Representatives from throughout the WA golf industry gathered at Crown Casino in Perth to recognise outstanding performers across all aspects of the game in 2023.

A record number of rounds at Busselton Golf Club saw Grant Williams named Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year, Nicole Martino was awarded PGA Management Professional of the Year for her work at The Western Australian Golf Club and Wembley Golf Course’s Andrew Thomas edged a strong list of finalists to be again named Game Development Coach of the Year.

Smith (Royal Fremantle Golf Club, pictured with PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman) and David Milne (Lake Karrinyup Country Club) were the two nominees for High Performance Coach of the Year, Smith’s stable of players all advancing their development around the world.

Maddison-Hinson Tolchard continued her outstanding college career and made her US Women’s Open debut at Pebble Beach, Hannah Green won a third LPGA Tour title, Ryan Peake enjoyed his best season on the adidas PGA Pro-Am Series circuit and amateurs Abbie Teasdale and Josiah Edwards excelled locally and abroad.

But perhaps Smith’s greatest feat was to oversee a putting change in his star pupil that saw Minjee Lee win twice towards the end of 2023 and return to the top five in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking.

“Sometimes when you have a problem like this you need to make a big change and we got rid of a putter that we won two majors with,” Smith said as he accepted the Greg Norman Medal on Minjee’s behalf last November.

“We looked at the reasons why we had problems from about 15 different angles and we’ve found a formula that we think is going to work.

“So far it has been a good change.”

This past year will also be remembered for the way Min Woo Lee announced himself on the world stage.

He played his way into the final group alongside world No.1 Scottie Scheffler at THE PLAYERS Championship, won on the Asian Tour in record fashion and sent shockwaves throughout Brisbane with his pulsating victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship.

Named in honour of a PGA Professional who had a strong focus in the servicing of his customers, being a mentor to other PGA Professionals and an absolute custodian of the sport, Williams received the Hilary Lawler Club Professional of the Year for the impact he has had at Busselton in a short space of time.

The Head PGA Professional at Busselton since April 2022, Williams has instituted major improvements to tee sheets to cater for the record number of rounds played, a 90 per cent conversion from evaluation lessons to coaching packages sold, a stronger retail offering and a new prepayment policy for group bookings which delivered the club $100,000 in additional revenue.

Thomas was named Game Development Coach of the Year for the second year running not only for the enormity of lessons conducted at Wembley Golf Course but also his visit to Newman to coach indigenous youth at Clontarf Aboriginal College and students at Newman Primary School.

A member satisfaction rating of in excess of 80 per cent highlighted the impact that Nicole Martino had this past year at The Western Australian Golf Club.

As Golf Manager, Martino successfully managed a club calendar of more than 70,000 rounds and various special events, empowered her team with development budgets and worked collaboratively with course, house and admin teams to ensure the best possible member experience.

Two WA legends were honoured for their contribution to the game over many years with Ross Metherell awarded the WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award and Stephen Leaney inducted into the WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions.

2023 WA Golf Industry Award Winners

WA PGA Coach of the Year – High Performance
Ritchie Smith, Royal Fremantle Golf Club

WA PGA Coach of the Year – Game Development
Andrew Thomas, Wembley Golf Course

Hilary Lawler WA PGA Club Professional of the Year
Grant Williams, Busselton Golf Club

WA PGA Associate of the Year
Fritz Arnold, Lake Karrinyup Country Club

WA PGA Tournament of the Year
Mitchell and Brown Spalding Park Open

WA PGA Management Professional of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Golf Car World
Nicole Martino, The Western Australian Golf Club

Course Apprentice of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Beschen Pou, Rockingham Golf Club and Links Kennedy Bay

Course Superintendent of the Year – Proudly sponsored by AFGRI Equipment
Tom Tristram, Secret Harbour Golf Links

WA Golf Industry Distinguished Service Award
Ross Metherell

WA Golf Industry Hall of Champions Inductee
Stephen Leaney

Outstanding Game Development Program of the Year Award
Womens 22 Week Beginner Program at Lake Karrinyup Country Club

Employee of the Year – Proudly sponsored by MiClub
Jessie Krznaric, Royal Fremantle Golf Club

Volunteer of the Year – Proudly sponsored by Bowra and O’Dea
Graeme Durward, Busselton Golf Club

Regional Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Bunbury Golf Club

Metropolitan Golf Course of the Year – Proudly sponsored by ADH Club Car
Joondalup Resort

Regional Golf Facility of the Year
Karratha Country Club

Metropolitan Golf Facility of the Year – Proudly Sponsored by Golf Car World E-Z-Go
Wembley Golf Course

Outstanding Golf Achievement Award – Proudly sponsored by NGI Insurance
Minjee Lee