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A new program unveiled by the PGA of Australia and WPGA aims to not only provide an inviting entry point for women new to the game of golf but also showcase the female coaches who can guide them.
The Women’s Golf Network was launched at Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne on March 22 and was followed by a full day of clinics and networking for 80 participants at Ballarat Golf Club.
With sponsorship from both adidas and Callaway REVA they represent the first of 12 clinics to be conducted around the country by mid-July with an expectation that more will follow in the second half of the year.
Each day consists of an adidas Performance Clinic for established golfers and the Callaway REVA Beginner Clinic for those new to the game and continues the collaboration between the PGA of Australia and the rebranded WPGA Tour.
The goals are twofold. To provide an encouraging environment for women eager to try golf for the first time and to provide a pathway for existing golfers to further their games and perhaps join the growing number of women working within the golf industry.
“Golf has seen a surge in popularity over the past 12 months but we understand that some women can find that initial introduction to the game somewhat intimidating,” says WPGA CEO Karen Lunn.
“With the Women’s Golf Network we wanted to create an opportunity for ladies to come and try golf in clinics run by our female PGA Professionals and for those girls and ladies already playing to receive expert coaching and get the most out of their golf.”
Lee Harrington completed her traineeship at Riverside Oaks in the mid-1990s and now runs The Golf School based at Palm Meadows Driving Range on the Gold Coast.
As a past board member of the ALPG and currently Director of Development for the WPGA, Harrington has no doubt that exclusively using female Professionals provides the environment that women new to the game are looking for.
States such as Queensland and New South Wales have seen increases in female participation of some 25 per cent year on year in the summer just past. Whether returning to the game or new golfers completely, the Women’s Golf Network caters to all women.
“The comment that we hear is that it is nice to spend some time with a female coach,” says Harrington.
“Every coach communicates a little bit differently but I’d like to think as female PGA Professionals we’re fairly engaging.
“For those in the adidas Performance Clinic, we conduct a clinic in the morning and then send them out onto the golf course in the afternoon.
“Those in the Callaway REVA Beginner Clinic join us for lunch and networking, participate in a clinic with our coaches and then we all finish together with networking drinks.”
Currently making up just six per cent of all PGA Professionals in Australia, the Women’s Golf Network also serves as a showcase of female coaches, PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman hopeful that number will increase significantly in the coming years.
“In order to have more female coaches we need more women playing the game so the Women’s Golf Network is first and foremost a way to encourage more female golfers,” Kirkman says.
“But as their journey in golf continues we hope that they will see the opportunities available to them within the golf industry, one of which is to undertake our Member Pathway Program and one day move into coaching themselves.
“The industry has recognised that greater engagement with women is integral to the future health of our sport and a big part of that is having talented and accomplished female coaches at our golf clubs.”
Given such significant growth within the female sector the past year Harrington believes more clubs than ever recognise the value that having more women at their facilities represents to the business.
“Overall I think clubs as a business understand the value of the female and the family more than they ever have,” says Harrington.
“That’s good for the bottom line and good for getting more women and beginners into the game.”
The Women’s Golf Network aims to inspire women to play golf by showcasing female professional golfers; providing a warm environment to play golf and the opportunity to network with like-minded women. The Women’s Golf Network mantra is to be inspired, have fun, play golf. The next Women’s Golf Network event will be held at Royal Canberra Golf Club on Monday, April 19 with further clinics to be held in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. www.womensgolfnetwork.com.au
Women’s Golf Network schedule
April 19 Royal Canberra GC
April 26 Latrobe GC
May 9 Bunbury GC
May 13 Wembley GC
May 20 The Grange GC
May 24 The Lakes GC
June 3 Long Reef GC
June 6 Coolangatta & Tweed Heads GC
July 11 Windaroo Lakes GC
TBC Moore Park GC
PGA of Australia coach Gareth Jones doesn’t expect Japan will have to wait another 86 years for a male Major champion following Hideki Matsuyama’s historic one-stroke victory at Augusta National Golf Club.
