ONCE upon a time professional golf was full of characters.

Some had very strange swings, some had equally strange religions and even others had quaint clothing habits.

The one thing they all had in common was public appeal.

Oh, and they could play.

Golf fans wanted to see them, were entertained by them and just as importantly talked about them long after a tournament was concluded.

Take the 1960-’70s version, Doug Sanders.

Sanders had a swing which was said to have been fashioned in a telephone booth.

It was a thing of beauty only to its owner, but it was good enough to take him to a playoff for the Open Championship.

Back in the day he and fellow Yank, Ray Floyd, took partying to a new level and would ring a caterer in the town hosting the next tournament and put their orders in a week in advance.

Bobby Jones and Sam Snead drew crowds as did Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodreguez and later Payne Stewart and John Daly.

They didn’t come from the college system sausage machine.

They could play and entertain and engage with the fans. The best today’s fans can hope for from our sport’s lifeless journeymen is a fist-pump or hand slap.

There will always be a need for the Ben Hogans, Peter Thomsons (who could have played and won in a suit) and Nick Faldos but if golf hadn’t worked out, they had no future as stand-up comedians.

As a player, Faldo was wildly successful with six majors but he was about as entertaining as cold porridge or cooked lettuce.

I’m sure he can live with the fact that he is never going to be a master of wit, but then he won’t feel lonely because so few tour players are. 

Unfortunately, the winner of the 2023 US Open, Wyndham Clark, showed all the emotion of a seasoned undertaker’s assistant.

Australian golf bosses make a pilgrimage every year to the majors.

Part of their charter is to see if they can lure some of the world’s good players to Australia for our PGA Championship and Open.

Let’s hope when they knock on the doors of Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick, Charl Schwartzel and company they are out, deeply absorbed in watching grass grow.

One struggles to come up with modern-day versions of the Trevinos and Floyds. 

What about a visit to our shores of, say, Bubba Watson, Danny Willett, Phil Mickelson (bound to say something that will make headlines) or even John Daly who, even if he only plays on Thursday and Friday, will pull crowds through the gate.

And then there is Spaniard Migual Angel Jimenez, whose warm-up routine is unlike anything and is highly entertaining. Google it. And he’s a damn fine player.

Some of those people who have flocked to watch him play and entertain have said: “Sensational. The classiest golfer on the planet and possibly the coolest man too.”

Another: “There’s a reason the guy is playing this kind of golf at his current age (60). A big lesson to all of us in why mobility is important. He puts me to shame and I’m 24.”

Then this: “Rumour has it that John Daly witnessed Jimenez warming up on the range and had a heart attack at the sight of physical exertion.”

In 2022 and 2023, we drew no-one from the overseas talent pool although the Australian Open was won by Poland’s Adrian Meronk (2022) and Joaquin Niemann (2023) – hardly crowd pullers. 

Still, we have locals Cam Smith, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and co who will have fans clustering around them. Make sure Min Woo returns as he is one player who does entertain the fans between shots.

Australia’s golf hierarchy should use their wiles to lure somebody here, which is no easy task when the total purse for our tournaments is around what the first prize is in a regular weekly US PGA Tour event.

The tyranny of distance and the exchange rate doesn’t help.

Australia was spoiled rotten in the days when Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player came here and often went home with the winner’s cheque.

In fact, Player, who won seven Australian Open titles, says his wins allowed him to put his kids through school.

It will be interesting to see who our chiefs can pull from the hat.

If Australian golf fans just want to see classy golf shots, they can just follow the Aussies.

Other sports enjoy the presence of a few larrikins. Let’s hope we don’t lose ours.

---

Editor-at-large David Newbery, recently recgonised by Golf Queensland with an award for his 40-years of service to the golf industry, continues to be a valued and respected contributor to Inside Golf.  

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THE LIV Golf Tour rolls into town for a second time in April, with another all-star cast set to arrive on Australian shores for LIV Adelaide 2.  

Arguably the event which put LIV firmly in the sporting limelight in 2023, with enthusiastic crowds flocking to Adelaide and The Grange course, the field has been bolstered by the addition of two-time major championship winner Jon Rahm, the past two Australian Open champions in Joaquin Niemann and Adrian Meronk, as well as talented Englishman Tyrrell Hatton. 

Victorian Lucas Herbert is also now a member of the LIV Tour and will attempt to use whatever local knowledge he has to his advantage, as will fellow Aussies Cam Smith, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones. 

Despite discussions on-going with the LIV and the PGA Tour and debate continuing to rage as to the format, the strength of the competition and the lack of recognition by the powers that control the Official World Golf Rankings, the fact remains that a top-class collection of major champions and world class golfing performers will tee it up at The Grange. 

Australian Mal Baker, a former tournament professional and now caddy for Talor Gooch, a three-time winner and the LIV Player of the Year in 2023, has no doubt local golf fans will again embrace the second instalment of LIV Adelaide. 

Gallery numbers have been increased by 50 per cent, with Baker confident those who turn up will again enjoy the show. 

“(Adelaide) certainly showed what it can be when people accept it for what it is. If people go into it with an open mind, wanting to watch great golf and not care about all the propaganda, then they’ll enjoy themselves,” Baker said. 

“It’s just a lot of fun.” 

With 30,000 spectators in attendance in 2023 and increased numbers expected through the gates this time around, LIV will again showcase an alternative tournament experience, with music playing, party holes and a team’s championship to coincide with the individual event. 

Despite being much maligned by golf traditionalists due to the different way of doing things, some of that criticism also directed at many of the individual players involved, Baker expressed that the outside noise has only managed to galvanise all those on the LIV Tour. 

“They were outcasts, rebels, whatever you wanted to call them, they stuck together and there is that feeling of camaraderie. I think there’s a real brotherhood, that’s a good word for it. Especially for the guys who were there from the beginning,” Baker said. 

The field for LIV Adelaide, which tees off at The Grange from April 26-28, will also feature Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and recent LIV winner Abraham Ancer.  

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Mal Baker (left) alongside Talor Gooch part of a formidable team on the LIV Golf Tour.

By Rob Willis

HE had only played in Australia once previously, with Talor Gooch competing in the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines back in 2017, however the American golfing star may have benefitted from a different kind of local knowledge in winning the LIV Adelaide event last year. 

Gooch was brilliant at The Grange, sizzling back-to-back rounds of 60 setting up a victory in what was LIV Golf’s first tournament on Australian shores. 

While he hadn’t played in South Australia previously, Gooch did have some local help, with former Australian tour player Mal Baker by his side, a man with well over two decades of experience carrying his bag. 

Frustrated with his own golf game, some 20-years ago Baker convinced friend and fellow West Australian Greg Chalmers that he could capably carry out the role of caddy, to where he now follows Gooch around the tournaments of the LIV Tour. 

“I was a little disillusioned at the time, didn’t think my game was getting any better and said (to Greg) why don’t you let me come and do it for a while,” Baker recounted the start of his caddying journey on a phone hook up with Inside Golf from his home in Dallas.

And a new career had begun, with Baker working inside the ropes for Chalmers and others on the PGA Tour before linking with Gooch in March of 2017.

“That year (Gooch) played on the Web.Com Tour. He graduated to the PGA Tour, lost his full card the first year and went back into the 150 category. Then he came out firing, finished fourth at Palm Springs and third at Torrey Pines, so that got him in a whole bunch of tournaments through the year,” Baker said. 

 “I felt I had a lot to offer. At that point I’d been around the game for 26 years, so we took a chance, and it worked out. And I’d like to think I’m still helping.” 

A three-time winner in 2023, Gooch is now one of the leading players on LIV and also the man most talked about when bringing up the subject of players from the breakaway tour not receiving World Rankings points, meaning they are effectively shut out of golf’s major championships. 

While largely avoiding the controversy surrounding the rankings system, Baker had no doubt his man had a game to match the very best in world golf. 

“I don’t know how you rank guys these days in the current environment but for people who actually know golf, they know the competition on the LIV Tour is really strong every week. There is a core of world class guys, and he competes at the pointy end at most events,” Baker expressed. 

“Sharky (Greg Norman) said that after Tiger, Talor is the best iron player he’s seen in the last 20 years, Personally, I think he’s one of the best 15 players in the world,” Baker added.  

Despite being without a win through LIV’s first four events of 2024, Gooch has recorded a two top 10’s and an 11th, form putting him in the frame to mount a spirited defence of his title when LIV Adelaide tees off in late April. 

“Two of them in a row was pretty special,” Baker said of Gooch’s 10-under par 60’s over the opening two rounds last year. “It was his first real experience of Australian golf. It suits the way he plays the game. 

“He’s had a second and a sixth so far this year, but he certainly hasn’t hit his stride yet. Testimony to how good he’s become, he really hasn’t been right on his game, he didn’t have his best stuff in Vegas, but he still managed to finish second.” 

And lending a helping hand to Gooch along the way is a 50-something former Aussie professional who is enjoying the ride, with no plans to finish up anytime soon. 

“I’m having a blast. I love what I do and I’m still passionate about golf. I love the game. Other than swinging the club, when the gun goes off on a Friday, I still get a real thrill out of the competition,” Baker enthused. 

“I plan on doing it for a while yet.”  

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AHEAD of the second LIV Golf Adelaide event, Marc Leishman representing the Ripper GC team, relives the epic week from 12 months ago and shares some of his favorite stories from a memorable career. Marc sat down with Garrett Johnston to remember some fun moments and in looking ahead to the 2024 event.

