Golf Australia October 2018

WHAT would you pay to be able to hit a 320-yard drive every time you stood up on the tee with a driver in your hand? Would you pay a thousand bucks? A million? Maybe 10 million? If you paid 10 large you might just get your money back if you join the PGA Tour, after all if you can hit it 320-yard drives you will be right alongside the longest on Tour – Rory McIlroy. Sounds fanciful, doesn’t it? And when something sounds this fanciful you can bet your house on the fact that a scientist is in the dark corner of a laboratory somewhere trying to turn fantasy into fact. That’s how scientists got a man to walk on the moon. That’s how they have saved millions of…

PGA Professional Matthew Duke couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he returned to The Willows Golf Course late last year. Having worked at the Townsville club for five years from 2006, he had seen the layout at its very best. In January 2010, the course made its first appearance in Golf Australia’s Top-100 Public Access Courses ranking, debuting at No.94. It was a regular venue for Tour events during the 2000s, having hosted the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Queensland Masters and then the Legends Tour, with the likes of Peter Senior, Rodger Davis, Bob Shearer and Wayne Grady all teeing it up. But after nearly seven years of the ownership changing hands twice and administrators being involved, the course had hit rock bottom by mid-2017. Bunkers were left to…

THE COURSE LOCATION: 16 Nineteenth Ave, Kirwan, Townsville, Queensland. CONTACT: (07) 4773 4777. WEBSITE: www.tropicsgolfclub.com.au DESIGNERS: Original designer unknown (1981), Graham Papworth (2005), Graham Marsh Golf Design (ongoing). SLOPE RATINGS: MEN: 130 (blue tees), 127 (white), 115 (yellow). WOMEN: 123 (red and yellow tees). PLAYING SURFACES: Bermuda (fairways). Five greens have recently been replaced with Bermuda TifEagle, the remaining 13 greens are Bermuda Tifdwarf, soon to be replaced with TifEagle. GREEN FEES: $28 (18 holes, Sunday-Friday); $32 (Saturday). Weekday special – unlimited golf with a twin share cart $32.50 per player. COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Brett Barsby. PGA PROFESSIONALS: Matthew Duke, Stephen P. Oliver and looking for two more PGA professionals to grow with the team at Tropics Golf Club THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP: Membership at Tropics Golf Club is limited to…

THE funny thing is that, all those years ago now, the supposedly naive Rory McIlroy was dead right:The Ryder Cup is nothing more than an exhibition. It doesn’t really matter – not not even a little bit – which team wins or loses.The result, at least for the individuals directly involved, has no real historical significance. In fact, citing a player’s wins, draws and losses at the Ryder Cup in a debate as to his quality or otherwise is actually an admission that “otherwise” is going to be the ultimate verdict. (See Ian Poulter). As Tiger Woods once reminded us, virtually no one can recite the (actually pretty mediocre) record accumulated by Jack Nicklaus when representing the United States in the biennial competition against the rampaging European hordes. But just…

THE field is set for the first edition of the Australian All Abilities Championship. Four Australians will be among the elite 12-person field to play at Sydney’s The Lakes Golf Club during the Emirates Australian Open. In a world first, golfers with a disability will compete on the same course, under the same tournament playing conditions, alongside many of the world’s best touring professionals competing for the Open’s time-honoured Stonehaven Cup. The AAAC field will also feature seven Europeans and one golfer from the Dominican Republic as part of the collaboration between Golf Australia and the European Disabled Golf Association, which also aims to increase the profile of inclusive golf on the global stage. R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers was thrilled with the Golf Australia initiative. “We’re delighted (the tournament…

AUSTRALIANS have donated a record $7.097 million to golf via the Australian Sports Foundation over the 2017-18 financial year – further highlighting the important role the sport has in Australian communities. The fundraising result for golf was a 65 percent increase on the 2016-17 fundraising total of $4.276m. Overall, the Sports Foundation raised $44.7m for the second successive year and takes total donations to sport over the past four years to nearly $150m. Golf retained third place on the overall fundraising table – behind Multi-Sports ($12.476m) and Australian Football ($12.265m) – and represents $9.57 per participant (based on data taken from the AusPlay sport sector participation survey). Australian Sports Foundation Chief Executive, Patrick Walker, said the 2017-18 financial year was highlighted by significant growth in athlete fundraising (up 142 percent);…