Ever since Walter Hagen invited six Japanese players to America for exhibition matches and to compete at the 1935 US Open the golf-mad nation of Japan has been waiting for a male champion to call their very own.
Two female Japanese players have tasted Major glory (Chako Higuchi and Hinako Shibuno) but with Matsuyama’s breakthrough Jones believes there will be a flood of talent to come out of Japan with an elevated sense of self belief.
Based at Glenelg Golf Club in Adelaide when home in Australia, Jones has served as the National Coach for the Japan Golf Association since October 2015 and has no doubt that – just like Adam Scott did for his fellow Aussies – Matsuyama’s win will inspire the next wave of Japanese golfers to chase equally lofty goals.
“It says that it’s possible. We can actually win in America and win a Major championship,” Jones said.
“The great thing hopefully is that it has taken the heat off the young guys that I’m working with so they’re not having to be the first one.
“It’s incredible to be the first – just like Adam Scott for Australia – but my thought is that they will see it as a massive confidence boost for themselves.
“It’s going to open the possibilities for the elite players to believe in themselves more and hopefully for more of them to want to go overseas.
“These young guys can see that they are only a few years behind Hideki. He was brave enough to go straight to the States and base his career high – which most of the young guys in our team want to do.
“It will certainly stimulate a focus in that area. Hopefully I can keep them going in the right direction and not just hitting thousands of golf balls each day.
“It’s a trap that they can certainly fall into because their work ethic is phenomenal.”
The impact of Jones on the Japanese system was evident at the 2018 Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney where amateurs Keita Nakajima and Takumi Kanaya finished inside the top 20.
Kanaya was tied for third at The Australian Golf Club 12 months later and is currently vying to partner Matsuyama in the Japan team at the Tokyo Olympics, leading the next wave of Japanese golfers ready to take on the world.
“Takumi Kanaya is very special,” said Jones, who will attend the Olympics with world No.118 Kanaya should he qualify for the Japanese team.
“I don’t think he’s as good a ball-striker as Hideki but he’s an awesome player.
“We know Seve Ballesteros as more of a player than a pure ball-striker and Takumi is like that. He has a massive spirit inside him that acts as his 15th club. He just absolutely never gives up. It’s just really different.
“Japan has got lots of very good players, they all just need to have the confidence to go overseas.
“I’ve been pretty impressed with the standard of scores at the Japan Junior Championships or Japan Amateur Championships. The scoring is phenomenal.
“So many players try to go to tour school, so many players try to qualify for the Japan Open, so many players try to qualify for the Japan amateur. They have eight qualifying tournaments for the Japan Amateur alone.
“To see what Hideki did at the Asian Amateur (winning in 2010 and 2011) and then Takumi do it (winning in 2018) and now for Hideki to actually win The Masters, that’s a massive motivation for the Japanese players.
“They’re really seeing that now as the pathway to international golf.”
As for the reaction back in Japan, Jones expects it will rival the likes of Greg Norman in his heyday in Australia and Tiger Woods when at the peak of his powers.
“He’s a rock star,” Jones said of Matsuyama’s status in his homeland.
“Golf is massive over there. There would be half a dozen weekly golf magazines and then all the monthly magazines on top of that and then the online stuff. It’s full-on all the time.
“If Hideki’s face isn’t on two of the magazines each and every week I’d be very surprised.
“They really do put them on a pedestal and treat them like gods but with that comes a lot of pressure to perform.
“The impact is going to be massive.”
Sanctuary Cove PGA Professional Michael Jones doesn’t seek out the spotlight. His father Keith, a country rugby league legend in the north-west of New South Wales, once told him that he would be better served letting others tell him how well he was performing.
That his two star pupils finished atop the respective PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit lists exhibiting very similar attributes is perhaps no surprise.
Approaching his 47th birthday, Brad Kennedy was a convincing winner of the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit while 44-year-old ACT native Matt Millar took out the PGA Tour of Australasia Pro-Am Series Order of Merit.
In an age of excess length and power, Kennedy and Millar are testimony that golf is a game of how many, not how.
In the past 12 months Kennedy has made his PGA TOUR debut and teed it up at the WGC-Workday Championship while Millar used the exemptions earned by winning the 2018 PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year award to play two WGC events in 2019.
Both have been working with Jones for more than a decade and their coach’s greatest reward is seeing their success rather than any accolades of his own.
“I’ve never really gone out to be the big tour-pro coach but I’d like to think that the guys I have coached have improved and got to places where maybe they didn’t think they might get to,” said Jones.
“My old man was a really good rugby league player and he drilled it into me, ‘Let somebody else tell you how good you’re going.’”
Jones himself played rugby league growing up in Newcastle and incorporates a team mentality within his approach to golf coaching.
He invites other experts in particular fields to impart their knowledge on his players, introducing renowned English performance coach Dave Alred to Kennedy some seven years ago.
It’s an unselfish approach that Jones believes is essential in the modern game.
“There’s a lot of stuff that I have got out of footy that I put into my golf coaching,” Jones explained.
“It’s that team mentality because pro golf these days is not an individual sport. It’s a team sport and you’ve got to have every person on board and singing from the same hymn sheet.
“I’m not the complete book of encyclopaedias. I’ve got a sports science degree but when it comes to mental performance or equipment I have to go out and source qualified advice that everybody agrees on.
“I’d like to think that the contributions made by all those people has made a big difference to Matty’s and Brad’s careers.”
And while the juniors he coaches at Sanctuary Cove are attracted to the power game exhibited by the likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, Jones believes they would be better served taking note of how the likes of Kennedy and Millar construct a round of golf.
“I teach people how to play golf, not how to swing a golf club,” Jones added.
“Matty winning the PGA Tour of Australasia Player of the Year a couple of years ago showed that there is more than one way to skin a cat.
“A lot of kids and their parents stand at the driving range focused only on how far they can hit it. It would be great for them to see how Brad or Matt puts a round together and that it’s a lot more than just how far they can hit it.
“Sometimes I think juniors should look more closely at guys like Matty and Brad and appreciate what they can do because often they have better scores than the bombers.”
Season highlights:
Brad Kennedy
Won PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit ($302,480)
Won New Zealand Open
Won The Players Series Victoria
T41 ZOZO Championship
T61 WGC-Workday Championship
Matthew Millar
Won PGA Tour of Australasia National Pro-Am Order of Merit ($37,130)
Won Blitz Golf Glenelg
Won Leeton Golf Club SunRice Pro-Am
Won Yenda Pro-Am
Won B&C Plumbing Charity Pro-Am
Won Ron Crouch Transport Wagga Wagga Pro-Am
After golf received a pandemic-inspired boom, with participation in West Australia reaching levels not seen for many years, the state’s golf industry has come together to celebrate the individuals and facilities that have led the game’s resurgence.
To celebrate its achievements in 2020, the WA golf industry united on Friday 26 March at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre for the ADH Club Car WA Golf Industry Awards Night.
Represented by the PGA of Australia, GolfWA, Golf Course Superintendants Association of WA and Golf Management Australia (WA), the WA Golf Industry Awards Night acknowledges the accomplishments of the nominees and finalists and announced the winners of the prestigious industry awards.
“It is encouraging to see so many individuals recognised for their tireless efforts in assisting the growth and development of golf within the state of Western Australia,” said WA Golf Industry Awards night Chairman Gary Thomas.
“The night is truly an evening that is dedicated to those showing commitment to the game whether it be those playing or teaching, managing facilities, those that volunteer their time or complete facilities that have worked as a team be successful.”
Innovation was an underlying theme amongst the award winners with many forced to adapt in an ever-changing golfing landscape due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From game development initiatives to developing a unique social media presence, 2020’s award winners have left a lasting impact on the game.
Shani Waugh was announced as the 2020 inductee into the WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions following a standout international career. Shani is now inspiring the next wave of young golfers in a range of grassroots golf programs.