How are you enjoying being a part of LIV Golf?

It’s been awesome. The camaraderie amongst the teams is really good. It’s sort of like we’re all on one big team with all the controversy that’s gone on between the two tours. Having said that, I loved my time on the PGA Tour as well, but this stage of my career with young kids – it’s nice to be spending a bit more time at home.

Since joining LIV you’ve gotten to spend a couple months over the Australian summer back home at Warrnambool. How has that been?

It’s been great. Our house is really close to the golf course and my oldest boy is really into golf right now. We played a lot of golf there. I have a lot of great memories, especially with him now being twelve, memories come flooding back to me from when I was a kid and now I get to see my son do it. My dad gets to see us as well and live it out for the second time. It’s so good to get back to Australia and play a bit of golf and catch up with old friends and the familiar faces around the golf club.

What’s a favorite story at Warrnambool GC growing up?

I remember it scared the crap out of my dad. There was a Tiger snake that someone had already found and knocked on the head on the course. I thought it would be pretty funny to put it in my golf bag and lay it in the backyard. And as I thought, dad was mortified that I had brought this snake home. Like, what are you thinking?
It was dead but it was very funny. He was shocked. He knew I wouldn’t be stupid enough to pick up a live one, but he called me an idiot and we had a laugh about it. We still laugh about it now. That was an interesting one. 

A good mate of mine, Leroy, used to go out to the course with me and we’d have chipping contests around the different greens, and we’d be climbing trees and hitting shots out of different trees and just had great memories like that.

You also got bit by a snake with your son on a golf course, right?

Yeah, I was caddying for him at home (Virginia Beach) and the kid he was playing with hit it up the grass on the left of the first fairway. I got bit by a snake in my achilles and started bleeding. There were two fang marks and it was probably poisonous and then on that green I started feeling light headed and dizzy. I said to the other dad that was caddying, ‘mate I just got bit by a snake. If I pass out, can you call an ambulance because it’s probably not going to be good.’

Then about five holes later I felt like I was going to vomit, then somehow a few minutes later the nausea just passed. I had a massive lump on my leg for about three months (laughs).

Your home course Virginia Beach National is a public course, do you like that laid back, everyman idea?

Yeah, I think I fit in well at a public course. It’s like where I played when I grew up. My dad was a bricklayer, and my mom was a nurse. Obviously, my situation’s changed a bit now, but I still know the value of a dollar. I relate to the people out there and really enjoy my time.

How much are you looking forward to coming back to LIV Golf Adelaide?

Yeah, I can’t wait. Last year in Adelaide was just amazing. That was one of the coolest weeks I’ve had on the golf course with that crowd support. It’s a great course and great entertainment off the course too. Just the atmosphere around there that week was certainly not something that I’d experienced. I felt like I was a rock star for a week. You couldn’t go anywhere without getting asked for pictures and autographs and that was really cool. I’m looking forward to getting back and enjoying it again and hopefully we can have a really good week as a team and individually as well.

Last year you drank beer out of a shoe at that event. How was that?

That was interesting. I got to be honest, I prefer to drink beer out of a can (laughs). It was a nice cold beer as it was going into the shoe, and it was lukewarm and not very nice coming out. And the Premier of Adelaide was egging me on to do it, so I had to do it. 

And that part of Australia has been so hungry for more pro golf for some time, right?

Yes, it has, particularly Adelaide. When I got my Tour card through the Nationwide Tour, that was the last professional event I believed played there; 2008. For them to have LIV Golf Adelaide played there, they support sport unbelievably well so it’s great to see.

Last year I went over there for a cricket match. It’s a six-hour drive and I went there just for one day of cricket. It’s an awesome place that I really enjoy going to. I can’t wait for LIV Adelaide this year. I want to get back there and enjoy those epic crowds again.

You and your caddie Matty Kelly go back a long way, what’s one of your favorite stories with him?

Matty came over early in 2008 from Australia and he maxed out two credit cards between March and September. So, he said to me, ‘mate, I’ve maxed out two credit cards and I’m going to have to head home and get a real job.’ I told him I felt terrible, and I finished second that week and won a couple weeks later by 11. 

The next year I was on the PGA Tour. In my first ever Tour event I went T12 at Sony Open in Hawaii and won $92,000. We felt like the richest blokes in the world. We had a redeye flight home to California where I was an alternate for the Bob Hope Classic. I remember he goes into an ABC store and buys a gallon of milk. And I’m like ‘what are you doing?’ And he’s like ‘we have to go to the beach.’ So we get to the beach and he chugs the whole bottle of milk. Then he stuck his fingers down his throat and projectile vomited all over the beach. I remember I was on the ground rolling around in the sand laughing. It was a celebration we’ll never forget.

