Australian ‘Home of Golf’ will house museum and Hall of Fame

Australia’s leading golf bodies join forces in bold bid to build a national ‘home of golf’.

PGA director Peter O’Malley, Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt and PGA of Australia CEO Brian Thorburn at Parliament House.

Australia’s leading golf organisations are uniting together in bid to build a national ‘Home of Golf’ which would house a museum and a Hall of Fame.

The PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and Golf Victoria have joined forces to secure both Federal and State Government funding to build a national ‘Home of Golf’, one of the most significant contributions to the golf industry in decades.

In addition to the proposed museum, the three golfing bodies have decided to unify the administration areas of the PGA of Australia, Golf Australia and Golf Victoria to improve services to the 1,650 golf courses, 140 golf driving ranges and 2,200 PGA Professionals around Australia; the benefits of which will be seen by the approximately 1.2 million Australian golf participants.

As yet, no site has been finalised for what will be a purpose-built development but Melbourne is the preferred location.

The parties believe the National Home of Golf will help to grow the game and ensure a sustainable and successful long term future through the development of world class educational, training, research and administration facilities.

“For years industry fragmentation has hampered our collaborative efforts, so there’s no bigger move than to have the key players operating under one roof,” said Brian Thorburn, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA.

Estimated to carry a $32 million price tag, the planned development will help to ensure a sustainable future for the game through the development of world class educational, training, research and administration facilities.

“As a sport, it’s important that we continually look for ways to work more closely together and the Home of Golf would be a significant step forward in that process. The potential impact that the property would have runs well beyond efficiencies in administration – there is the potential to make it a shining light in research and development, training and athlete preparation in Australian sport,” said Stephen Pitt, Chief Executive Officer of Golf Australia.

“The adjoining Museum and Hall of Fame concept gives the sport the chance to pay tribute to those who have made a huge contribution to Australian golf and it becomes a place of interest for Australian golf fans to visit.”

On their most recent trip to Canberra, Thorburn and Pitt were joined by PGA Member Director and Tournament Professional Peter O’Malley for a series of meetings with Government representatives.

The project is yet another example of the industry’s commitment to collaboration and follows the recent announcement that for the very first time the PGA and Golf Australia are championing a single, unified national junior golf program, MyGolf.

There was a time in Australian golf when there were multiple competing organisations within the industry that were all doing their own thing, with little collaboration or communication with each other.

Common sense, financial pressures and more amicable administrations has led to these three Australian golf organisations uniting with a great proposal for the future of the game in this country. Let’s hope everyone stays united and this proposal gets the backing it needs.