Geoff Osborne received the WA Golf Industry Recognition Award for his vast contribution to the game of golf in WA. Responsible for the construction of a number of world-class golf courses including Sun City, Joondalup, Araluen and The Cut, Geoff’s work as an innovator, creator and inventor will resonate throughout the industry for years to come.
Tristan McCallum made it three straight years of being recognised by his peers after he took out the PGA Management Professional of the Year Award. McCallum who won the WA PGA Club Professional of the Year Awards in both 2018 and 2019, moved into the role of Managing Secretary at Sea View Golf Club in 2020 and having generated significantly increased the number of new members as well as sponsorship and green fee revenue, was a standout amongst a strong group of finalists.
Minjee Lee was once again awarded the Outstanding Golf Achievement Award following another standout season highlighted by five top-10 LPGA Tour results and victory at the 2020 Omega Dubai Moonlight Classic on the Ladies European Tour.
Congratulations to all of the 2020 ADH Club Car WA Golf Industry Award recipients.
Hilary Lawler PGA Club Professional of the Year
Matthew Heath, Pinjarra Golf Club
PGA Management Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-GO
Tristan McCallum – Sea View Golf Club
PGA Game Development Professional of the Year
Mark Tibbles, MTI Golf Academy – The Vines Golf and Country Club
PGA Coach of the Year
Ritchie Smith, Royal Fremantle Golf Club
Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Afgri
Adam D’Evelynes – Wanneroo Golf Club
Superintendent of the Year – Sponsored by Afgri
Neil Graham – Mandurah Country Club
Environmental Award
Mount Lawley Golf Club
WA Golf Industry Recognition Award
Geoff Osborne
Outstanding Game Development of the Year
Ackzel Donaldson – Joondalup Golf and Country Club
Employee of the Year – Sponsored by MiClub
Sue Mazzurra – Lake Karrinyup Country Club
Volunteer of the Year – Sponsored by Bowra & O’Dea
John Birkett – Rottnest Island Golf Club
Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year – Sponsored by ADH Club Car
Cottesloe Golf Club
Regional Golf Course of the Year – Sponsored by ADH Club Car
Dunsborough Lakes Golf Club
Metropolitan Golf Facility of the Year – Sponsored by Reece Irrigation and Pools
Lake Karrinyup Country Club
Regional Golf Facility of the Year – Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-GO
Albany Golf Club
Outstanding Golf Achievement Award – Sponsored by Nexus Risk Services & NGI
Minjee Lee
WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions
Shani Waugh
The 2021 PGA Graduation and Awards dinner was held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Tuesday 16 March to celebrate the achievements of Victorian and Tasmanian Trainees in 2020, including the graduation of 25 Trainees into Full Vocational Membership of the PGA of Australia.
The night was attended by PGA Life Member Brian Simpson, Bruce Green and Bob Shearer, PGA CEO Gavin Kirkman, PGA COO Stuart Hergt, as well as representatives from PGA Education partners Acushnet and On Course Golf.
Victorian Committee Chairman and PGA Life Member Tim Moore welcomed our newest PGA Members to the Association and wished them well for a career as long and as fulfilled as his.
Each graduate shared stories about their journey through the Program and thanked their partners, family and friends, their indenturing PGA Member, their golf club and acknowledged the support they received throughout their Traineeship from PGA staff and look forward to a long career in the golf industry.
The Titleist and FootJoy Excellence in Education Awards were presented by Matt Street, PGA Training Manager and Andrew Reed, FootJoy Brand Manager from Acushnet. The Academic Awards were won by Steffi Vogel (Year 1 – Cobram-Barooga), Caleb Webster (Year 2 – The National) and Jarryd Collis (Year 3 – Country Club Casino).
Ben Paine (Year 1 – Rossdale) took out the 2020 Victorian Trainee Order of Merit title following a successful year that consisted of eight wins, 15 top fives from 18 matches and a top-20 finish at the Rich River Classic.