Later that year you would play with Tiger for the first time, how did that feel?

It was great. After three rounds I get paired with Tiger for the Sunday finish in the last group. He was like six shots in front. 

I remember the most nervous I’ve ever been on a golf course was on the first tee that day. I said to Matty ‘I don’t think I can hit 3-wood here, I might actually miss the ball.’ It was nice to play with the big guy and see him win that day. 

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One of the most feared players on the LIV Golf League is Carlos Ortiz and Larry and Gary chat with the Mexican star on everything from how to compete on that Tour, to how having 4 daughters at home helps him to deal with stress.

When it comes to bias Larry is on top of his game and in this episode he uses his skills to review and explain what “Draw Bias” can do for anyone looking for this most desired of ball flights.

Gary has a tip on course management and the boys have an inside guest who can blow the lid off being a club pro at the one club for 25 years.

This plus the usual goss and opinions on “Back Spin” brought to you by INSIDE GOLF Magazine

The post Backspin Golf Podcast Episode 47 first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.

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By Rob Willis

A video presentation at the Drummond Golf 50th anniversary awards event in February began with a quote from famous businessman, investor, and philanthropist Warren Buffett. 

“Somone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago,” Buffett offered. 

The words were obviously carefully chosen by those tasked with charting the history of an organisation which from humble beginnings, from a seed planted by a man with vision and foresight, then taken forward by a group with business and marketing acumen, but more importantly a love of golf, has evolved into a golfing retail powerhouse.  

When the first Ray Drummond Golf Shop opened in 1974 in Bendigo, few could have foreseen the growth over the next five decades, to where Drummond Golf boasts 50 stores nationally to be Australia’s biggest golf retailer, by quite a margin. 

Ray Drummond grew up in Sydney, was a professional golfer by age 17, before being involved in a car accident in 1955 that left him with severe spinal injuries. He rarely played golf until invited to play in 1974 by a friend, a game that would revive his passion. 

Drummond, who passed away in 2020 aged 84, opened a Ray Drummond Golf store in Bendigo that same year, and the rest is history, with the 50th store recently opening in Booragoon in the Fremantle area south of Perth.  

Mark Abeyaratne, who became CEO in 2002, along with brother Ravi skilled in club fitting long before it became popular and almost essential, the pair having a major impact on Drummond’s success, growth and expansion. 

“In the 1970s golf off course retail was all but non-existent,” Abeyaratne began. “Ray had a store in Bendigo, Sharpies were a golf retailer in Sydney and the Hole in One serviced a good part of Melbourne.

“Ray was a true visionary as he was prepared to expand. He did this with Phil McKinnon, who in my opinion was the business brain. Ray was great at sales and marketing, Phil was the full package. 

“I first met Ray in 1980 as a customer and then in 1984 when he offered Ravi and me jobs.”

The newest Drummond Golf store in Booragoon, WA. 

The brothers politely declined the job offers, with Ray’s stores in the north and west of the state, rather they worked for Phil McKinnon and Rick Fitzpatrick in the southeast of Melbourne, closer to their club making and fitting client base, before being offered and accepting a franchise in Gippsland in 1986. 

Ownership of Drummond Golf, which had 11 stores at the time, would then change hands in 1989 with Vic Ruth taking over, followed by a rebrand a year later. 

Aware of the potential and with a vision to expand beyond the Victorian border, Abeyaratne, along with brother Ravi and future Board Member and Chairman Jonathan Madgwick, made approaches to buy the business. 

“I think our first approach was in the mid-1990s. In 2002 with the help of Bruce Green and Richard Hatt we were finally able to get Vic Ruth to the table to seriously discuss a purchase. 

“I convinced Vic Ruth and our partners, Ravi, Bruce Green, Richard Hatt, Jamie Cooke, Jonathan Madgwick, Tim Lewis and others, that we could open another 38 stores over a 12-year period. 

“The first three new stores opened in 2003 at Osborne Park WA, Northmead NSW and Hoppers Crossing, Victoria,” Abeyaratne recounted.    

Jamie Cooke, Head of Product for 13 years until 2015, before taking over as Drummond Golf CEO from Abeyaratne when he retired, is another to have a long association with the organisation and a considerable influence on the business. 

“I joined Drummond Golf in Bendigo in1992 as a retail staff member and three years later in 1995 purchased the franchise in partnership with Chris Wilkinson, who still owns the store to this day,” Cooke said. 

“In 2002 with Mark and Ravi and a small group of shareholders we purchased the franchise.” 

At the 50th Anniversary Drummond Golf Awards night, Brett Ogle (centre) with Ravi Abeyaratne, Mark Abeyaratne, Jamie Cooke and Jon Madgwick, men instrumental in the growth and success of Drummond Golf.

