Our senior writer dives into the ambiguous topic of affiliation fees. Where exactly is your cash being directed by the national governing body, Golf Australia, and the state associations?
Ingham Golf Club faced an uncertain future in 2025 when severe floodwater inundated the Tropical North Queensland course. Ingham copped half a metre of rain in less than 48 hours in what’s regarded as the town’s biggest flood event in history.
The elevated Ingham clubhouse was spared and became a temporary shelter and operational base for Ergon Energy as it attempted to restore power to the surrounding region. However, the Ingham golf course remained underwater and saturated for weeks afterwards. With limited machinery and minimal cash reserves, the long-term outlook was bleak for the predominantly volunteer-run club of some 140 members.
In a fortuitous boost, Ingham Golf Club received approval for $775,803 of funding from the Queensland Government’s Sport and Recreation Recovery Grant. Critical to that successful application was support from Golf Australia’s Grant Writing Assistance Program through its partnership with Red Tape Busters. Instead of trying to interpret what assessors were seeking, Ingham was guided through the daunting process.
“That support was massive for us. We simply don’t have that expertise internally,” conceded a grateful Ingham Golf Club treasurer Damian Di Bella.
Ingham’s tale is an example of how a golf club can reap a direct benefit from Golf Australia. And that benefit can be directly attributed to the millions of dollars in affiliation fees from golf club members that pour into the national governing body every year.
How much is raised through affiliation fees?
National affiliation fees from club members contribute $12.39 million in revenue to Golf Australia, according to its latest 2025 Annual Report. Golf Australia also receives $10.95 million in combined ‘State’ (or Member) fees from Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Along with the $12.39 million from the ‘National’ fees, these ‘Member’ fees provide a booty of $23.34 million to oversee the game.
Historically, affiliation fees have been used by Golf Australia (formerly the Australian Golf Union) and the various state associations as an administrative service to manage the game. But the role of these authorities has changed substantially over the years – as outlined in our feature in the March issue: “What Is Golf Australia Trying To Become?”
The handling of affiliation fees is an ambiguous topic because they’re extracted by golf clubs from their members and paid to golf’s governing bodies. Yet these club members have no direct say on how that money is spent by Golf Australia or their state associations.
It’s almost a decade since we explored the topic of: “Where Do Your Affiliation Fees End Up?” The topic of affiliation-fee revenue is worth revisiting because Australia has witnessed a surge in golf participation and club membership. Since COVID, participation has risen by 5.2 percent while club membership numbers have risen by about 95,000 to the current figure of 477,220.
The coffers at Golf Australia appear to be bursting at the seams with an extra $3.1 million in affiliation fees via these new members. Of course, it begs the question as to how this $12.39 million of revenue is being spent by Golf Australia? Which prompts an additional query as to whether this money is being spent well.
What does each state collect?
The standard Golf Australia affiliation fee that applies across the country is $32.27, which includes the goods and services tax (GST). On top of that, a state affiliation fee is issued through clubs to their members. There is variation between the states as to what club members pay in total affiliation fees. And there may be a difference between metropolitan and regional members within each state. Junior members pay less in most states but not all.
For instance, Victorian club members are slugged the most in total fees. Metropolitan (Melbourne) adult members pay $95.89, which is broken down into the $32.27 standard GA national affiliation fee plus a $63.62 state affiliation fee. Victorian country adults pay $76.80 ($32.27 + $44.53). Melbourne juniors pay a total of $65.56 whereas Victorian country juniors pay $55.63.
The Victorian ‘State Fee’ makes its way to Golf Australia because all states except New South Wales fall under the One Golf umbrella, which means they are effectively managed by the national governing body. In theory, the board of Golf Victoria would oversee the One Golf model to monitor how the Victorian money is spent.
In South Australia, Metro (Adelaide) adult members pay $75.40 ($32.27 + $43.13) whereas country members pay $63.75 ($32.27 + $31.48). Country members with six months of membership pay a lesser amount of $52.05 ($32.27 + $19.78). SA juniors are charged $47.10 ($32.27 + $14.83).
