NEWS • GEAR • OPINION • TRAVEL • LIFESTYLE • HOLIDAYS • INDUSTRY ISSUE 240 // OCTOBER 2025 WWW.INSIDEGOLF.COM.AU AUSTRALIA’S M O S T - R E A D GOLF MAGAZINE KIWI HUNTING A BMW AUSTRALIAN PGA TITLE RYAN FOX JEFF GUAN COMEBACK ON TRACK GOLF POLITICS >SAVE ROSSDALE >VIC V CHELTENHAM HELP US DECIDE TOP 100 AUSTRALIA’S BEST PUBLIC GOLF EXPERIENCES AS VOTED BY INSIDE GOLF READERS 2026 INSIDE GOLF TOP 100 BEST PUBLIC GOLF EXPERIENCES CAM SMITH LOCKED IN FOR THE GOLFING SUMMER CLUB OF THE MONTH SANDHURST CLUB SPECIAL FEATURES > LIVING THE LIFESTYLE > GOLFING FASHION EQUIPMENT WE TRIED IT > PING iDi DRIVING IRON > PING i240 IRONS TRAVEL SOUTH AFRICA
TICKETS AT 4-7 DECEMBER 2025 THE ROYAL MELBOURNE GOLF CLUB MOMENTS THAT MAKE US TICKETS SELLING FAST DON’T MISS OUT Major champions, Rory McIlroy & Adam Scott will headline the 2025 men’s Australian Open when it returns to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
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October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au THE FIRST TEE 5 Embrace the change I’M not sure we have much choice, other than to embrace the change. Golf Australia is retiring the GOLF Link handicapping system in favour of a new digital platform, one which is planned to modernise, simplify and hopefully make handicapping easier for us all. By the time most of you pick up this October edition of Inside Golf, the new platform will be in place, you may have played a round or two and by then we will know how it might impact our handicaps and therefore those club competition rounds. I started with a system where each club had a handicapper, scores were lodged from comp play and after a bad day, where you didn’t manage to play to your handicap, +1 would be added. A handicap of 20.0 became 20.1 and depending on form, four more of those, to 20.5 and you’d be 21. Going the other way, a good day, 40-odd points maybe and that 20 might end up being 18 or 19. Seemed simple, but being labour intensive, I’m pleased I wasn’t the handicapper. After that it became automated, centralised and controlled by golf’s governing bodies, before we arrived at the GOLF Link system which has been in place for some time. Now here we are with another system to take us forward, one supposedly also more in line with what takes place internationally. So read on from Golf Australia with their digital upgrade explained. I guess we have little option other than to give it a chance. If it can perhaps add a shot or two to my handicap, I’d be grateful. Australian golf’s digital upgrade Australian golf is embracing a new high-tech era for golf with its biggest technology leap in more than 20 years. From October 2, the long-serving GOLF Link system was to be retired and replaced with a new national digital platform designed to make life easier for golfers, clubs, and administrators alike. “This is the most significant technology change in Australian golf for a generation,” says Damien de Bohun, Golf Australia’s General Manager of Clubs, Facilities, and Places to Play. “It has been designed with clubs in mind and to make administration simpler, give golfers a better experience, and set the foundations for the game’s future growth.” The upgrade aims to modernise handicapping, Golf Australia believing the old GOLF Link system was becoming limited. The new technology supports hole-by-hole score entry and runs more advanced calculations used internationally. Under the new system every GA Handicap will be recalculated under the updated Australian Rules of Handicapping, aligned PUBLISHER: Sam Arthur | sam@insidegolf.com.au Outdoor Sports Publishing Pty Ltd ACN 113 836 301 ABN 30 043 104 919 PO BOX 437, Miami, QLD 4220 EDITORIAL: Editor: Rob Willis | rob@insidegolf.com.au Editor-At-Large: David Newbery david@insidegolf.com.au NSW/ACT Journalist: Michael Court michael@insidegolf.com.au VIC/TAS Journalist: Michael Davis michael.davis@insidegolf.com.au QLD Journalist: Peter Owen peter.owen@outlook.com.au Design & Layout: Stacey Broomhead CONTRIBUTORS: Larry Canning, Tony Webeck, Michael Cooney, Andrew Crockett www.insidegolf.com.au SALES: National Sales: Sam Arthur P: 1300 4653 00 | M: 0410 575 303 E: sam@insidegolf.com.au Northen NSW/QLD/NT Sales: David Ross M: 0439 612 458 | E: david.ross@insidegolf.com.au NSW/ACT Corp Sales: David Andrews M: 0404 871 479 | E: david.andrews@insidegolf.com.au Sydney/NSW Sales: Michael Hamilton M: 0423 455 572 | E: michael.hamilton@insidegolf.com.au VIC/TAS/SA Sales: Marc Wilson M: 0419 107 143 | E: marc@insidegolf.com.au WA Sales: Gary Powell M: 0439 350 363 | E: gary@insidegolf.com.au ACCOUNTS: Sheridan Murphy M: 1300 465 300 | E: accounts@insidegolf.com.au Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au Distributed to over 450 golf clubs, social golf clubs, driving ranges and retailers Australia wide every month. Combined print and online national monthly readership over 210,000. AUSTRALIA’S MOST-READ GOLF MAGAZINE Cover photos: Ryan Fox - photo courtesy US Masters Media. Cam Smith - photo courtesy LIV GOLF. with the World Handicap System (WHS) in an effort to make handicaps fairer and more accurate, with predicted improvements including: • Consistent daily handicap calculations • A revised formula for 9-hole rounds. • Better expected scores for incomplete rounds using holeby-hole data. • Shorter courses and extra tees included in handicapping. • A refined Playing Conditions Calculation (PCC), backcalculated to 1 January 2023. For most golfers, the impact will be small — around half a stroke on average — but for some, particularly less-frequent players, the change may be more noticeable. The most visible difference for players will be the Official Golf Australia App, which will serve as the go-to hub to check handicaps, view scoring history and calculate daily handicaps. The app connects