The Australian PGA Championship returns to Royal Queensland, a one-of-a-kind club filled with history and charm – with more history (and holes!) on the way.
[Course photographs by Gary Lisbon]
During a dental appointment in the early 2000s, Dr Scott Makiol casually mentioned his membership at Royal Queensland. He didn’t need to ask me to open my mouth to begin work, as my jaw was already on the floor.
Until that time, I had only heard about the wonder of Royal Queensland Golf Club. From an outsider’s perspective, it seemed like a hallowed place, where the greats of Queensland – and Australian – golf plied their craft, and where the who’s who of Queensland business and industry gathered. When Scott invited me for a game, I was beyond excited. My first visit to RQ was filled with memorable moments, leaving an indelible memory as a young golfer.
The old course in those days opened with a par 3, and I surprised myself with a solid strike, leaving a six-foot putt for birdie. After settling for par, my unwavering respect began for the intricacies and subtle breaks of the challenging greens that defend the largely generous fairways.
At this year’s Australian PGA Championship, watch for this defence in action, where RQ’s firm and fast greens will test the best in the game. Notable greens worth paying attention to are the first, where a front-left pin will mean anything missing short, left or right is in real trouble; the 10th, where a subtle ridge running through the centre causes havoc to balls struck to the wrong side; the driveable 12th with its multi-level green and a large frontside depression that can send balls into the greenside trap; the 16th, with its elevated surface and deep channel in the middle that will catch an errant ball and send it careering off the green; and the 17th, the “party hole”, where if you miss it anywhere you’re in real danger of walking away with a square on your card.
During my first round with Scott, I distinctly recall my drive on the old 12th, as the tee was on the western side of Brisbane’s Gateway Bridge, with the fairway beginning on the eastern side. While posing no threat to your shot, the bridge was simply an intimidation not usually encountered on a golf course, and it felt surreal hitting a driver underneath it. This is now the location of the fifth tee, and if you find yourself at the PGA, standing on the course’s most south-eastern tee, turn around and look under the bridge at the currently unused land where the old course was routed.
Rumour has it that Greg Norman accepted a bet to hit a ball over the bridge from this very spot. So while you’re there, look up and you’ll wonder how on earth this was even possible. As with all golf lore retold on club fairways, details can blur over time, and as a result, I’ve heard many versions of this tale over the years. An RQ member confidently informed me that Greg chose a pitching wedge to take on the bridge, another member told me it was a 7-iron and yet another swears he chose driver.
“Ahhh, this infamous shot,” Norman muses today. “Yes, I did win the bet, but it was a 5-iron hit toweringly high, flushed with ‘full monty’ to clear six lanes (I believe) of bridge at its apex. No damage done except taking money from whomever it was.”
Speaking of Norman, when my dentist and I reached the next par 3, which featured a small green peppered with bunkers, he mentioned it was said to be the Shark’s favourite short hole.
“Yes, it was the old 14th,” Norman confirms. “Sounds like it has been wiped out. It was a brilliant: no water, a demanding hole of about 150 yards, I believe. Small green, a north-south green, surrounded by bunkers, except the back and back right. Go long and you were dead due to the runoff from the elevated green. And with the heavy winds mostly coming from 2 o’clock to 4.30 with one lone tree sitting off at 9 o’clock, 10 to 15 metres from the left-side bunker, it demanded a pure shot.”
I recall standing in awe that this was where Greg spent many hours, both on his own and with legendary coach and RQ head professional of many years, Charles Earp. A pure shot was not produced. I missed the green left and walked off with a 5, tail between my legs.
When the Queensland Government reclaimed that eastern land to build a second Gateway Bridge 15 or so years ago, we lost those beautiful holes and the course was redesigned by Mike Clayton and Ashley Mead entirely west of the bridge, where this year’s Australian PGA will be contested. The eastern land is now the site of a proposed, modern short course of some 11 holes, with a layout versatile enough to accommodate multiple routings – even a reversible one. A new driving range, a ‘Himalayas’-style putting area and the possibility of lights for night golf make this an exciting prospect. While all this sounds fantastic, the nostalgic in me was most excited when I heard the old 14th might just be reinvented as part of the project.
