Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

The agreement on March 8 listed ways in which the two bodies would work together for the common good. What are the opportunities and initiatives that might flow from this? Lunn: Well, the ALPG has three employees and the PGA of Australia more than 50, so it was a no-brainer for us. To be able to tap into the PGA Tour’s resources and develop projects together is a great opportunity for us. We’ve identified 10 broad areas where we can work together for the benefit of the game. At the moment, it’s more big-picture, in-principle stuff – such as joint pitches to government, joint sponsorships, greater efficiencies and so on – but we’ll be working hard this year to drill down and develop the detail around those opportunities. Kirkman: The aim is to give professional golfers, men and women, one voice and one joint representative body. As Karen has said, we’ve identified all these areas where we can help each other. One of them is a high-performance mentoring program where professionals such as Rachel Hetherington give hands-on advice and mentoring to young pros starting out on tour. There is so much duplication of effort between the two organisations that we’ll be able to identify all sorts of efficiencies – and those savings we make will go towards growing the game. Are mixed gender events, such as the Victorian Open, the way of the future? Do you see other state opens or smaller tournaments adopting a similar template? Lunn: Absolutely. The model clearly works; it ticks the boxes for players, sponsors, galleries and TV. So I think what Golf Victoria has done, with the support of Dan Andrews and the City of Geelong, is fantastic. When you consider where the Vic Open has come from, it must be the fastest-growing sports event in Australia. Virtually all the feedback I got from the women that week was positive. So there are discussions about how we can introduce that template to other tournaments and I think, over time, that will happen. Kirkman: We think it is the way of the future, definitely. The players probably don’t want mixed-gender events every week, but they certainly want to see more on the tournament schedule and participate in more. Tennis does this so well during their Grand Slams – having the men and women play at the same time under the same conditions – and I think we’re just scratching the surface with this concept in golf. So we want to talk to other states and see if the Vic Open template can be transferred to other state opens. The WA and Queensland Opens, for example, represent a great opportunity to use the Vic Open template. It’s just a matter of getting the right date and making sure the best players are available. Both The ISPS Handa Vic Open, won by Celine Boutier and David Law, is the way of the future. Pros unite ... (from left) Karen Lunn, Richard Green, Rebecca Artis, Lucas Herbert, Su Oh and Gavin Kirkman at the launch of the ISPS Handa Vic Open. Golf Victoria 17