seamlessly to the new golfer portal at GOLF. com.au, giving golfers a central home for their game. Over time, new features will be rolled out including enhanced statistics and insights, and integration with tee-time bookings. It will also enable clubs and golfers not using third-party apps to run and join competitions, score hole-by-hole and access course information. Once deployed, these features will support smaller clubs that previously lacked digital tools to manage competitions and scoring through the app, while golfers can continue to use paper scorecards if they prefer. Clubs already using systems such as MiClub, GolfBox or SimpleGolf will keep them, with the new national platform providing extra stability and integration. There will be no extra cost to golfers or clubs, with the new platform fully funded through existing affiliation fees. The changeover was carefully planned, with handicapping services offline from 10:00pm AEST on 28 September until 2 October, while MiClub clubs will complete integration by 10 October. Golfers will still be able to view their handicap during this period, but no new scores can be entered until the upgrade is live. More than 1,900 clubs have already participated in Golf Australia’s onboarding program — including info packs, webinars and training sessions. Old GOLF Link numbers will now become a permanent Golf ID — for life. Unlike in the past, where numbers might change when moving clubs, individual Golf ID’s remain consistent wherever a golfer plays. New golfers can create a Golf ID free of charge, giving them instant access to the app and their personal golfer portal at GOLF.com.au. During the changeover, Golf Australia have boosted its Customer Service Centre, with the Helpdesk available seven days a week at help@golf.com.au or by calling 03 7037 0400. Get in touch If you have an opinion on this or any other topic in the magazine, send your letter to the editor to rob@insidegolf.com.au and you’ll be in the running to win a gripping prize. ULTRALITE JMX UltraLite™ BIGGER IS BETTER 2x major winner bryson dechambeau
October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au 6 AFTER 163 PGA TOUR starts, 30 top-five’s and following six runnerup placings, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood can finally call himself a PGA TOUR champion. And while not a major championship, it was close to the next best thing, with Fleetwood’s first tour title coming at the FedEx Cup Tour Championship, an event which brings together the top 30 players from the season-long points list. Fleetwood closed with a final day 68 at the East Lake course in Atlanta, for a 72-hole total of 18-under par, good for a three-shot victory over Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay. The 34-year-old Fleetwood had won eight times worldwide before Tour Championship week, including some of the DP World Tour’s biggest titles, but had previously come up short on the PGA TOUR. “About (expletive) time,” Fleetwood said in summing up his long list of frustrations and near misses prior to the breakthrough win. Scottie Scheffler had gone into the week as the red-hot favourite, following five wins during the year, including two major championships, however the world number one would finish in a tie for fourth, four shots behind the winner. INSIDE NEWS Top 100 – Help us decide! AS announced in the September edition, Inside Golf is compiling a list of Australia’s Top 100 Public Golf experiences. To be revealed in the November 2025 issue, we’ve asked you our readers to have your say and to help us decide just which are the best public golf courses, the best golfing experiences around the country, in what is a nationwide call to action. Now in our 20th year, this is Inside Golf Magazine’s first course rankings list - and with the help of the Australian golfing community, we aim to get it right. “Public golf in Australia is incredibly important, and the quality and variety of courses we have here is world-class. We’re so lucky to live in a country where we can access and enjoy these golf courses all year round,” Inside Golf Publisher Sam Arthur said. “We know course rankings are always a personal thing, not everyone will agree, but we’ll do our absolute best to get it right. We can’t wait to see which courses make your Top 100.” Our aim is to honour the standout courses, those that offer exceptional value and unforgettable play, public courses accessible to every golfer, from casual players and weekend warriors to the seasoned campaigners, either as fully public, pay-to-play, or via limited guest access. Visit www.insidegolf.com.au/top-100/ to see the carefully considered criteria and let us know which courses are your favourites, with every submission helping build and deliver a more authentic, inclusive list. The deadline for submissions is October 14 so don’t delay. Every entry counts. INSIDE NEWS IN THIS ISSUE AMATEUR GOLF 18 CLUB NEWS 30 CLUB OF THE MONTH LETTERS FASHION ON THE FAIRWAYS 42 41 54 PRO NEWS 7 INDUSTRY NEWS 21 TRAVEL 51 LIVING THE GOLF LIFESTYLE 44 News, views and observations from around the golfing world With Inside Golf Editor Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au NEW GEAR - WE TRIED IT 62 NEW GEAR 60 Tommy Fleetwood is finally a winner on the PGA TOUR after taking out the FedEx Cup Tour Championship. 