Catching up with the CEOs of Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia, James Sutherland and Gavin Kirkman, after the announcement of the dual Australian Opens and the recent unveiling of the Australian Golf Centre.
What are the easiest and hardest aspects of the collaborative approach between Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia?
Gavin Kirkman (PGA): The easiest is what we’re doing now – we’re sitting together, working together in our teams. They’re exchanging information like we’ve never done before. The unified approach is going to give us a stronger voice across every part of our business, whether we’re talking participation, making the game more sustainable through clubs and facilities or the Australian Golf Strategy.
James Sutherland (GA): The hard part is to make sure that we continue to look forward and we don’t look back.
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What are you most looking forward to about the combined Australian Opens this December?
Kirkman: The elevated platform for both the men and the women. The one thing that’s struck me about seeing the Vic Open – through a different lens as a fan, pre-COVID, post COVID, plus in this role – what really struck me was the way in which the fans embraced both competitions that are running concurrently. Yes, you can have twice as many people on the grounds watching, but I think it will elevate the men’s, and it will significantly complement the women’s Open as well.
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Do you see it as a one-off, a trial for a few years or a permanent switch?
Sutherland: Ask us that in December!
We draw inspiration from the Vic Open, which is a very successful event and extremely popular. We also draw inspiration from tennis in the way they do their Grand Slam events. There’s also the unique characteristics of the PGA Champs on the week before this year. We see that as a two-week vehicle of the summer of Australian golf and we only want to amplify it. They’re in different parts of the country, but it’s a great celebration of golf.
We’re going to change the game. We’re going to make these two weeks very, very significant, but we’re also going to change the nature of the event. By virtue of being a men’s and women’s event, we want the demographic of the fan to be different.
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Does needing two courses make it more difficult for the Opens to travel the country more than they have?
Kirkman: I don’t think so. There are events on other tours – not mixed events – but there are events on some of the bigger tours around the world where they’ve had to use two golf courses. We’re fortunate that we’ve got so many good golf courses within every state in Australia. Using a primary and a secondary course, I think, is a win-win.
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Any early indications from some of the real superstars who are keen to not only play one great Sandbelt course but two?
Kirkman: If we get all our Aussie players home, that’s going to be great. Geographically, we’ve negotiated that we want to be the first two events on the [2023 DP World Tour] schedule, so the players might just say, “Let’s go down and play those great courses in Australia.”
Sutherland: I thought Karrie Webb’s comments were quite revealing when she was put on the spot at that media conference to say whether she was playing. She said, “As if I’d miss out on an opportunity of playing two great courses in a week like that.” That was her immediate, off-the-cuff response, which I thought was heartening.
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OK, so who got the better office at the new Australian Golf Centre?
Sutherland: Well, I get the morning sun. He gets the afternoon sun, so…
Kirkman: One’s overlooking the seventh hole [at Sandy Links] and one’s looking at the driving range and so forth. We spend a fair bit of time in each other’s office, so we get the best of both worlds. After 12 months, we may do a swap.
Sutherland: The original plans were: the PGA was going to be on one side of the building and Golf Australia on the other side of the building, but Gavin and I decided that that’s not how it should be, and so basically everyone’s mixed up. All the departments are working together in one spot.
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A scenario for you: it’s a sunny Friday afternoon in Melbourne and all is under control on the work front. Sandy Links is right there at your disposal and a 3 o’clock tee-time beckons. Is it OK for people in your positions to play a quiet nine holes?
Sutherland: You shouldn’t assume that that hasn’t already happened!
Kirkman: The toughest part to answer there is whether there is a 3 o’clock tee-time available, because it’s such a busy facility. But yes, as long as James gives me one shot per hole.