The 2020 Victorian Trainee of the Year was awarded to Steffi Vogel, Year 1 Trainee at the Cobram-Barooga Golf Club. Vogel achieved the mark of High Distinction in Game Development and Small Business and Distinction in Coaching and Management. These results helped her finish second in the National Academic Rankings for Year 1 Trainees. Vogel won two matches, finished in the top-10 six times in 10 official matches which saw her finish seventh in the Victorian Order of Merit and 12th in the National Trainee Averages.
Full List of Award Winners and Graduates
For a time in 2020 they became the most prized commodity in golf.
At many golf facilities that demand has continued into 2021 and posed a question that has not needed to be asked for a number of years: How do you squeeze more tee times into a fully-booked timesheet?
In her 16th year at Cumberland Country Golf Club in Sydney’s western suburbs, Joanne Bannerman had never seen anything like it but her relationship with her staff, with club management and with the members helped the club to navigate the tricky waters of juggling member and public play during a period of high demand.
Bannerman has been named the PGA National Club Professional of the Year for her game development initiatives, her continued advancement in coaching and community engagement activities but, more than ever, her ability to manage a high volume of golfers and keep everyone – relatively – happy was a skill that benefited the club greatly.
Cumberland regularly has upward of 220 players in both the Wednesday and Saturday competitions and with the influx of new golfers and members eager to use periods of lockdown to squeeze in an extra game or two, adjustments were being made on a daily basis.
“We’ve got a very good Golf Operations Manager in Matthew Lamerton,” Bannerman explains. “Matt sets and operates the timesheets and we watch it and communicate with him as to what’s going down. If any alterations need to be made we’ll put a suggestion to the match committee.
“It’s a tough battle trying to keep your members happy but also bring revenue into the club with public and social times.
“It’s a struggle because the members need to know that they’re No.1 and having their times when they want to come and play but we also need to manage to get revenue in in the public space.
“My team manages a lot of the social clubs and all the golf bookings and then work in with the club who organise corporate and members events.
“It’s a well-oiled machine and the communication has been quite good.”
When demand was at its highest Cumberland instituted a restriction in which members could only have one live booking on the most popular days of Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Now offering competition play seven days a week, Bannerman and her staff have tried to encourage members to adjust their long-held playing habits as well as the club taking timesheet bookings online.
“We tried to encourage those who normally played on a Wednesday or a Saturday to play on a Thursday, those retired guys who are more flexible so that there were times available for people who could only play on the weekend,” says Bannerman.
“It’s tough because they’ve been doing it the same way for so long but some took it in their stride.
“We have a staggered timesheet now that goes members comp, members social and then public. But the members social times fill within seconds of the sheet opening.
“It’s an ongoing battle.
“We were very traditional in the sense that on a Wednesday morning at 6am, the sheet for the following Wednesday would come out. We’d have people lined up outside the gates to come in and book their time for next Wednesday.
“Because people couldn’t gather at the club they started opening up the times online. It took a while for the older members to get used to it – and some will still contact us or get someone else to book them in – but the majority have made that transition now.”
Through it all, Bannerman’s staff were ready and willing to do whatever was necessary – including setting up the pro shop outside for a time – to keep the timesheet running smoothly, always with a smile on their face.
“I had a member who I perhaps wouldn’t have expected it from recently compliment me on a couple of the guys in the team, the level of service that they provide and how friendly they are,” said Bannerman, whose ultimate goal is achieve PGA Master Professional status.
“He said that this is the best team that I’ve ever had and I’d have to agree.
“And that’s the thing with winning this award. I could never win this type of award without them. It’s a team effort.
“They allow me to do what I do because they do such a good job looking after the members and operating the shop. They’re very good.”
He is little more than a year down the path to becoming a PGA Professional yet Darcy Boyd is already helping to providing an environment at Kiama Golf Club that will foster the next wave of golfers in the region.
With outstanding results both in his playing and education performance, Boyd has been selected as the 2020 Trainee Professional of the Year after deciding to pursue a passion for coaching and postpone the prospect of becoming a touring professional.
