In our ongoing series with Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland, our readers get clarity on golf’s most pertinent issues
Is there scope for the Australian Open to rotate nationally more than it does after Kingston Heath this December? – Colin Scarr, via e-mail
What we’re seeing right now is a period of real strength for golf in Australia. Participation continues to climb, fan interest is at record levels, and major events like the Australian Open are attracting strong interest from government and commercial partners because they drive the visitor economy and provide brand exposure across the globe.
Here in Victoria, we’ve built a strong partnership with Visit Victoria and the Victorian Government, and the Sandbelt continues to be a magnet for the world’s best players. We’re incredibly excited about returning to Kingston Heath this year, with Rory McIlroy already locked in, and we expect that to be another step up again.
You’re already seeing that with the women’s Australian Open heading to Adelaide in March, backed by the South Australian Government and wanted by Kooyonga Golf Club.
We are fortunate to have states and territories that see the value of hosting national championships and other golf tournaments and will continue to explore opportunities to share our national open across the country.
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I would love to see a Golfers Party started, particularly in New South Wales. Golfers and golf courses/clubs need representation in government to promote our game. Governments need to see that golf is an industry and thus needs preservation and support. I call on Golf Australia to get into politics. – Mark Chivers, via Facebook
As a National Sporting Organisation (NSO), our role is to govern, operate, lead and support, and futureproof our sport. This involves working closely with governments at all levels across the full spectrum of golf from the places we play in local communities, to school-age participation, through to major events and high-performance athletes. We are grateful for the support government provides golf – in so many different ways – and will never lose sight of the fact that many of Australia’s golf courses are on crown/public land, owned by local, state and even federal governments.
Yes, we continue to face challenges of various types in relation to golf-course land and we are working hard to represent golf’s best interests across all levels of government. There will always be issues and challenges – but there are also great success stories in recent years that have led to preservation of public land for golf, huge increases in investment in public golf assets and improvements in golf access and amenity across our country.
While establishing a Golfers Party may be an option, our view is that our role should be to remain independent of government and political parties, working closely with all levels of government, and where appropriate different parties, to represent our game’s best interests and deliver outcomes that see golf growing as a sport for all Australians.
Golf has a great story to tell. Our sport provides huge economic, health and environmental benefits. Ideally, we would like to see all levels of government and sides of politics being advocates for our game.
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Why doesn’t Golf Australia support nor sponsor the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Golf Championship? – Ian Simms, via Facebook
In promoting golf as a sport for all, Golf Australia works with member state associations and various indigenous groups to encourage more participation at community level, but also at representative level in all our state and national amateur events. Assuming players meet other eligibility criteria such as age, gender and handicap, our events are open to all players and we openly welcome indigenous players to participate.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Golf Championship is an event operated by a third party. Golf Australia does promote the event through our digital channels and enables entries through our calendar of events. Even though it does not have status as an official entry category, Golf Australia has regularly provided the winner of the tournament an entry to the adidas Australian Amateur (provided they meet handicap entry standards).