65 64 EVENTS DEMO DAYS INSTRUCTION 63 19TH HOLE 66 GOLF DIRECTORY 68 RORY McIlroy, who is headed for the Australian Open in December, has spoken of his plans to change up his schedule in an effort to contest more national Opens. However, for all the national championships on his hit list going forward, there was likely none he wanted to win more that his ‘own’ Irish Open, with McIlroy accomplishing that feat with a thrilling victory at the event played at the K Club in County Kildare. Chasing a second Irish Open title, McIlroy holed an eagle putt from around 30 feet on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren, before claiming victory on the third extra hole. For the 2025 Masters champion, it was a win he’ll remember for some time. “I thought it was going to be nice coming home with a Green Jacket, but this has exceeded all expectations,” McIlroy expressed. “I love coming home. I love playing in this atmosphere. Moments like this, these are the things you’re going to remember well after your career is over. This is a really special day.” Both before and after the event McIlroy has spoken about the significance of national opens and his desire to play a varied tournament program, one which will include more international events. One of the first beneficiaries of McIlroy’s new schedule will be the local galleries at the Australian Open, with the world number two the major drawcard for the event which tees off at Royal Melbourne on December 4-7. Rory’s happy homecoming Following a win at the Irish Open, Rory McIlroy is headed for Australia in December. TOP 100 AUSTRALIA’S BEST PUBLIC GOLF EXPERIENCES AS VOTED BY INSIDE GOLF READERS 2026 INSIDE GOLF Fleetwood captures the FedEx Cup Scheffler’s remarkable run continues WHILE he didn’t manage to secure the Fed Ex Cup title, Scottie Scheffler showed no signs of letting up with a sixth victory for 2025 at the Procore Championship in California in midSeptember. Scheffler began the week with a lacklustre, by his standards at least, round of two-under par 70, before clicking into gear, with subsequent rounds of 68-64-67, for a 19-under par total, seeing him run down third round leader and Ryder Cup teammate Ben Griffin in winning by one stroke. During a remarkable 2025 campaign, now including the Procure event Scheffler had played 20 PGA TOUR events, making all 20 cuts, for six wins, including major victories at the PGA and Open championships, 16 of the 20 he placed inside the top 10 and was inside the top 25 at every tournament appearance. The last time Scheffler had finished outside the top 10 was back in March at the Player’s Championship. The BMW Golf Cup – the world’s largest tournament series for amateur golfers THE 100,000 amateur golfers around the world taking part in the BMW Golf Cup, the largest international tournament series for amateur golfers, tackle the event knowing they have a chance to win their way into the World Final. BMW has invited the top performers from roughly 50 countries since 1995, to a unique, professional-standard international tournament, played on breath-taking golf courses, with outstanding evening and off-course events, while giving competitors the opportunity to forge friendships with fellow golfers from around the world. The international highlight is just one of many reasons behind the popularity of the BMW Golf Cup, with the national qualification tournaments featuring similar charm and class. On Australian shores BMW dealer pre-qualifying and qualifying tournaments have taken place from February through until the end of July, sponsored by BMW Australia and individual Australian BMW Dealers, with the event now culminating in the 2025 BMW Golf Cup National Final. This year to be held at The Pines at Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club (Men’s A and Dealer Host) and The Links Golf & Wellbeing at Hope Island (Ladies & Men’s B), teeing off on October 12, those to have qualified are starting their proverbial engines and getting their games into gear, in pursuit of national glory. And as a bonus, to perhaps book a place in the World Final.
October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 7 HE will have to beat a field including the cream of Australia’s golfing talent however Ryan Fox will be on a mission to become the first New Zealander to win the BWM Australian PGA Championship in more than 25-years. A two-time winner in the US in 2025 and a proven world-class performer, Fox returns to compete in Australia for the first time since 2022. “It’s going to be a great Summer of Golf in Australia and being part of it at the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland is something I’m very much looking forward to,” Fox said. “I had some good success on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia in my very early days on Tour which helped to give my career a nice kick along. Winning one of the big tournaments like the PGA would be a real highlight.” The success on the Australasian Tour about which Fox speaks included the Order of Merit title in 2019, a year in which he won the ISPS Handa World Super 6 event in Perth, a tournament co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour. A soft outer feel with an engineered interior for a grip built for comfort without sacrificing control. A SIX-TIME winner on the PGA TOUR, with a DP World Tour victory and an individual triumph on the LIV Golf Tour to his credit, Marc Leishman has committed to three tournaments on home soil later this year in leading the Aussie charge during the golfing summer. With LIV having wrapped up for 2025, Leishman winning for the first time at LIV Miami, the Victorian will turn his attention to the Australian summer, and to contesting three tournaments in three states – the BMW Australian PGA Championship in Queensland, Australian Open in Victoria and Nexus Advisernet Bowra & O’Dea WA Open. “The BMW Australian PGA Championship and Australian Open are two of my favourite events on the calendar each year, like they are for all the Aussie players. I’m also so excited to be playing the WA Open at Mount Lawley, a course that I’ve heard plenty about,” Leishman said. “Winning at home would mean a lot to me, and to have three chances to do that before the end of the year is very exciting.” Leishman to lead the Aussie charge Leishman will start his Australian swing on October 16 with an appearance in Western Australia at the recently renovated Mount Lawley Golf Club, from there the Warrnambool native has committed to play the BMW PGA in Brisbane, then the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne during the first week of December. In what was his 16th appearance at the Australian PGA Leishman came close to capturing the title just 12 months ago, before finishing in a tie for third behind winner Elvis Smylie, while in an indication of his liking for the Royal Queensland course was also third behind Min Woo Lee in 2023. The past two champions in Lee and Smylie, along with Adam Scott, Cam Smith, the 41-yearold Leishman, Cameron Davis and New Zealander Ryan Fox, will head up a stellar field for the PGA Championship, which tees off from November 27-30. Marc Leishman has committed to playing three tournaments on Australian soil prior to Christmas. One month later, Fox beat Sam Burns in another playoff to win the RBC Canadian Open. With Fox to be joined by Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori, as well as a number of exciting young guns, the New Zealand contingent will be aiming to become the first from their country to win the BMW PGA Championship since Greg Turner in 1999. After a breakthrough year on the PGA TOUR, Ryan Fox will be confident of his chances of becoming the first Kiwi winner of the Australian PGA in 26 years. Can a ‘Fox’ steal the Australian PGA title? Along with his two PGA TOUR titles, Fox has won all over the world, including four victories on the DP World Tour in Europe, three in Australia and two wins in both the Fiji and Tahiti Opens. After cutting his teeth in the professional game in Australia, New Zealand and in the South Pacific, Fox earned a European Tour card in 2017, finishing fifth at the Open de France and tied for fourth in both the Irish and Scottish Open’s during his rookie season. In February of 2019, Fox won his first European Tour event, at the cosanctioned World Super 6 Perth, beating Adrian Otaegui 3 and 2 in the final, then three years later won his second European Tour event in February 2022 at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, his 22-under-par total five shots clear of Ross Fisher. Courtesy of finishing second on the season long DP World Tour Race To Dubai points list, Fox would win a PGA TOUR exemption in 2023, before going on to claim his first PGA TOUR event, at the Myrtle Beach Classic, chipping in for birdie from on the first playoff hole to beat Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs. BMW AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ROYAL QUEENSLAND GOLF CLUB NOVEMBER 27-30
October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 8 WITH a global legacy, BMW’s commitment to golf is far from a marketing gimmick - it’s a long-standing, strategic partnership that has been in motion for decades. The BMW International Open in Germany has featured on the European Tour schedule since 1989, the BMW PGA Championship, played at Wentworth in the UK for over 40 years, last month with a star-studded field and won by Swede Alex Noren, also enjoying a long association with BMW dating back to 2005. Add to that the BMW Championship on the PGA TOUR, formally the Western Open, one of the longest running events in professional golf in the US, and a tournament which is now a part of the FedEx Cup playoff series. Contested Young gun Elvis Smylie will return to the scene of his breakthrough win in 2024 when he contests the BMW Australian PGA Championship in late November. Smith locked in for RQ IT’S been a poor year by his own lofty standards, but Cameron Smith will be hoping to change all that around when he competes in the BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in late November. He was always expected to contest a tournament that he’s won three times – twice at Royal Pines (2017 and 2018) and once at RQ (2022) – but tournament officials were nevertheless relieved when he confirmed his appearance in September. “It is no secret I love playing in Brisbane in front of the Aussie fans, who are among the best in the world, and the Australian PGA is without question one of my favourite events each year,” he said. Smith, 32, can only be disappointed with his efforts this year. He’s had five top-10 finishes in LIV events, with fourths in Miami and Mexico, both in April, his best results. Smith missed the cut in each of the four majors and his Official World Ranking has plummeted to 246th, though that measure has lost any real meaning since the advent of LIV. Ironically, his best performance in the last 12 months was in last year’s Australian PGA, when he was narrowly beaten by fellow Queenslander Elvis Smylie, who will defend his title in this year’s event, scheduled for November 27 to 30. Also in the field are 2023 champion Min Woo Lee, two-time champ Adam Scott and PGA Tour winner, Kiwi Ryan Fox. Revered as the winner of the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews, Smith is a 12-time winner as a professional, including three LIV victories and one team championship as the captain of the all-Australian Ripper team. He’s played the Australian PGA 10 times previously, for eight top-20 finishes and clearly loves the course – almost as much as he loves the fans who flock to RQ’s riverside circuit. “The crowds are always incredible, especially for the locals like myself. Their support combined with love of golf is great to see and the party hole is a fun place to be every round,” he said. Offering a prize purse of $2.5 million, the Australian PGA Championship is co-sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour, and has attracted a strong contingent of European golfers. – PETER OWEN Rob Willis rob@insidegolf.com.au from 2007 onwards with BMW as the major partner, the FedEx Cup playoff event is another example of the prestige automobile brand carving out a deeprooted legacy in elite golf. While in 2022, that same legacy began taking hold in Australia, BMW becoming the first company to partner with all three national governing bodies – Golf Australia, PGA of Australia and WPGA Tour of Australasia – all under the banner of Australian Golf. And this year’s summer of golf will again be highlighted by a third year of BMW’s naming rights partnership with the PGA of Australia and their flagship event, the BMW Australian PGA Championship, a tournament which tees off on November 27 and is again set to be a feature of the Australian sporting summer. Elvis Smylie, a BMW ambassador, returns to the scene of his breakthrough win at Royal Queensland in 2024, with the young Queenslander looking to again capture the coveted Joe Kirkwood Cup. BMW Australia also has a presence at key local tournaments, private club activations, and luxury lifestyle events, providing discerning golfers the opportunity to engage with the brand not just as drivers, but as enthusiasts. As BMW Australia strengthens its presence in the golfing world, the alignment between the brand and the sport becomes increasingly undeniable. “BMW and golf are aligned through shared values—a meticulous attention to detail and the pursuit of excellence,” said Alex McLean - General Manager - Marketing, BMW Group Australia. “Joy is at the centre of everything we do. Golfers understand what makes a drive truly exceptional, both on and off the course.” OCTOBER 31ST – NOVEMBER 2ND, 2025 THURGOONA COUNTRY CLUB RESORT www.nswsenioropen.com.au COME AND WALK THE FAIRWAYS WITH AUSTRALIA’S GOLFING LEGENDS SCAN HERE TO REGISTER FOR FREE ENTRY BMW and Golf: A shared drive
October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 9 Located on the shoreline of the Shoalhaven’s majestic Mollymook Beach, Mollymook Golf Club prides itself on unrivalled panoramic ocean views, friendly service, and a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere to warmly welcome our members and guests. The Beachside Clubhouse is the perfect venue for dining, relaxing or for special occasions featuring the Beachside Bistro, Café, Kiosk and Salt & Spencer Restaurant. Enjoy world-class golf at our awardwinning Hilltop Championship Course or our 9-hole Beachside Resort Course with two clubhouses that showcase the South Coast’s premier leisure and entertainment destination. Welcome to Mollymook Golf Club HILLTOP 2 Clifford Close, Mollymook NSW 2539 | BEACHSIDE 72 Golf Avenue, Mollymook NSW 2539 | (02) 4455 2055 | www.mollymookgolf.com.au Martin a three-time tour winner VICTORIAN Andrew Martin claimed a third PGA Tour of Australasia title in winning the Tailor-made Building Services NT PGA Championship. A last round 71 on a day where players battled 34-degree heart and blustery winds which baked the Palmerston Golf and Country Club course, was enough for Martin to register a 13-under par tournament total and a two shot win. New South Welshman Nathan Barbieri, who has six top-three finishes without a win over the past five years, was one of four players to shoot 69, the lowest score on Sunday. Barbieri finished second, with Jake McLeod outright third at nine-under. For the 41-year-old Martin it was his third victory in the past four years, adding to earlier wins at the Webex Players Series Sydney and Victorian PGA Championship. This time around he managed to win with his wife, Rachel and mother Robyn, on hand to congratulate him beside the 18th green. “It’s pretty special. The two times I’ve won, they haven’t been there, even though one was in Victoria, but it was on the other side of the bay,” Martin said. “It is special to have them here, but my mind was firmly on the golf and trying to hit golf shots today. “I think it’s just getting better with age as they say. I’m probably trusting my game a bit more. You don’t have to do anything too special, you’ve just got to play to what is best for me.” His wife Rachel and mum Robyn were on hand to help Andrew Martin celebrate his third PGA Tour of Australasia title at the NT PGA. was only eight metres. I’m like, oh, OK. That’s a great start. “It didn’t help that after I hit the ball. I had no idea where it was either. “So yeah, it was a bit of a weird, rough start as well as some unfortunate breaks on the fairways on the early holes, but that’s just golf and that’s just the game. “But hey, that’s why I enjoy it.” Guan conceded that he would probably never get the sight back in the injured eye. “I’ve recently had a bit more light perception in the eye,” he said. “So right now I’ve got a prosthetic cover in front of my eye that I’ve put in, and the perception’s getting a lot better day by day. “I think that was the first sort of step that I had to overcome, picking up a bottle, driving a car, that sort of stuff before I even had the chance to play golf again. “It’s very stable at the moment, which is a great sign. “Hopefully it stays that way.” Despite not making the 36-hole cut at the NT PGA, it was a successful comeback to tournament golf for Jeff Guan. HE may have missed the cut, but nobody left the Northern Territory quite as happy as 21-year-old professional Jeff Guan. The young Sydneysider completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in golf when he played his first serious tournament, the NT Open, after losing the sight of his left eye in a freak accident on the golf course almost a year ago. There were times when the rookie professional thought his lifelong dreams had been shattered after an errant golf shot struck him in the eye while playing in a pro-am on the NSW South Coast. The two-time Australian Junior champion admitted there were times getting back to pro golf seemed a bridge too far as he battled with such a serious injury setback to