While Drummond Golf continue to grow and prosper, there were challenges along the way, with franchisees mirroring the struggles golf in general was facing, before an unlikely saviour resulted in a golfing upsurge. 

“From around 2008 particularly post the GFC, we noticed a decline in golf participation.
Club memberships had fallen below 400,000 and golf clubs were struggling. Participation in golf was around four percent of the population, by 2010 over 50 per cent of the golf clubs in Australia were struggling financially,” Abeyaratne took up the story. 

“This pattern continued for nearly a decade with the occasional peak followed not long after by a trough. Margins and operational costs continued to be a challenge as we could see store profits in decline. 

“Following the GFC many of our smaller suppliers were either struggling or had closed shop. In 2009 we enlisted Rick Fitzpatrick to help us set up our own distribution, not in competition to the major suppliers but to source stock at peak selling times that a group of our smaller suppliers provided.  

“Then came Covid. I’m reminded in April 2020 we were worried about how many franchisees would survive. By December 2020 golf participation was on a steep trajectory up and has continued ever since. 

“We estimate that over eight percent of the population consider themselves as golfers today. Regional and struggling metropolitan golf clubs have had a surge of new members with premium clubs now looking at significant waiting lists. 

“Female participation is on the increase as well, still below what is required or what it should be, but many more younger women have taken up the game,” Abeyaratne said.  

Cooke credits a collection of capable people within the business, in management, at Board level and amongst the staff and franchisees for navigating the challenges and playing a key role in Drummond Golf’s success. 

“Drummond Golf to the best of my knowledge is the only full franchised golf retail business in the world,” Cooke said. 

“Whilst we have significant shareholding in 10 stores, they are still run as a franchise business with a managing partner with ‘skin in the game’ in every store. That means from a Head Office perspective our entire business is about servicing the franchisees. We assist them with the day-to-day operations, training and the like. 

“When we acquired the business in 2002, we had 12 stores based in Victoria. In the nine years to 2011 we opened 37 new stores around the country, this was primarily due to Mark’s hard work as CEO at that time. 

“Critical to mine and Mark’s success in leading the business has been to have two strong independent Chairman in David Mattingly for the first 10 years and Jonathan Madgwick for the last 12. Through the 22 years we have also had Richard Hatt, Tim Lewis, Chris Morgan and Ravi serve as Board Members.

Mattingly, a marketing icon, became the inaugural Chairman when he joined the board in 2002.  

“David was responsible for the recruitment of Brett Ogle as the face of Drummond Golf but also drove the inception of our Premier Partner (PP) Supplier Program, which contained a relatively small group of key suppliers. We have maintained a fierce loyalty to the Premier Partner program to which I think all the partners see great benefit,” Cooke added.  

With the 50 stores, 23 Big Swing Golf franchises and potential for more, whatever they are doing, they appear to be on the right track, with golfers making Drummond Golf their number one choice for equipment and apparel. 

“Our commitment to the customer experience is probably what also differentiates us from our competitors,” Cooke continued. 

“The absolute key to delivering the supreme customer experience is the commitment of our franchisees. I think we’ve been a consistent choice because we’ve been consistent ourselves.

“It would be fair to say in the early days our marketing revolved purely around price and product however over the past 10 or so years we have made a conscious shift to make our marketing more than that. 

“Customer service, MiMatch club fitting and the Drummond Club have been key pillars in the Drummond Golf model for a long time.” 

From where it began, to where they are now, pioneers in the business now passed on such as Ray Drummond, Vic Ruth and David Mattingly, would be proud of where Drummond Golf finds itself today. 

“I am sure Ray, Vic and David are looking down at us and saying wow,” Abeyaratne said.  

Big Swing Golf  

Big Swing Golf, indoor golf, real fun and fast, has introduced golf to some, provided a golfing alternative to others, while bringing more men, women and juniors through the doors of the Drummond Golf stores of which they are a part. 

“The introduction of Big Swing Golf in 2014 started to help the franchisees and by 2018 was making a meaningful contribution,” Cooke explained. 

“Back in 2013 the golf industry was quite stagnant, and we were looking for ways to amortise high rent and wage costs. Mark floated the idea of creating an indoor golf business that could run in the evenings when the retail store had closed, thus Big Swing Golf was born.

“We travelled extensively through the UK and USA looking at whether anyone had made the concept work. Whilst there were quite a few golf simulator businesses we couldn’t find any who had blended the concept with retail.”

The simulators were implemented into the existing Drummond environment, however it became evident that the bright retail lighting didn’t create an ambience suitable to the evening entertainment concept.

Big Swing Golf  needed to become its own brand rather than just an offshoot of Drummond Golf and in 2017 Rob Oppedisano was appointed as the CEO, setting about creating what is now, as they say, ‘indoor golf, real, fun and fast’ in 23 venues. 

“As (Oppedisano) quite rightly says Drummond Golf is a retail shop and Big Swing Golf is an entertainment venue. With the high demand there is an argument to say we don’t have enough golf courses. That said, it has opened up great opportunity for us in our Big Swing Golf venues,” Cooke said.

A sentiment backed up by Abeyaratne.

“Our Big Swing Golf venues are booming, justifying our investment over the last ten years,” he said. 

Club fitting – MiMatch 

Fitting has been a key component of the Drummond Golf business for better part of 40 years, kicking off with ClubFit in 1991, before rebranding and through technological advances, advancing in more recent times to MiMatch. 

“In the 80’s Mark and Ravi, with the help of Phil McKinnon, embraced and established the fitting culture,” Cooke said. 

“Mark was the franchisee in Traralgon in the 90’s and with the help of a young university student by the name of Tim Lewis, created a computerised fitting system called ClubFit. 

“Whilst we still own the ClubFit trademark, we re-branded the system to MiMatch around 12 years ago. Ironically, Tim Lewis was one of our original shareholders when we purchased the franchise business, and he remains part of the shareholding group to this day.”

The future 

With 50 stores and approximately 530 staff Australia wide, and with plans for further expansion in the not-too-distant future, Drummond Golf continues to thrive. 

“From a Drummond Golf perspective, we have a great opportunity to expand into a few undeveloped territories and will aim to open 10-12 new stores in Australia over the next three to five years,” Cooke revealed. 

“In addition, we are also looking at a potential New Zealand expansion. 

“For Golf in general I think all stakeholders, golf clubs, retailers, wholesalers, etc, need to continue to challenge convention and make sure the game is as accessible to as wide an audience as possible.” 

The first Ray Drummond Golf store in Bendigo, Victoria.

50 Years of Drummond Golf 

1974 
Ray Drummond opens his Ray Drummond Golf Shop in Bendigo, Victoria.

1976
Ballarat store opens 

1977 
Melbourne store opens 

1978
Dandenong store opens 

1981 
Frankston store opens

1982 
Kew store opens 

1983 
Preston store opens

1985
Albury store opens 

1986 
Traralgon store opens 

1987
Cheltenham, Shepparton stores open

1989
Change of ownership, ray Drummond sells to Vic Ruth 

1990
Vic ruth begins Drummond Golf rebrand
Geelong store opens

1991
ClubFit, the world’s first brand independent computerised fitting program is introduced 

2002
Change of ownership
Mark Abeyaratne appointed CEO, Jamie Cook, Product Director, Ravi Abeyaratne, Marketing Director. David Mattingly Chairman or Board of Directors comprising Jonathan Madgwick, Tim Lewis and Richart Hatt. 

2003
Northmead, Osborne Park, Cannington, Darwin and Hoopers Crossing stores open. 
Brett Ogle becomes the face of Drummond Golf, and the Premium Partner Program is developed. 

2004
Mitcham, Taylors Lakes, Cairns, Dee Why and Casula stores open. 
Drummond Club  launches new national loyalty program. 

2005
The start of a period of growth for Drummond Golf
Maroochydore, Fortitude Valley and Taren Point stores open. 

2006 
Darlington, Enfield, Newcastle, Fyshwick, Underwood and Hervey Bay stores open

2007
Camperdown, Gosford, Lawnton, Mile End, Rockhampton and Woolloongabba stores open

2008
Burwood, Cambridge, Mandurah, Launceston, Carnegie and Port Macquarie stores open

2010
Townsville, Ashmore, Penrith, Warrawong (later Shellharbour) and West beach stores open 

2011
Mildura store opens
Drummond Club lifetime membership launched. 

2012 
Jonathan Madgwick becomes Chairman, David Mattingly remains on the Board

2014
West Burleigh, Tee Tree Gully stores open
ClubFit rebranded as MiMatch

2015
Drummond Golf rebrands as Australia’s biggest golf retailer, Mark Abeyaratne retires as CEO, Jamie Cooke takes over the role, Chris Morgan joins Board. 
And Big Swing Golf launches in Melbourne. ‘Indoor golf. Real, fun, fast’. 

2016 
Big Swing Golf opens in Camperdown, Penrith, Traralgon, Kew and Preston stores 

2017
Big Swing Golf opens in Dandenong, Frankston, Mitcham, Underwood, Virginia stores

2018 
Big Swing Golf opens in Albury, Carnegie, Cheltenham, Woolloongabba stores

2019
Big Swing Golf opens in Ballarat, Cambridge, Hoppers Crossing stores 

2020 
Big Swing Golf opens in Northmead store

2021 
Big Swing Golf opens in Dee Why store  
Launch of the new Drummond Golf brand campaign

2022
Launch of the Drummond Golf new and exciting brand identity 

2023
Fresh store rebrand and new interior design fit out begins
Drummond Golf store, including Big Swing Golf, opens in Booragoon,
Big Swing Golf opens in the Mile End store

February 21, 2024 
Drummond Golf celebrates their incredible 50-year journey 

The post Drummond Golf – 50 Years and powering on first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.

https://www.insidegolf.com.au/golf_industry/drummond-golf-50-years-and-powering-on/

THREE years ago, Golf NSW employed nine Regional Managers to look after regions in NSW, with the aim to provide face to face service to the clubs and to increase participation.

