Golf Australia June 2015

GOLF’S popularity has been called into question in recent years, with various domestic and international reports suggesting the game has lost its mojo with memberships dropping and a significant number of clubs feeling the financial pinch. The game’s administrators in this country – Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia – whose task it is to grow the game, have not been helped along the way by sections of the mainstream media offering scant coverage because golf apparently lacks sex appeal. At a time when Australia has men and women winning on various Tours around the world, the biggest golf-related story that recently appeared in a Sydney newspaper was about the kiss Rickie Fowler planted on his girlfriend after winning the Players Championship.There was little or no mention the next…

Television brought The Vines Resort into the lounge rooms of golfers across Australia for so long that it’s easy to forget just how many grand events were staged across its Composite course. Likewise, the passage of time might have pushed memories of this 36-hole complex to the recesses of the mind now that the steady diet of tournament action is, at least for now, exhausted. Fortunately it’s not difficult to drag this golf icon of the Swan Valley forward in the memory bank. The stunning location, a leisurely drive outside the West Australian capital in the state’s oldest wine region, combined with a pair of exceptional golf courses and complemented by a four-star resort make it impossible to forget once you’ve spent a day or longer enjoying everything The Vines…

THE COURSE LOCATION: Verdelho Drive,The Vines,WA.The resort is about a 45-minute drive north-east of Perth via West Swan Rd. CONTACT: (08) 9297 3000. WEBSITE: www.vines.com.au DESIGNERS: Graham Marsh and Ross Watson (1989). SLOPE RATINGS: Lakes – men: 129/126/121; women: 128. Ellenbrook – men: 125/122/121; women: 125. PLAYING SURFACES: Penncross bentgrass (greens), Greenlees Park couch (tees and fairways). COURSE SUPERINTENDENT: Dion Warr. PGA PROFESSIONAL: Mark Tibbles. GREEN FEES: Lakes $84; Ellenbrook $64 ($10 less for resort guests). THE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS: Several membership categories operate at The Vines, from full membership ($2,750 annually) through to juniors (with two categories, for ages 12 to 17 and 18 to 20) and transitional, fly-in/fly-out and country members. Corporate memberships are also available. CORPORATE GOLF: Having two courses allows The Vines to run seamless corporate…

MACK Hall,a Perth real estate agent and enthusiastic golfer, used to play cricket with Graham MacKenzie, the great Australian fast bowler of the 1960s. Playing a club match together on a typically windy summer’s day in Perth,Hall suggested his fellow fast bowler bowl his seamers into the wind while he go with the sea breeze behind.The very gentlemanly MacKenzie quickly put him in his place with a quiet,‘Why don’t you just ‘eff’ off?” Each May, MacKenzie plays the Mack Hall pro-am at Cottesloe and every year Mack tells the story. It sort of gets old but somehow it doesn’t lose much in the retelling. MacKenzie just laughs. The pro-am is on a Friday followed by the Mack Hall Cottesloe Open, an event played for first time in 1948 and with…

TWO-TIME Open champion Greg Norman will not take his place in the field for this year’s championship at St Andrews because he “doesn’t want to take the spot” of a young player who could be the“next Greg Norman”. The Shark, who won The Open in 1986 and 1993, turned 60 this year and was eligible to take his place in the field as a past champion. But past champion exemptions, without special dispensation, conclude at 60, which means Norman won’t ever play The Open to say goodbye to his fans. Norman told BBC Sport he thought it would be unfair to rob a young aspiring star of their rightful place in The Open, when he was no chance of winning the championship. “I don’t practise anymore and to play The…

APRIL PHOTO CAPTION COMPETITION We had some clever entries to our photo of Rory McIlroy showing a dab hand as a spin bowler. The best entry according to our judges came from Ian Miller of Pottsville, NSW, with: “Ernie, see if you can pick the break on this one.” Congratulations Ian, you win a pair of adidas Tour 360X shoes worth $149. TAYLORMADE PUTTER WINNERS All subscribers to Golf Australia magazine were entered into a draw to win one of ten TaylorMade Spider Mallet putters,valued at $299 each.The winners were: Kathleen Sargeant of Emu Plains, NSW; Brett Lewis of Brooklyn Park, SA; Geoff Hepworth of Campbelltown, SA; Kathryn Hamer of Colac, Victoria; Dr Mark Morrin of Newcastle, NSW; Matthew Baker of Macksville, NSW; Phil Coleman of Roma, Queensland; Ernst Weyhausen…