After the round and back in the clubhouse, where Scott shouted drinks, I couldn’t help but admire the memorabilia and photography on display. There were donated clubs used to claim international victories; there was a grand photo of Arnold Palmer during his 1966 Australian Open victory, hanging with presence in the interior stairwell; there were photos of notable club champions; photos of ladies enjoying a round almost 100 years ago, a full-size silver golf club trophy from the members of St Andrews in Scotland (which is played for annually); and photos of members’ Major-championship victories. Royal Queensland now has five members who are Major champions, with Cameron Smith’s recent win at The Open joining David Graham, Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Adam Scott.
To this day it makes me wonder: why has this one club produced so many champions? The answer, I think, hangs on one of the interior walls.
If you find yourself inside the clubhouse during the PGA, look for the letter signed by Sir Winston Churchill, advising of the club’s successful bid to prefix the Royal title to the Queensland Golf Club. Therein lies a story in its own right, as you may never have considered why Royal Queensland is one of the few clubs on earth whose title does not carry the name of its home city. Most versions of the tale involve the wining and dining of Edward VIII, Prince of Wales, and hint that he was effectively misled as to which golf club was to host his Queensland visit. It concludes with a concerted effort by politicians to obtain the blessing of King George V for the title – despite the Queensland Golf Club not being the presumed choice. The rest, as they say, is history, and Royal Queensland proudly displays much of it inside the clubhouse.
But this does not answer the question as to why Royal Queensland has more Major champions than any other Australian golf club.
On Charlie’s turf
If you walk through the honour-board hallway, you’ll see an unassuming, yet beautifully captured painting of Australian golf luminary Charles Earp. During my membership at Royal Queensland, I’ve seen many changes, from course-design alterations to clubhouse improvements to practice facility and pro-shop upgrades to members and staff coming and going. But there has always been one constant: the presence of Charlie. And it’s a presence that feels somewhat omnipresent.
Royal Queensland is a place where people from all manner of backgrounds come together with a genuine love of golf and playing it in the spirit of the game. If that spirit were to be represented by a person, it would be Charlie. He and his beautiful wife Margaret invested 45 years of their lives into running the RQ pro shop while Charlie was the head professional. Even after witnessing students like Norman, Wayne Grady and Jason Day (among countless others) achieve lofty heights in golf, during the past couple of decades you’d often see him on the range giving a tip or two, always accompanied by a witty remark. You’d see him at club functions having a chat and a laugh. You’d see him helping the RQ Foundation sell raffle tickets outside the pro shop. He’d be at pennants events or just roaming around the club – always willing to offer advice, always willing to help where he can.
When so many champions have sprung from one single club, you must think there’s something other than just grass and buildings, policies and procedures that make it special. I think the influence of Charlie is a large part of that something special. It’s selfless and friendly people like him that make you want to be a member of a golf club. They inspire you to contribute, and they make you want to keep coming back. Charlie’s expertise and influence has created a gravitational pull of talent towards Royal Queensland, and it’s a legacy that will last for many years to come. You may be fortunate enough to say g’day to this living legend roaming the fairways during this month’s PGA.
After my memorable introduction to Royal Queensland by my golf-loving dentist, I became a member and have enjoyed my time there ever since. RQ’s generously wide fairways are a delight to play, especially after travelling and playing tight, penal courses where half a dozen balls are often a prerequisite to finish 18 holes. When current club champion Matthew Toomey hosted Australian tennis legend Ash Barty to a round recently, he proudly explained that “it’s impossible to lose a ball at RQ”.
Wide fairways and a lack of hills mean RQ sets up as the perfect spectator venue for the PGA. Because of the restrictions of 2020, Royal Queensland largely missed out on celebrating its 100-year anniversary, so this year’s PGA will be somewhat of a club-wide celebration. Royal Queensland has embraced the championship, and RQ president Mark Stanton explains that “members showed how they felt about the PGA with their feet, with hundreds of members volunteering and attending last year”.
This time, there’s an electric energy surrounding the tournament, with some of the world’s best players in the field. And with long-hitting RQ member Jed Morgan mounting his championship defence, it’s setting up as a tournament you simply will have to witness.
• Jayden Lawson is a member of Australian Golf Digest’s Top 100 Courses panel. He resides on the Sunshine Coast and is a part-time video creator on social media (Instagram: @jaydenlawson).