his fledgling career. “I think teeing off the first was genuinely a great feeling,” said Guan after completing a first-round three-over 74. “I wasn’t nervous at all from what I predicted the past couple of days,” Guan said. “There were a lot of mistakes out there and heaps of room for improvement. “But I’ll definitely take this as a good heads-up for the next couple of days.” Guan, who was to miss the cut, said it was just crazy to think about where he was . . . both now – and then. “I didn’t think I would be back playing tournament golf this year,” he said. “Four months ago, I was in hospital, and I wasn’t even allowed to walk as I had to keep my eye stable. “I really appreciate all the support that I have received. “Really that’s what has kept me going.” Guan said a heavy fog that settled into the course during his first round made it even more interesting. “I took out my rangefinder on the first tee and I was trying to laser the tree at the back and then all of a sudden it Michael Court michael@insidegolf.com.au Comeback on track as Guan returns to tournament golf
October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 10 A pioneer of Australia’s travelling golfers One of the leading Australian professionals of his era, Stewart Ginn was always the snappy dresser. STEWART Ginn is in a reflective mood sitting on the banks of the River Kwai in Thailand. He is not long back from a train trip to visit the war memorial honouring Australians who lost their lives on the infamous Thai-Burma Railway. Twelve allied soldiers lost their lives, 250,000 were forced into labour camps and 90,000 civilians died due to Japanese brutality during the building of the railway in WW2. “What these Diggers went through was horrendous. Not just the Australians who fought but the English and the Americans. It’s unbelievable when you visit the museum,” he says. At 77, Ginn, admits he does “slow travel” these days – in contrast to his much younger days as a genuine international golfer when he and his fellow Australians Bob Shearer, Jack Newton, Ian Stanley, Graham Marsh and Terry Gale flitted in and out of Asia, the UK and the USA chasing big purses. “Just think of this too, Brian Jones (popular NSW professional) had a tour card in Japan when he was 17 if you don’t mind. “We had to do it,” Ginn says, “there wasn’t much money on the Aussie tour and we had to play around the world.” “Older guys like Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle, Bruce Crampton and Bob Charles had shown us the way.” Ginn says it was nothing for any one of them to fly across the world to play in Australia, usually landing the night before a big event and arriving on the first tee sleepless and heavily jet-lagged. Indeed, he reckons one of his best wins – maybe even the highlight of his stellar career Michael Davis michael.davis@insidegolf.com.au – came after he flew into Melbourne overnight from Japan, hit 50 balls on the practice fairway and headed for the first tee. It was the 1979 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Melbourne and he emerged victorious with a winning score of 284. As usual, he cut an immaculately dressed traditional plus twos as he hoisted the winner’s Joe Kirkwood Cup. “That was probably the win which stands out the most for me. To win it and beat the field I did including Seve (Ballesteros), Gary Player, Jack (Nicklaus), Hale Irwin and an emerging, young Greg Norman. Seve was a star and played everywhere. He used to the say ‘the further you get from home the smaller the golf hole becomes’. Classic Seve. “I had grown up living in a house across the road from the 12th hole on the East Course at Royal Melbourne, had caddied there as a kid, and won the caddies’ championship when I was 11, ‘whipping’ Bruce Green (who went on to become the RM club professional),” Ginn says Even better was the fact that his mother, Elizabeth and father, Paxton, were in the jampacked gallery to witness it. Ginn says promoter, Tony Charlton, was a visionary ahead of his time in Australia with the manner in which he brought huge galleries to local events. “He was LIV before LIV in a way,” he says. “Greg Norman has always been a mate of mine and I reckon what he’s helped to do with LIV is fantastic, taking the game to new audiences on a grand scale. Golf is genuinely a world game now. And young kids want to play it. Years ago Greg (Norman) tried to introduce a world tour with (then) PGA Tour commissioner, Tim Finchem. It never got off the ground.” These days Ginn is based in Malaysia working for MST Golf which supplies all the simulators and indoor golf set ups around the country. He still teaches the game. He often visits his native Tasmania to see three of his four children – Sarah, Selby and Sophie and their grandchildren. His son, Stewart Junior, lives in the US where he played College golf before pursuing a business career. He has two adopted children from war torn Ukraine and is about to adopt another from Mali. Ginn senior says proudly he and his wife Virginia “will soon have 12 grandkids.” Although based in the US, Ginn’s son is heavily involved with Matthew Goggin in the Seven Mile Beach golf development in Hobart. “This is a spectacular development which will become as successful long term as Barnbougle and Lost Farm. It is on the most pristine, links style land equal to the best in Scotland and Ireland.” A snapshot of Stewart Ginn’s golfing success – tournament wins • 1973 Tasmanian Open • 1973 North Coast Open • 1974 Martini International • 1975 Tasmanian Open • 1975 Victorian Open • 1979 NSW PGA Championship • 1979 Australian PGA Championship • 1979 New Zealand Open • 1980 Tasmanian Open • 1986 Malaysian Open • 1986 Tasmanian Open • 1991 Malaysian Masters • 1992 Indian Open • 1995 Golf Digest Tournament Stewart Ginn is now based in Malaysia, working for MST Golf.
