasmania Coach of the Year (Game Development) honour went to Adam Holden in recognition of the extensive work he has done introducing children, women and culturally diverse groups to the sport of golf.
Each of the award winners will now form the Tasmanian nominees for the National PGA Vocational Awards to be presented in conjunction with the Greg Norman Medal.
Play for a share of prizemoney on some of the most spectacular golf courses on the planet in the unique Pro-Am Tour format available exclusively to PGA Members.
Designed with Vocational Members specifically in mind, Pro-Am Tours where the Professional recruits and plays with three club members have proven to be extremely popular. And with borders reopening and international travel once again possible there are two trips on sale that offer the experience of a lifetime.
Hosted by Air Adventure Golf, the first three events held at King Island since 2018 have proven to be so popular that the January 2022 tour sold out in just two weeks.
Many of those groups are return visitors so Air Adventure have added a second event for 2022 in May with just 25 groups available.
PGA Professionals who recruit three members at their club to join the tour will enjoy an all-expenses paid trip that includes flights, accommodation, transfers and meals.
Played across Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes, the King Island experience is one that every golfer must enjoy at least once in their lifetime and Tour Promoter Jon Perrett is eager to see plenty of new faces in May.
“The response to the January Pro-Am was incredible and the majority of those bookings were PGA Professionals who have done the trip in the past,” said Perrett.
“With the borders reopening demand is going through the roof so we thought adding a second event in May would give others the chance to come down and experience King Island for themselves.”
Now is also the time to start planning international travel and there could be few better golf destinations than a week in Ireland.
CGE Golf are staging the Iconic Ireland Pro-Am from April 16-22, 2023 where PGA Professionals and their three amateur teammates will be treated to rounds at three of the most jaw-dropping courses in the world in Ballybunion, Doonbeg and Lahinch.
Included in the package will be a welcome dinner and presentation gala function at the Trump Doonbeg Hotel where the tour will be based.
The tour consists of a practice round, one round team event and a 54-hole Pro-Am Stableford Tournament for the prize pool of $55,000 with daily and overall prizes for the amateurs in the field.
The PGA Member’s ground cost is free of charge, while the amateur cost has been supported by Doonbeg Golf Links & Hotel, making this a most attractive package. Qatar Airlines will be offering a special flight price, departing from all major cities for pro-am participants.
There is also the opportunity to extend the trip into Northern Ireland and schedule a stopover in Doha on the return leg for those who take up the special price offered by Qatar Airways.
“We know international travel is going to be highly sought after in the next few years and for golfers there are few more desirable destinations than Ireland,” said CGE Golf Director Steven Baron.
“We created these tours specifically for PGA Members who don’t ordinarily get to play tournament golf and who have wonderful relationships with the members at their respective clubs.
“This is a way to further enhance those relationships, play some extraordinary golf courses and with a limit of 30 PGA Members pick up a nice slice of the prize money at the same time.”
For more information on either tour click the links below.
Tom Bond has taken out the 2021 South Australian Associate Championships at Links Lady Bay, Normanville in bitter and windy conditions on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
“I’m happy how I played over the four rounds,” said Bond after his win.
“The conditions were brutal. We had four-club winds and the rain was relentless. I had to golf the ball and grind it out mentally and physically on every shot, all the Associates had to.
“The course was in great condition and a real big thank you to Links Lady Bay for hosting the event, it’s a great course.”
With the 72-hole tournament played over two days each comprising two 18-hole rounds, Bond endured the cold and windy conditions to produce a 3-under par 69 in round one and even-par round two to lead the field at 3-under par after day one.
Similar conditions followed on day two, as Bond shot rounds of even-par and a closing 4-over par to claim the title with a total score of 1-over par 289 for the four rounds.
Steve Capon finished runner-up 11 shots back with a total score of 300 strokes.
“I consider my final round to be probably the best golf I’ve played in my life,” said Capon.
“I shot three-under in the last ten holes and I’m incredibly proud with the result. It was a great tournament that was played on one of the toughest and best golf courses in the state.
“The course layout always makes you grind and adapt to the unrelenting situations you ultimately find yourself in, especially in those conditions.”
Brodie Whitbread finished in third place with a total score of 302.
“Some of the hardest conditions I have ever played in but that’s golf. A real testament to Tom and Capo’s games,” said Whitbread.
In the concurrently-run Pro Am, a hole-in-one was made by Darcy Salamon from Kooyonga Golf Club on the 15th hole in round two with a perfect 9 iron.
“Because of the elevated green we couldn’t see the ball go in, we heard a noise, but didn’t have a clue until we got up there,” said Salamon.