Gary Begg was employed to look after the NSW western and far western region, an area covering over 560,000 square kilometres.

Born in Leeton, NSW and a PGA Member for over 40 years having completed his apprenticeship at St Michaels Golf Club with Cyril Trist, Begg was very excited to take on the challenge of increasing participation in the Western Region which had suffered recent natural disasters of drought, flood, mice plagues, covid, and more floods.

Like all country golf clubs, volunteers are short on the ground and they struggle with player numbers and in some cases to keep the doors open.

Ready to go at Albert. The NSW Golf intitiative to provide golfing opportunity in Western NSW has been a success.

Clubs in the area include Coolah, Dunedoo, Binnaway, Baradine, Coonabarabran, Gilgandra, Narromine, Nyngan, Trangie, Albert, Cobar, Tottenham, Walgett, Brewarrina, Darling River (Bourke), Wilcannia, South Broken Hill, and Wentworth Sporting Complex (Near Mildura) and when Begg started, they had one junior in the region. Now through the work of Begg and Golf NSW there are 160 juniors that attend the various golf courses on weekends.

The ladies numbers have also increased with only five beginner ladies at the start of the program, to now having over 80 new ladies introduced to the game and trying golf and as a result most clubs are gaining new memberships from the clinics.

The beginner ladies are planning to start ‘Ladies on the Move’ in the next few months, which involves travelling to clubs in joining beginners from other clubs for a get together, to meet new friends, have plenty of laughs and to enjoy the experience.

Six Junior Golf Open gala days have also been planned for 2024, youngsters from the age of five attending and playing 3-9 holes on shortened courses, with some players at times making a 5-6 hour round trip to attend and take part.

The future is looking bright for the west and far west due to the initiative of Golf NSW board and CEO Stuart Fraser as they continue to forge ahead with efforts to grow the game in all regions of NSW. 

The post How Golf NSW is winning the west  first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.

https://www.insidegolf.com.au/golf_industry/how-golf-nsw-is-winning-the-west/

Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson will be at Augusta, however 2023 LIV Player of the Year Taylor Gooch and former Australian Open champ Abraham Ancer will watch on from afar.

BUNKER-TO-BUNKER…

By Michael Court

SORT it out guys – please?

Because let’s be completely honest here . . . the world rankings mean zilch at the moment.

Why?  Well, one example is the latest rankings have two-time major winner Dustin Johnson as the 266th ranked player in the world.

While another American you may not have heard of, Akshay Bhatia, is ranked in the top 100 (98th last time I looked). 

Isn’t that ridiculous?

Sure, Jon Rahm still has a top-10 ranking, but that may plummet unless he wins a major.

My point here is it doesn’t really matter what these ‘official’ rankings say.

A brace of these superstars of the game jumped ship and were well-paid to do so – but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten how to play – or how good they are – or were.

Multiple winner on the LIV Tour Taylor Gooch doesn’t get a start in the US Masters.

Why would he? He’s ranked 476 in the world.

Brooks Koepka does get a start, but his ranking has already slumped to 30 . . . and we all know he’s better than that.

Gooch even had the temerity to suggest there should be an asterix beside some of these events because not all the best players in the world are competing.

And maybe one day some of those events will carry a bracket to point out that they were played without some of the LIV players in the field.

I just watched Mitchell Starc go past the greatest of all our fast bowlers Dennis Lillee on the list of all-time wicket-takers in Test cricket.

Yet still they refuse to add Lillee’s wickets taken in the Super Tests during World Series Cricket when they were playing the ‘rebel’ Tests against some of the best players in the world.

Maybe one-day they will acknowledge those wickets . . . but they’re taking their time about it.

And it’s easy for Gooch and co not to be too worried about being excluded from the majors.

They only have to check their bank balances to feel a lot better about themselves.

The time will come when the major golf tours of the world and LIV do come to an agreement and those players will find themselves in their rightful spot in the rankings – and in the majors.

The question is – when? And how?

---

By Larry Canning

Absolutely!

Whatever view you have on LIV Golf and yes, I get the point the players who signed up knew what they were getting themselves into, but if the current system used by the Official World Golf Ranking’s people is the only one used to gain entry into the most historic four events our game has, then yes, it’s completely busted. 

