In our ongoing series with Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland and PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman, our readers get clarity on golf’s most pertinent issues.
The game has never been more popular. There are more golfers playing the game today in Australia than ever before. Yet, it is still a painfully expensive game to participate in. Is GA seriously doing something to make the game accessible to the wider community? Or are they happy to continue to allow it to be a wealthy participant’s sport? – Paul Cocco, via Facebook
One of the major focuses for the entire staff and direction of Golf Australia is to make the game more accessible to everyone in the country and get more Australians playing more golf, especially young people where it is heartening to see junior membership was up 33 percent last year.
Removing traditional barriers like cost of entry for beginners is a focus around the world, and for Golf Australia this is being actioned currently in providing affordable programs to learn the game such as Get Into Golf, MyGolf powered by Ripper GC and Tee Mates, which is an amazing program that allows kids to play golf for just $5.
Supporting our clubs and facilities in governance and accessibility also helps keep golf as affordable as possible.
Public golf is obviously the entry point for most golfers, and, for many, their lifelong connection with the game. It is the cheapest form of the game and unfortunately has been under threat in some locations. In the past 18 months particularly, our team have completed a power of work to protect and maintain public golf spaces to ensure access for communities, but also the potential rise of costs if there are less places to play when golf has never been more popular.
We are firmly of the view that Australia needs more golf courses, not less, and we hope the ongoing surge of popularity in the game, and our continued advocacy, will see additional courses and facilities developed across the country to help meet the demand. – James Sutherland
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Why does the Australian tax man withhold 40 percent of the prizemoney from international players? Isn’t that counter-productive to attracting stronger fields? – Robert Rodin, via Facebook
Taxes are not a unique Australian problem when it comes to the global landscape of tournament golf. Even domestically in the United States, every state has differing income taxes that affect players week to week, or in wherever they call home.
In saying that, we do work with our visiting players and other sporting codes in relation to prizemoney tax, and we now advise our international players to apply for an ABN, which we will assist with through our player services and helps manage tax rates for players, including earning under a certain amount in prizemoney resulting in an exemption.
Yes, losing a portion of prizemoney is something players have to factor in to coming to Australia, and we, like every sport in the country, are always actively working with the federal and state governments about how we can continue to push our sport forward in every way from professional tournaments to participation. – Gavin Kirkman
