Tegan Purcell is helping create an environment where golf is set up for long-term success in New South Wales
With an acute level of understanding of exactly what golfers want and a passion for delivering it, Tegan Purcell is helping golf boom.
Alongside her husband James as co-head professional at Wagga Wagga Country Club and now as a board director for Golf New South Wales, Purcell is driven to create an environment where golf is set up for long-term success.
“I want to continue to provide a resource to clubs so they can continue kicking along and getting more people into the game,” Purcell explains. “We need to continue to offer people exactly what they want in golf.”
With a background in management and golf operations that extends to her time at Avondale Golf Club on Sydney’s North Shore as a 25-year-old, Purcell enjoys setting a direction for the sport.
“I always liked the running of golf in an overall sense,” she says. “I liked the idea of running it at a higher level… and I really think that management background helps to open your eyes to what the golf club needs.”
Having also worked at North Ryde Golf Club, Highlands Golf Club in Mittagong and now back in her hometown of Wagga Wagga, Purcell has a good sense of what different clubs need and it is something she is looking forward to bringing to life in her new role on the Golf NSW board.
“Because of [my time at different clubs], I had a broad range of experience of what golfers wanted and what clubs might be struggling with. So now, being involved in the sport at a higher level is really interesting to me.”
After serving on various committees at Golf NSW for upwards of six years, Purcell’s vision is to continue to build on what she describes as the “really healthy” state in which Australian golf currently sits and keeping more people playing, more often.
“Lots of people are participating in golf, but not necessarily in a traditional way,” she says. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you are playing, as long as you are involved in some way. As long as the first experience that young people have with the game is a positive one, then we are in with a chance to keep them involved in the long run.”
To that end, Purcell is particularly dedicated to ensuring that more women and girls feel that golf is a sport for them. From creating pathways that remove barriers to participation, to offering ‘come-and-try’ days and promoting alternate, fast-paced formats, it’s all on the agenda for Purcell.
“For me personally, getting more women involved in the game is very satisfying,” she says. “I am very passionate about that and ensuring golf clubs can adapt their offering to what women want in the game.”