Having played his junior golf at Toukley Golf Club on the Central Coast, Boyd moved to the South Coast of New South Wales with fellow first-year trainee Danielle Vasquez three years ago and continued to excel in amateur tournaments.
The Australian Amateur medallist in 2018, Boyd has been working casually in the pro shop at Kiama before embarking on the membership pathway program under Toby McGeachie at the start of 2020.
McGeachie and fellow PGA Professional Elle Sandak have instituted a flourishing junior program at Kiama and it is an area in which Boyd has found himself passionately drawn to.
“I was lucky at Toukley Golf Club to come through a great junior program under John Lewis and Trent Wieland,” he says.
“We had a great bunch of juniors and they had that at Kiama too because of Elle and Toby but they were dropping off a little bit. They were getting to a certain age and then not hanging out at the golf club anymore.
“We’ve tried to develop a tiered junior program with holiday clinics and then into a development program on a Saturday.
“That’s the most rewarding part, just sharing some of my knowledge with those juniors and seeing them having a great time and enjoying the game. That’s the most rewarding aspect.”
With an academic score of 90.64 Boyd topped all first-year trainees in the educational component of the pathway program, which is perhaps not surprising given his family background.
Boyd’s mother is a teacher and comes from a family of teachers so the importance of education has been impressed upon him from an early age.
“Education has always been something that has been important to my mum and her family so that was passed on to me,” explains Boyd, who achieved a HSC score in the high 80s and began studying psychology at Macquarie University.
“I started doing a psychology degree but I wasn’t really enjoying it and I just love golf so much so I decided to get into the traineeship.
“Even though I had put the books down for 12 months to play a lot of amateur golf, once I got back into the rhythm of studying again and stayed on top of it it wasn’t too bad.”
Boyd’s playing highlights over the past 12 months include a win at the Brighton Lakes Trainee Match, a tie for fifth at the Rich River Classic and a strong showing in elite company at the Murray Open at Corowa Golf Club in February.
It raises the possibility of pursuing playing opportunities in Japan or Europe at the completion of his traineeship… and why his relationship with Danielle is one of mutual understanding.
Based at Shellharbour Golf Club, Danielle herself has enjoyed an outstanding first year as a trainee and Boyd conceded that while their schedules don’t always match up for study sessions, sharing the journey makes it even more rewarding.
“It’s such a busy commitment with 38 hours of working and a lot of time spent on your game but we do try to sit down and do the assignments at similar times,” Boyd explains.
“With the junior programs we both do that’s not always possible and you’ve got to use every single minute you’ve got to stay on top of it.
“Living in Kiama we have to travel a couple of hours each way most weeks to get to the events and if we weren’t both doing the same thing we wouldn’t see each other much at all.”
Richard Woodhouse’s philosophy is as simple as it is obvious: How can he expect his players to improve if he doesn’t improve as a coach?
Winner of the PGA National Coach of the Year award in 2016, Woodhouse has again been crowned our best coach based not only on the performances of the professional and elite amateur players under his tutleage but for his own educational advancement and willingness to share that knowledge with other PGA Members.
Based at the KDV Sport Academy on the Gold Coast, Woodhouse is an Assistant Coach with the Queensland Academy of Sport and serves as Golf Australia’s Queensland High Performance Coach in addition to his work with professionals such as Daniel Nisbet, Vic PGA champion Chris Wood, Tim Hart and Becky Kay.
In his quest to make elite players even better, Woodhouse recognises that there are aspects of his coaching that constantly need to develop and evolve.
“As coaches we have to improve just as much as the players do,” says Woodhouse.
“I live by a mantra of a growth mindset so I’m always trying to evolve and get better as a coach.
“The players’ success has been fantastic, winning both domestically and internationally over the past 12 months, but essentially trying to share knowledge and build knowledge in the coaching space has been quite a big focus of my own and something that I’ve found a lot of enjoyment in doing.
“There’s been more professional development on that front than what there was back in 2016 that’s for sure.”
In addition to furthering his understanding of the biomechanics of the golf swing and the way in which bodies of all shapes and sizes can best swing a golf club, Woodhouse has placed a particular emphasis on the transition of technique to performance skill.
Developing a player to not only be technically sound but possess skills that will stand up under tournament pressure.
“I understand more about how to get the most out of a player, as opposed to just approaching it from the technical aspects,” Woodhouse explains of his own coaching development.
“That conversion of technical skill to performance skill. That is something that I have had to learn how to do more of.
“Particular types of drills to do, when to do them, how to communicate with the players better pre- and post-tournaments or pre- and post-training blocks.
“In our junior high performance squads we get them to put pen to paper in a training environment because as soon as the player is being accountable and keeping a score in training it sets their expectational level for when they’re on the golf course.
“That also allows the player to identify where the strengths and weaknesses are in their game more easily and it accelerates the learning. By documenting what they are doing in playing and training the improvement happens a lot faster.
“I’m definitely looking at coaching a lot more diversely than just swing technique. It’s trying to get the players performing better and understanding that you need the proficiency in technique first and foremost but once you have control of your golf ball, how to translate that into creating great performance in varying environments.”
Although fortunate to be based in Queensland where COVID-19 restrictions have been relatively minor compared to other states, Woodhouse has also delved deeper into the online coaching space through the Skillest app, a coaching asset he expects will only continue to grow in popularity.
“For the players that I work with overseas and interstate, Skillest has been brilliant,” Woodhouse says.
“It’s opened my eyes a little bit to see how easy it is to get players to improve online through the Skillest app.
“I was dubious of it years ago but the platform is really seamless and being able to put players on long-term development plans has been quite straightforward to be honest.
“Going forward there’s going to be a lot more of that being done, COVID or not.”
Sometimes when trying to introduce new people to the game, it’s not about the golf.
In a year in which existing golfers have increased their frequency and former golfers have returned to the fairways in droves, 2020 also encouraged many people otherwise unable to partake in their regular exercise to give golf a try.
PGA Professionals such as Mark Tibbles were front and centre to make sure that the first impression was a good one and one that lasted.
The Head Teaching and Golf Professional at the MTI Golf Academy at The Vies Resort and Country Club in Perth, Tibbles has been at the forefront of inclusion in golf for the more than a decade.
The recipient of the Western Australia Game Development Professional of the Year the past two years, Tibbles can now add the honour of being recognised as the PGA’s National Game Development Professional of the Year to his 43-year career resume.
The junior program overseen by Tibbles at The Vines has been a success for a number of years but his more recent efforts to promote the game among ladies and people with a disability grew in popularity through 2020.
His ‘Ready Steady Golf’ program run with the support of the WA Golf Foundation conducted 169 clinics for people with a disability last year alone and his ‘Gotta Get Golfing’ program with additional mentoring made possible by the Foundation saw record numbers of ladies engage with the game.
Even if, for some, the golf lesson was somewhat secondary.
“Our ladies program has an hour playing golf and 40 minutes afterwards for coffee. For some, the coffee afterwards might be the best part,” says Tibbles, who has seen 70 ladies progress from his program into club membership at The Vines in the past three years.
“It gives them a chance to get to know each other and bond as new golfers with a common interest where they have support from other ladies who are in the same boat.
“It’s very important that people are made to feel very, very welcome right from the first point of contact and there’s a lot that we do after golf to help the ladies feel welcome.
“Being able to spend time with them, rather than just how to grip the club and a few swing basics, makes the ladies feel really welcome.
“The mentoring sessions which are free to those who are in the program are also extremely valuable in showing ladies that they can get on the course and they can play a round of golf.”
Tibbles has been providing opportunities for people with a disability to get into golf for more than a decade and admits that he thought the COVID-19 pandemic would have an adverse impact on the number of participants, particularly those with susceptible immune systems.
After a two-week delay at the beginning of Term 2 while Perth remained in lockdown, he found the opposite to be the case.