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October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 12 “You have got to enjoy a good round when they come along,” he said. I ask him about his coaching philosophy. “I try to keep it pretty simple – the basics like the grip and set-up,” he said. “Nine times out of 10 you’ll see club golfers make the same mistakes. “They either come over the top or hang back trying to lift the ball in the air. “I teach people to get on top of the ball and compress it – hitting down on it. A lot of people are scared to take a divot, but I tell them to give it a rip.” And what about a tip for club golfers reading this piece? His advice is the three ’Ps’ - practice, practice, practice. “A lot of club golfers don’t practice, and they should if they want to improve,” he told me. La’Cassie is a massive rugby league fan and enjoys supporting all the Queensland teams – Broncos, Titans and Dolphins. And the mighty Maroons, of course. “I go to the State of Origin every year to cheer on the Queenslanders,” he said. “I’m always happy to see them winning. “And I support the Queensland teams. I’d like to see the Titans do better, but it’s good to see the Broncos and Dolphins going well.” You’ll find the affable 42-year-old in the Gailes pro shop most days of the week where he’ll happily offer to help improve your game on the range and even talk rugby league. Favourite son Bronson drawn back to Gailes GC IN former touring professional Bronson La’Cassie’s world Gailes Golf Club in Brisbane is his second home. It’s a club he has left several times to chase his dreams, but he has always been drawn back to the club where he honed his skills as a junior and became one of Australia’s best amateur golfers. In 2003, La’Cassie packed his bags and headed for the US and the University of Minnesota’s golf program, won the 2006 Western Amateur and later graduated with a marketing degree. He turned professional in 2007 and spent a decade playing in the playfor-pay ranks on America’s secondary Web.com Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) and had a brief stint on the PGA TOUR as well as playing in Asia and Australia. “I had a good year in 2013,” he told Inside Golf. “I finished sixth on the money list after winning the last tournament of the season (Cox Classic – 21-under par) and in 2014 I played the US PGA Tour. “I didn’t do well and went back to the Web.com Tour in 2015.” In 2018, when it was time to start a family, he returned to Australia and went back to Gailes where he completed his PGA bridging course, which allowed him to work as a teaching professional. David Newbery david@insidegolf.com.au Then, in 2022, La’Cassie decided to leave the club to start an electrical apprenticeship. “I wanted to try something different and did that for two-and-a-half years, but it didn’t work out and I was offered my old job back at Gailes earlier this year. “I grew up playing golf at Gailes and when I finished school I started working on the ground crew,” La’Cassie said. “Bronson has a long history with the club having gone from being a successful junior here to college in the USA, then the Web.com Tour and the US PGA Tour before moving back to Australia to complete his PGA trainee bridging course at Gailes,” McCarthy told Inside Golf. “He loves the place and is a strong advocate of membership here.” La’Cassie, Gailes’ favourite son, said: “Yes, I do love the place … you don’t realise what you have got until it’s gone. “I’m very happy to be back,” he added. And he remains a very good ballstriker and proved that recently by firing a score of eight-under par off the back tee blocks. Former touring professional Bronson La’Cassie has returned to his old stomping ground at the Gailes Golf Club in Brisbane. A formidable amateur, he won the 2001 club championship at Gailes GC and was selected to represent Queensland and later the national squad. La’Cassie’s interest in golf started when he was six. “Dad (Colin) took me out to Algester and Jack Brown was my first coach,” he said. “When I was younger, I played a lot of different sports like rugby league and soccer and didn’t really get serious about golf until I was 14.” Now he’s back at his beloved Gailes Golf Club and this time it may be for good. The club’s general manager Frank McCarthy said before resigning last month to pursue other business interests that La’Cassie was passionate about Gailes GC. ‘Bronson has a long history with the club having gone from being a successful junior here to the US PGA Tour.’ www.bonvillegolf.com.au BOOK ONLINE Experience the Beauty
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TWO late birdies in Friday’s second round of the Kumul Minerals PNG Open have the potential to change the trajectory of Morgan Annato’s life and establish a pathway between Papua New Guinea and professional golf. Playing in his national Open for the seventh time, Annato shot 2-under 70 in Round 2 at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club to make the cut in the largest field ever assembled for the PNG Open. He then went on to shoot the lowest score of the third round, a 67, before eventually finishing in a share of 34th. It was the fifth time Annato played on the weekend against the leading players from the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, but potentially the most important thanks to a lure from a personal sponsor. “I got a dream. I think some of my sponsors want to send me down to Aussie to do a Q School,” Annato said. “They told me that as soon as you made the cut, we would send you down there, but I’ll just wait for them. I’ll fix my visa and all sort of things and then they’ll send me down there.” It is a potentially historic opportunity for a country that has never had a player earn status to play the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. Nelson Gabriel and the late August Peni are acknowledged as PNG’s greatest male professional players, but neither played tournaments in Australia. It is the third straight year that Annato has made the cut, a feat he attributes to putting on greens that can confound visiting players. “Some of them are missing those short putts. And then for me, I just come and bang it in,” he added. “It’s my own culture here. I get more advantage.” Advancing golf in Papua New Guinea has been a growing focus with each staging of the PNG Open since 2016. Junior players were given the opportunity to learn from the professionals in a Junior Pro-Am, 20 leading amateurs were granted exemptions into the field and the PNG Women’s Open was staged for the first time. Each represents an important step down the path of a Papua New Guinean golfer one day joining the world stage. Queenslander Crawford a two-time PNG Open champ QUEENSLANDER Cory Crawford displayed his liking for the Royal Port Moresby Golf Club course with a second victory in the Kumul Minerals PNG Open. The site of his first PGA Tour of Australasia title in 2017, the 32-year-old Crawford teed off five strokes adrift and more than an hour before the final group, before producing a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Sunday, for an 11-under par total and a four-stroke win. It was Crawford’s third victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia (2017 PNG Open, 2024 Vic PGA). “First time, I had no idea what I was doing,” Crawford said of his breakthrough win eight years ago. “This time, it was really structured and means a lot more because so much has gone into it. “It feels really good. To win a golf tournament is so hard, as everyone knows. To be able to win this, it’s really special.” Third round leader Lincoln Tighe was one of five players to finish in a tie for second, along with Will Florimo, Jake McLeod, Ben Henkel and recent PGA Membership Pathway Program graduate Zach Ion. The first PNG Women’s Open was staged in conjunction, with Coffs Harbour’s Amelia Mehmet-Grohn finishing two strokes clear of Kathryn Norris. By Tony Webeck “It’s a step in the right direction,” said PNG Prime Minister, Hon. James Marape. “Sport does sell our country’s image. Sport does inform the world who we are. And here you have professional golfers coming from right across the world to come in to play in Port Moresby. “This is also a stepping stone for some of them into future professional careers. You never know, we wish each player who’s come here all the very best in their own golfing careers.” As the PGA Tour of Australasia embarks on its new season, longtime Tournament Director Graeme Scott expressed the hopes of the PGA of Australia that players from PNG will become regulars on Tour sooner rather than later. “It’s very much our goal to have your aspiring professionals and young players coming to play on our Tour,” Scott said. “It’s the closest professional Tour to them and so we would very, very much like in the future to see young players coming forward.” Cory Crawford captured a second PNG Open title. PNG’s Morgan Annato has his sights set on tackling the upcoming qualifying school and to potentially playing on the PGA Tour of Australasia. October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 14 Could Morgan be the first from PNG to play the Australasian Tour? 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October 2025 www.insidegolf.com.au PRO NEWS 15 Woodhouse goes full ‘circle’ and onto the world stage WHY would one of Australia’s most prominent golf coaches quit his job as the head of an academy that he spent 15 years building into a world class golf training facility? It’s a question that even Richard Woodhouse, twice voted Australian PGA Coach of the Year and the long-time Director of Instruction at KDV Sport on Queensland’s Gold Coast, struggles with. “KDV Sport was more than a workplace for me,” he said. “It was my home. We had a vision to build something special and that vision became a reality. “I am proud of the facility we created and of the incredible athletes and culture we developed along the way,” he said. Woodhouse’s decision to leave KDV Sport and join Circles, an international data platform and high-performance consultancy, surprised some friends and colleagues, who were aware of how much KDV meant to the Kiwi. Yet, Woodhouse has always been one to look to the future, to improve and develop as a coach, and to constantly evolve and explore new horizons. His new role as Circles’ high-performance consultant provides him with the opportunity to do exactly what he loves – taking elite golfers and making them even better - despite spending 30 weeks a year traveling internationally. At Circles, Woodhouse consults with elite golfers – both amateur and professional – offering a holistic and data-driven approach to performance analysis and athlete management. Leveraging Circles’ analytics platform, Woodhouse identifies the most critical areas for player growth, creating targeted development programs that are responsive to the daily and weekly shifts in an athlete’s needs. “Circles takes the guesswork out of performance improvement, allowing us to precisely diagnose and target where an athlete can gain a competitive edge,” he said. “Circles is evolving into a comprehensive player support model,” Woodhouse said. “We cover technical, strategic, physical and A PGA legend turns 99 VENERATED Metropolitan teaching professional, Brian Twite, turned 99 recently and had a great day with his family and friends. He also had a message for the hundreds of golfers of every standard whom he has taught to play the game since arriving at Metropolitan from Sunningdale, England, in 1955. “Keep practicing as there is always tomorrow.” Twite has not only taught at Metro but also at many public golf facilities. Until recently he drove 100 kilometres once a week to the Mornington Peninsula where he was just as comfortable at the Truemans Road driving range, where he imparted his wisdom to all comers, from young tradies to retirees. It was very rare for a first timer not to be able to get the ball off the ground after just one lesson from Twite. His patience and softly spoken approach could imbue confidence in the worst golfer in the world. Once asked if there was ever anyone he found impossible to teach, Twite paused briefly. Word had filtered through that the nephews of a former Prime Minister needed golf lessons. After a while, Brian politely suggested golf may not have been their game. Metropolitan had planned to send Brian to Royal Portrush for the Open Championship this year but ill-health intervened. He is the oldest living player to play the first Open staged at Portrush in 1951. Brian Twite (centre, pink/red sweater), surrounded by his family on his 99th birthday. mental aspects of the game. This approach bridges the gap between practice and on-course performance, driving measurable results.” Woodhouse’s career began as a trainee at Nelson Golf Club in New Zealand and saw him earn multiple coaching accolades in Australia, embodying the growth mindset that Circles promotes. “Circles is a company that aligns perfectly with my own values - performance-driven, objectively focused and dedicated to helping athletes with world-class aspirations reach their potential,” he said. For Woodhouse, joining Circles is about embracing innovation to redefine how elite golfers develop and compete. He says it reflects his commitment to staying at the cutting edge of athlete performance, preparing players not just to participate, but to succeed at the highest levels of global competition. Woodhouse moved to Queensland’s Gold Coast in 2007, becoming a senior teaching professional at Royal Pines until 2012 when he joined KDV Sport’s golf academy. He has twice been honoured as Australian PGA Coach of the Year (2016 and 2020) and has earned Queensland PGA Coach of the Year accolades four times. While at KDV, he also served as an assistant coach with the Queensland Academy of Sport and as Golf Australia’s Queensland High Performance Coach. By Peter Owen Richard Woodhouse on the lesson tee with one of his clients. By Michael Davis
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