If nothing changes with the OWGR system in the next 19 months and they remain the governing body overseeing the fields for the majors, then I fear for our great game.   

It might sound surprising but I’m not exactly in the loop with the various committees who run the four majors but for the sake of our magnificent game and the continued relevance these amazing, historic championships all have, I pray they all have a plan to ensure the best players on the planet all get to play in the biggest tournaments in the world.

Having said that, I have really no idea how to fix it. Maybe whatever is being announced on the eve of the Masters by the PGA Tour, might be the ultimate repair job. As Rory now says, “It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game.”

I guess we will find out in a couple of weeks when Jay Monahan, assuming he’s still the guy in charge from the PGA Tour, is hopefully announcing the result of, dare I call it, “The Merger”.

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By Michael Davis

I have always thought the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) were a nonsense.

And that was long before the emergence of LIV Golf.

Now if you’re going to discount all the good players who have crossed to the ‘dark side’ by joining LIV, then the OWGR are an absolute nonsense.

I can never quite come to grips with the complicated formula by which they are calculated anyway.

To me it means absolutely nothing that a player becomes No 1 in the world at any given time based on how he or she has gone over the past three years.

As far as I’m concerned, major winners have ‘bragging rights’ way over any consistent performer who can attain an elite OWGR number may (in theory at least) never have saluted in a major. 

It irked me, too, that golf long ago felt the need to join the far inferior sport of tennis and develop a world ranking system.

Now I can hear you all saying there is no better way to determine the field for any of the year’s majors than a ranking system.

But I beg to differ. 

The learned men at Augusta may initially pay lip service to the OWGR but then invite whomever they like anyway.

The USGA (US Open) and the R & A (The Open) should, in my view, base entry into the event around where you finished the previous year and then have the power to handpick golfers they want in their events.

But I know I am ‘whistling Dixie’ on this one.

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By Peter Owen

I’ve just about lost faith in the people who supposedly run world golf.

It’s nearly a year since the US-based PGA Tour announced plans for a merger with LIV Golf and the DP World Tour which is claimed would unify the game. 

But nothing’s happened since. Indeed, the gap between LIV and the PGA is wider than ever – LIV continuing to poach players with obscene amounts of money, and the PGA pandering to its high-profile players by giving them equity in their tour.

How does any of that help unify the game?

The problem is that both sides are led by people with dominant egos, who see this as a power battle that one side or another has to win.

They’ve lost sight of the reality that world golf belongs to the millions of club and social golfers who play each weekend, who tune in to watch tournaments each week, and who spend countless billions on equipment manufactured by sponsors who bankroll those tournaments.

Without them there is no golf industry. And they’re being treated with utter contempt.

Cameron Smith, for example, is currently ranked 54 on the official rankings – 10 behind American Jake Knapp – and wouldn’t be playing in the US Masters had he not won the 2022 Open. Talor Gooch, the hottest player on the LIV Tour last year, is officially 498th and worlds away from being invited to any of the majors.

Golf fans simply want to see the best players in the world competing against each other on a week-to-week basis. Until Jay Monahan and Greg Norman and their lackeys understand this fact, Official World Golf Rankings are meaningless, and we’re all being treated like mugs.

The post Considering the field for The Masters, and the likelihood a number of leading players from the LIV Tour will miss out on competing in the three 2024 majors to follow, is the current Official World Rankings system broken?   first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.

https://www.insidegolf.com.au/opinion/considering-the-field-for-the-masters-and-the-likelihood-a-number-of-leading-players-from-the-liv-tour-will-miss-out-on-competing-in-the-three-2024-majors-to-follow-is-the-current-official-world-ran/

It was a big day at Flinders for Byron Woods.

General Manager, Jon Gahan, tells us there has been “a bit of a buzz” around the Flinders clubhouse recently as a result of some fairly unusual events on the charming, picturesque little Mornington Peninsula course.

First and foremost, Gahan said, there have been three holes-in-one in four days. Even more unusually, the three aces all came on the same hole – the 12th.

It’s the signature hole dubbed Aunt Sally and overlooks beautiful Westerport Bay. The small, well-guarded green requires a precise short iron shot and measures 140 metres from the back tee and 124 from the ladies’.

“Two women achieved the feat within a half an hour of each other on a Saturday, Gahan said.

 “Then 81-year-old Len Martin ‘aced’ the same hole the following Tuesday.

“Not to be outdone, two days later, playing off a handicap of 34, our 96-year-old member Byron Woods had 44 points and won the daily competition by five. In doing so, Byron shot a gross 94 and therefore broke his age by two shots.”

The post Byron creates a buzz around Flinders first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.

https://www.insidegolf.com.au/news/club-news-news/byron-creates-a-buzz-around-flinders/