“The biggest increase for us was certainly our disability program. We conducted 169 clinics through the course of the year for people with disabilities,” Tibbles explains.
“I personally thought that it might be a little slow and people would be nervous to come back out but because we’re out in the fresh air and a lot of people felt that golf was safe, people did flock back.
“One thing that was very pleasing was that we’ve got a program for people with disability, some of whom are quite vulnerable when it comes to their immune system. We thought that might slow down but we had record numbers for that program too.
“There’s been a huge move to encourage professionals to make their programs inclusive with the All Abilities qualification and Vision 2025 promoting female participation and it’s great that other facilities are offering more than they perhaps used to.
“There’s a huge market in terms of both women and disabled golfers and I think more PGA Professionals are aware now that this is the future.”
As for his own contribution and the recognition at a national level, Tibbles says that this award is the high point of a long and distinguished career.
“To be recognised nationally is a tremendous thrill. For me it’s the highlight of my career,” says Tibbles.
“I’ve been a golf professional for 43 years now and this is my 30th year as a member of the PGA of Australia so to be recognised nationally is the icing on the cake.”
The challenge of change was one that was thrust upon every golf facility in Australia in 2020 in ways none of us could ever have expected.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it course closures, new operating protocols and an explosion in memberships and rounds that all required nimble management, constant communication and buy-in from every staff member across each aspect of the business.
The way Wembley Golf Course in Perth dealt with all of these unique challenges and how they embraced change to improve their operations has earned General Manager Josh Madden the 2020 PGA National Management Professional of the Year award.
Conceding that golf facilities in Western Australia were less impacted by COVID than other states such as Victoria, Madden explained that once he and the staff at Wembley identified the opportunities that they had been presented they took full advantage.
“We’re always trying to improve and strangely COVID-19 provided the re-boot button we needed to make a few hard decisions that we’ve changed permanently in 2021,” Madden says.
“We moved our coring and scarifying rotation up from August/September to the first week we were closed in March. We mobilised in three days and did all 36 holes and the result was an outstanding product all winter that was better equipped to handle the golf traffic that we experienced in 2020.
“It also gave us a chance to revisit our tee sheet management and make some changes that would have been very difficult to manage without the break that COVID-19 provided.
“The results have been terrific. We’re communicating better with our social groups and managing the traffic better which ultimately resulted in a better pace of play for more people.
“It all worked out but was a lot of work by my fantastic team behind the scenes both on the golf course and within the pro shop.”
Already one of the busiest golf facilities in the country, golf’s boon in popularity broke records at Wembley.
The pro shop and golf course experienced increases of some 25 per cent month after month but it was on the automated driving range – the perfect athletic outlet in a pandemic – where the impact was most significant.
“Patrons hit 111,000 balls in one day in July. Those kinds of numbers were unheard before COVID-19,” Madden reveals, estimating that more than 16 million balls were hit on the range over the course of the year.
“That’s a big number for one day in the middle of winter.
“Clearly the driving range provided a socially-distanced golf experience that the public embraced at the right price.
“We normally allow the team to re-charge their batteries across our Perth winter and take some leave to prepare for a busy summer. July 2020 turned out to be busier than December 2019.
“All of a sudden we were off and running delivering service to record numbers of new and seasoned golfers alike.”
Like a coach with a team stacked with talent, Madden credits the staff he leads for bringing Wembley through a year of change in a better place than when it started.
“I think we’d all like to say that it was all planned out and we knew what was happening, but truthfully 2020 challenged my team and I to remain resilient, flexible and adaptive,” adds Madden, who presented a 45-minute online webinar to PGA members with PGA staff member Brent Davis on COVID-19 preparation prior to reopening.
“There were positives that have come from this and resilience was the lesson that was reinforced. We just had to work through it each day and do the best we could as a team.
“I’ve been really proud of the changes that our team made to get the most out of this venue and how everyone dug in and supported each other when we were really busy.
“We had to make some hard decisions that involved change and that’s always uncomfortable, but the team delivered.”
