Attack on public golf “completely inaccurate and, in many instances, blatantly wrong”
Another month and another ill-informed, destructive newspaper article attacking public golf, and this time it comes via The Australian newspaper.
Nikki Gemmell is a wonderful Australian author and journalist but her latest opinion piece in The Australian “Reclaim the Fairways” is a woefully misguided and ill-informed attack on public golf.
Gemmell’s piece attack’s golf in general and she regularly confuses the very accessible Australian public golf with that of the more expensive, private club golf.
It’s a frustrating read, especially for those of us who prefer and cherish the grassroots, openly accessible public version of the game that does inhabit space within all of Australia’s big cities.
Rod Morri has again gone into bat for golf and penned an articulate response for Golf Australia Magazine.
The Misinformed Attack on Public Golf addresses each of Gemmell’s arguments in good faith, despite Morri being dismayed by the number of misconceptions in the original article.
“Like so many non-golfers, Nikki Gemmell has a view of the game which is completely inaccurate and, in many instances, blatantly wrong.
Yet she is confident enough in those views to espouse them – without any apparent research or consideration of opposing points of view – in a national newspaper.
I don’t point any of this out to be disrespectful to Nikki Gemmell. She is a best-selling author and highly regarded in her field.
But on this particular topic it is difficult not to get frustrated with having to correct the same misconceptions over and over again.”
Morri has openly invited Gemmell, Clover Moore and Jenna Price (who have also attacked Australian public golf) to chat on the Good Good Golf podcast to discuss the disagreement further.
It remains to be seen if any of them will respond or accept the invitation.
This is lengthy but I think important. It's also a good opportunity to make a public, open invitation to @CloverMoore, @NikkiGemmell and @JennaPrice to join us on the @_GoodGoodGolf podcast for some civilised discussion to better understand each other's point of view. https://t.co/513Pc80G2I
— Rod Morri (@Rod_Morri) February 22, 2021
Re Niki Gemmell’s article.
I fail to see why golfers bother to fight against closing, or at worst reducing the land area, of public golf courses.
Any Australians that have the slightest interest in politics knows that the vocal minority is more important to our politicians than the majority, especially if the former is aligned with the Greens.
Don’t bother fighting it will only lead to disappointment and high blood pressure.
regards
Doug McKean
Public golf courses have been there for decades, doing no harm to the general public. It is a hugely popular sport, and one that sees quite a few Aussies at the forefront in world golf rankings. I am retired and play a variety of public and semi-public courses on a rotational basis at least twice a week. I organise a group of 11, and the joy and exercise it provides us is immeasurable and hugely important to us ‘oldies’. It also gives us a huge annoyance at the recent rise in ‘politically correct’, ‘vocal minorities’ and the things they get away with, thanks to our apathy and the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude.