Aussie of the month: Richard Forsyth
The celebrated turf professional announced he is leaving Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Shortly after the famed club’s Composite course looked – and played – spectacularly during the 2025 Australian Open, Forsyth resigned as director of courses at Royal Melbourne.
Royal Melbourne captain Ben Hasker later confirmed the announcement in a letter to members. Forsyth is set to remain in the role until the end of June, or until a new director of courses is appointed.
Forsyth was only the fifth course superintendent in the club’s history after Mick Morcom, Claude Crockford, Peter Williams and Jim Porter. Forsyth started in July 2009 after almost 15 years as superintendent at Metropolitan Golf Club.
“Being a golf course superintendent for the past 38 years has been a dedication and passion that is a dominant part of my life,” Forsyth told turf industry newsletter The Cut. “The past 17 years as custodian of the Royal Melbourne and Sandringham courses has been a privilege and a responsibility that has been satisfying and rewarding.”
An incredible stint at one of the world’s finest venues. Bravo, Richard Forsyth.
Golfers in the news
Aussies In the International Series: LIV Golf held its Promotions qualifying school recently in Florida, where Richard T. Lee, Bjorn Hellgren and Anthony Kim grabbed the trio of LIV Golf 2026 places on offer. But status on the Asian Tour’s lucrative International Series was also up for grabs for the top 10 finishers on the leaderboard. Three Australians were among the group, including Matt Jones, as well as NSW Open champion Christopher Wood and Cory Crawford.
Justice is served: In late December, Justice Bosio secured a full Ladies European Tour card for 2026 after closing with a final-round 70 at the rain-affected qualifying school in Morocco. The Queenslander finished T-9 at 11-under-par in a tournament reduced from five rounds to four. Competing on the LET Access series (LETA) in 2025, the former elite amateur produced steady golf throughout the week to lock up Category 12 status. “I’m really overwhelmed with feelings,” Bosio said. “I think it’ll sink in a little bit more tomorrow when I wake up, but just really excited to get it done after a little bit of heartbreak at the end of the LETA season.”
Bosio will join Kelsey Bennett, Kirsten Rudgeley and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard this season. “We’re all proud to be Australian… To play with them next year is just the cherry on top,” Bosio said.
A new chief in the west: GolfWA confirmed Arron Minchin as its next chief executive. He brings more than two decades of senior leadership experience spanning business, government, regional development and sport. Minchin’s career has included executive roles with the City of Karratha and the Department of Sport and Recreation, as well as GolfWA’s government relations manager where he worked with clubs and all levels of government to support facility investment, major events and participation growth. A golfer of more than 30 years, Minchin has been a member of six golf clubs across WA.
Vale Peter McMaugh: The Australian turfgrass community lost one of its defining figures with the passing of Peter McMaugh AM, who passed away on December 21 at the age of 90. Widely regarded as the country’s leading turfgrass authority, McMaugh was celebrated for championing turfgrasses such as Greenlees Park in the 1970s, Wintergreen couch in the ’80s and Windsor Green and Sir Walter soft-leaf buffalo in the ’90s, which are widely found on turf farms across Australia.
Bogey of the month that become a birdie
‘I could hear the green laughing at me’
You’ve got to hand it to Cooper Bassett. Last October, the 13-year-old suffered the ignominy of six-putting the last green of strokeplay qualifying for the matchplay section of Launceston Golf Club’s club championships, missing a spot in the top eight as a result. Yet the promising 5-handicapper used the incident as the foundation for a school assignment in English: “The Ball That Refused To Go Home” [above].
And the golf gods clearly approved, as only a few weeks later, Bassett scored his first-ever hole-in-one across town on Mowbray Golf Club’s fourth hole – the same hole his father Darren aced in 2003.
Aussie amateurs have done what?
Rising amateurs Abel Eduard and Raegan Denton completed the national double at the Australian Master of the Amateurs for the first time in five years. Eduard [above] carried a four-shot lead into the final round at Southern Golf Club in Melbourne, then steadied after a mid-round wobble, eagled the par-5 11th and resisted a charging Harry Takis to win by two shots at 13-under. “There’s no feeling like having a putt to win,” Eduard said.
The women’s title became a duel between Denton and American Catherine Park. Ten straight pars and a vital up-and-down at the 13th helped Denton edge home by one after finishing at five-under. “It was a really strong field coming into it,” Denton said.
Photographs by getty images/oisin keniry; getty images/Jason McCawley; courtesy of the cut
