In its new position on the calendar in October, the celebration of Queensland golf’s high achievers from January 2020 to July 31, 2021 attracted more than 350 guests to The Star on the Gold Coast where PGA Professionals, tournament hosts, turf professionals, administrators, golf clubs, amateurs and volunteers were recognised for their contributions.

A highlight of the evening was a live Q&A via Webex with three of Queensland’s greatest golf exports, Karrie Webb dialling in from North Queensland and Cameron Smith and Scott Hend from their homes in Florida.

Since the start of 2020 Smith has climbed from outside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings to now be at a career-high of 21st and on the verge of breaking into the top 20 in the world.

His breakthrough individual PGA Tour title at the Sony Open was the start of an impressive run for Smith who was runner-up at the 2020 Masters, won the Zurich Classic alongside Marc Leishman and represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the time of COVID where travel has been difficult, Smith says it is Field’s communication and strong foundation that has enabled them to continue to find success despite being unable to work together in person.

“It’s pretty weird not being able to see him face to face but we’ve done a pretty good job of staying on top of things with video and FaceTime,” said Smith.

“Before I came out on tour we had a pretty good idea of what worked and what didn’t and we’ve never really tinkered with anything.

“We knew what worked, we knew what didn’t, and we just kept getting better 1 per cent at a time.

“It’s an easy trap to fall into but we’ve never changed something to try and get better.

“Throughout my career so far we’ve done a really good job of staying to true to what we’ve worked on from day one.”

Field’s other star performers the past 18 months include Australian Amateur champion and Male Amateur Golfer of the Year Louis Dobbelaar, European Tour player Maverick Antcliff, Dylan Perry, Luke Parker, Sarah Wilson and Andre Stolz.

The other big winner on the night was Maroochy River Golf Club on the Sunshine Coast, picking up three awards.

Course Superintendent Stuart Campbell received the Superintendents Achievement Award, the Maroochy River Legends Pro-Am was named the Legends Tournament of the Year and they were awarded the prestigious and hotly-contested Golf Club of the Year award.

Brookwater Golf Club’s John Collins was named the Coach of the Year (Game Development) for his work in coaching some 7,000 juniors and introducing 700 adults to the game through Get Into Golf programs during the judging period.

In addition to his daily duties at Gailes Golf Club in Brisbane Brent Barlow has completed more than 50 education programs in the past 18 months to earn Club Professional of the Year while the ongoing success and development at Parkwood Village saw Luke Altschwager recognised as the PGA Management Professional of the Year.

The Brisbane Golf Club celebrated a double win with General Manager Geoff Kuehner taking the Manager of the Year award and the club’s junior program overseen by Head Professional Joe Janison named the Junior Golf Program of the Year.

2021 Queensland Golf Industry Award Winners
Coach of the Year (High Performance): Grant Field (Pelican Waters GC)
Coach of the Year (Game Development): John Collins (Brookwater G&CC)
Club Professional of the Year: Brent Barlow (Gailes GC)
Management Professional of the Year: Luke Altschwager (Parkwood Village)
Tournament of the Year: Hutchison Builders Redcliffe Pro-Am
Metropolitan Tournament of the Year: Coca-Cola City of Brisbane Pro-Am
Regional Tournament of the Year: Ian Weigh Toyota Rockhampton Pro-Am
Legends Tournament of the Year: Maroochy River Legends Pro-Am
Golf Course Turf Apprentice of the Year: Nick McClymont (Headland GC)
Superintendents Achievement Award: Stuart Campbell (Maroochy River GC)
Assistant Superintendents Recognition: Michael Todd (Royal Queensland GC)
Golf Club Staff Member of the Year: Sutthichai Sukplang (Tally Valley GC)
Golf Club Board Member of the Year: Joey Lyttle (Wolston Park GC)
Golf Club of the Year Award: Maroochy River Golf Club
Inside Golf Manager of the Year: Geoff Kuehner (The Brisbane GC)
Male Amateur Golfer of the Year: Louis Dobbelaar
Female Amateur Golfer of the Year: Justice Bosio
Junior Female Amateur Golfer of the Year: Justice Bosio
Junior Male Amateur Golfer of the Year: Kai Komulainen
Volunteer of the Year: Jane McFarlane (Gatton Jubilee GC)
Golf Club of the Year (Under 400 Members): Dalby Golf Club
PGA IGI Excellence in Golf Education: Sean Bradfield
Golf Supplier of the Year: MiClub
Services to Golf Award: Len Beck
Junior Golf Program of the Year: The Brisbane Golf Club