In Queensland, adults and juniors pay the same total affiliation fee of $74.36 ($32.27 + $42.09). Remote Club members pay $61.73 ($32.27 + $29.46). Juniors without a handicap pay just the national fee of $32.27 as there is no state fee.
NSW/ACT club members pay the least in total affiliation fees. Metropolitan (Sydney) adults pay in the range of $65-$70 while NSW country members pay in the range of $55-60. The total fee for a Sydney junior is $40-$45 and for NSW country juniors it’s $35-$40.
Reasonable-sized metropolitan golf clubs can pay anywhere between $70,000 and $130,000 in total affiliation fees, according to Paul Vardy, chief executive officer of Golf Management Australia, the industry body for club general managers.
“A club is collecting it all and then passing that on to the state and national body,” Vardy says. “Most clubs itemise it. The rank-and-file member probably doesn’t truly understand where it goes, either. They’re the ones paying it. The clubs are not actually paying it. They’re collecting it and passing it on.”
However, it’s not just traditional golf club members who bear the brunt of affiliation fees. Members of so-called ‘virtual golf clubs’ pay to maintain a handicap and access the public liability insurance coverage that Golf Australia bundles with affiliation fees. Social Golf Australia (SGA) is an innovator in the virtual-club sector that has built a substantial membership over two decades with an online golf club allowing a low-cost access to an official golf handicap.
With more than 12,800 current members, SGA contributes a significant amount of money to the game. Besides more than a million dollars each year going directly to golf clubs via green fees, cart hire, driving range use and food-and-beverage revenues from its events, SGA’s large membership paid more than $575,000 in affiliation fees to Golf South Australia in 2024.
SGA managing director Matthew Pitt says: “Our model was developed in close collaboration with past GA administrations and forms part of the pathway for many people’s journey in golf. Some people move from their beginner phase to accessing a handicap and events with us, and similar providers, and then move from SGA to a traditional club. We planned this model with GA two decades ago to build a pathway of access to club membership and it has proven to be very a successful innovation.”
SGA has allocated GolfLink and Golf ID numbers to some 32,000 Australian golfers and paid in excess of $3 million in affiliation fees to the governing bodies. Perhaps more significantly, SGA has seen more than 11,000 people leave and join golf clubs. Other providers in the sector have replicated the model SGA developed and had a similar impact on club memberships.
According to Pitt, Golf Australia’s approach to stakeholder relationships since COVID has shifted significantly and is causing ripples across the industry.
“Not only have GA’s affiliation fees been rising well in advance of CPI for over a decade, GA have informed us this will continue year on year. We can accept that, but the growing lack of transparency from GA is having the effect of eroding confidence in the governing body across our sector.”
Where does Golf Australia spend the money?
Administering the World Handicap System and providing club members with the National Insurance Program are two essential services provided by Golf Australia to club members. The implementation and maintenance of the new GA Connect handicapping system (previously known as GolfLink) is a time-consuming service that comes with a significant financial outlay (although critics claim the final cost of the rollout was somewhat self-inflicted).
The Players Personal Liability Insurance Policy provides protection for every affiliated club member while playing or practising golf. The policy inclusions cover for a) Personal injury claims (such as a struck ball injuring another person) and b) Property damage claims (incurred to neighbouring property or motor vehicles).
But solely focusing upon these two essential services can be misleading about the greater good of affiliation fees, according to Damien de Bohun, Golf Australia’s general manager of clubs, facilities and places to play.
“I would say the biggest misconception is that it’s very transactional. People think they get a handicap and insurance for affiliation fees. That’s sort of what they think, logically,” de Bohun says. “The affiliation fees are so much more important and go to so many more things than just your handicap and your insurance.”
The national governing body has embraced the acronym GOLF to explain and justify how affiliation-fee revenue is spent. It stands for: Govern. Operate. Lead. Futureproof. Its Affiliation Membership Guide outlines how these core beliefs are intended to work:
Govern the game through administering the World Handicap System, rules and course ratings as well as implementing governance and policy decisions, and co-ordinating the National Insurance Program.
Operate events and programs to showcase the Australian Open and state championships, staging of amateur events and national tournaments, plus supervising High Performance programs and running participation initiatives.
Lead and support the industry to unify, amplify golf’s story to the wider community, undertake research, offer club management software, provide digital handicapping tools and encourage volunteer support.
Futureproof the sport through advocacy and by promoting golf’s social licence, to diversify golf’s participation and audience, undertake digital innovation and commercial growth, build the Australian Golf Foundation to make the game more accessible for everyone, and develop golfers of the future through High Performance programs and participation initiatives.
Spelled out like that, it’s an ambitious set of goals. It may come across as overreaching given the traditional role of Golf Australia/the Australian Golf Union. But as detailed in the Ingham Golf Club example, the national governing body is determined to engage better at club level, with the broader community and in the corridors of power.
“What do you invest in? I’ll use Western Australia as an example alone,” de Bohun says. “Western Australia has some $123 million in development, planning of golf courses for their public venues across the state. I want to be really clear, that would not happen by itself. That wouldn’t just mysteriously appear. And so we’re also managing to secure future investment, both through government and through commercial partners, that is also strengthening the sport as well.”
Leading and supporting the golf industry is what club members should expect of Golf Australia’s role. Amplifying golf’s story to the wider community is becoming more pertinent by the month. The past decade has witnessed what Australian Golf Digest coined ‘The War On Golf’ by all three levels of government. Never have golf courses been threatened to such an extent. Sydney’s Moore Park Golf is the most high-profile of an ever-increasing number of clubs on public land that face an uncertain future.
The desire to ‘Futureproof’ the sport through advocacy and by promoting golf’s social licence is new territory for the national governing body. Golf Australia has detailed a three-point plan as a means to achieve this outcome. This entails: 1. Championing Golf Course Land; 2. Promoting the Community Benefits Of Golf; 3. Growing Government Relationships.
One would hope that ‘Advocate & Promote Golf’s Social Licence’ is a diplomatic way of saying Golf Australia intends to get its hands dirty and fight tooth and nail for the sport. For too long, governments have taken advantage of golf clubs and their courses.
Golf gives back way more than it consumes – from providing stable employment to collecting GST revenue, sales and alcohol tax; funding the maintenance of golf courses to acting as custodians of the environment. It appears the penny has dropped that Golf Australia must tell golf’s story better.
Golf NSW: Going it alone
NSW and the ACT account for 38 percent of club members in Australia. Some 182,414 members belong to the 380 clubs across the state and territory. These members contributed $4,617,215 in national affiliation fees last year. Because Golf NSW acts independently of the One Golf umbrella, the revenue from state fees is distributed at its own discretion.
Golf NSW appears to be living within its means judging by its 2024-2025 annual report. It has income of $17.85 million, expenses of $17.68 million and total equity of $14,486,109.
Meanwhile, Golf NSW has its own unique challenges to deal with. For instance, of its 380 golf clubs, 95 (or 25 percent) are sand-green courses. It has two metropolitan zones and 33 country district regions. That’s certainly one of the reasons why Golf NSW has compiled a 40-page document to explain the expenditure of state fees.
“If you look at our Member Services Guide in NSW, you’ll see it’s been spent extremely well. And the value for money that a member club gets in NSW – with what they can get out of that Member Services Guide – is by far and away the most comprehensive in the country,” says Golf NSW chairman Michael Medway.
“Our state fee essentially covers all of our operations. So all of our events that people play in, whether it’s Warren and Gibson [Shield] for B-graders and C-graders, or major pennants, all the NSW amateur events that we run [or] supporting regional managers across the state that provide services to member clubs. They run pennant competitions in varying districts and regions as well. Club support, agronomy services, government relations, marketing services. We help clubs build their websites. Rules and handicapping. Part of it goes to High Performance as well.”
Medway urges NSW and ACT club members to utilise the benefits of their state affiliation fees: “Their primary purpose is to support the golf club they’re a member of. On top of that, as a B-grade, C-grade or an A-grade golfer, there are a whole range of events that are run for those players that their affiliation-fee revenue kicks in and supports. So if they haven’t played in one of those state events, then do so because part of their affiliation-fee revenue goes to ensuring that we can run those events across the state.”
Driving the game at Bingara Gorge
In 2025, Golf NSW launched its ‘Strategic Plan for 2030 and Beyond’. That document outlines how it intends to “Lead, Empower, Grow and Inspire” the game across NSW and the ACT. “This plan is about more than growing participation, it’s about re-imagining what golf can be,” says Golf NSW chief executive officer Stuart Fraser.
In a point of difference to other states, Golf NSW will take ownership of a golf facility. It recently announced the acquisition of the Bingara Gorge golf course from Metro Property Development with plans to establish it as the ‘Home of Golf’ in NSW. Spanning 90 hectares, the championship-length layout designed by Graham Marsh (6,690 metres, par 72) is the centrepiece of the Bingara Gorge residential community at Wilton in the rapidly expanding Macarthur region of south-west Sydney.
The sale includes the entire 18 holes and associated golf infrastructure (including two new bridges linking both nines that Metro will deliver as part of the agreement). Golf NSW will commence management of golf operations this month. Its long-term vision for the flagship facility includes administrative offices, High Performance training facilities and event operations within the clubhouse/pro shop precinct beside a future hotel.
Medway likens Bingara Gorge to one of the R&A’s pet projects in Scotland.
“It’s trailblazing. It’s dynamic,” he says. “It’s essentially following the lead of the R&A – who have a Golf It! facility in Glasgow – and creating a showcase venue in Australia for the sport. A championship golf course that holds our NSW Open on Sunday that a public player can play on Monday or Tuesday.”
Opened in 2023, Golf It! is a community-themed facility and entertainment precinct in Scotland’s largest city with the intention of revolutionising the sport (golf-it.com). A nine-hole golf course is complemented by a 52-bay double-decker floodlit driving range, a new version of pitch-and-putt and a family-orientated putting green. Golf It! also features nature trails, bike hire, padel tennis courts and street-food dining.
It must be acknowledged that Golf NSW wouldn’t have the capacity to pursue the Bingara project without prudent financial management – that stems from careful allocation of its state affiliation-fee revenue. As such, Golf NSW doesn’t appear to have any regrets about going it alone and declining the invitation to join the One Golf union.
“Our Bingara purchase really shows how we’re driving the game. Because the ultimate purchase of Bingara is to move into income diversification to ensure that we’re not 100 percent reliant on affiliation fees,” Medway says. “In our strategic plan, that’s what we took to members when we disposed of our [Arncliffe] building and moved to satellite offices [in Brighton and Wollongong] to essentially identify an opportunity that creates income and sets the business up for the future with [not as much] reliance on affiliation fees.”
Ultimately, the decision by Golf NSW to reject the One Golf union may well yield a positive outcome for the sport. Having a different agenda to Golf Australia can drive competition between the two bodies and create a landscape from which the game can flourish.
Golf Australia is an easy target to criticise. For as long as can be remembered, spending has raised eyebrows. That old chestnut about flying an executive – Colin Phillips, Tony Hallam, Stephen Pitt or James Sutherland – business class to attend the Open Championship. (But why wouldn’t you when there’s an opportunity to land a major champion or a superstar such as Rory McIlroy?)
The national governing body is on a hiding to nothing on the ambiguous topic of affiliation fees. People assume they pay too much with their affiliation fee – simply by multiplying it with the number of club members in Australia. Perhaps the term ‘affiliation fee’ deserves a rebrand as part of the funding solution for everything they’re trying to achieve.
For Golf Australia to be more independent of the club golfer, it needs to reduce the reliance on affiliation fees. And to reduce the reliance on affiliation fees it needs to commercialise the database of club members. That in itself creates a whole series of questions.
Photographs by istock.com/BrianAJackson, istock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen
