The PGA of Australia, 90 years old and still growing stronger - Brasier Golf
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19 Aug The PGA of Australia, 90 years old and still growing stronger

Posted at 11:05h in Editorial by

Born out of frustration and disputation 90 years old ago, the Professional Golfers’ Association of Australia stands testament today to what can be achieved when dedicated people contribute to achieving a common goal.

While the immediate goal of the 15 professional golfers who gathered in Carnegie Clarke’s shop adjacent to Royal Sydney Golf Club to form the PGA on September 19, 1911, may have been to simply improve their lot in life, they initiated a ground swell movement which became the major force in fostering the game of golf in Australia.

From that humble first meeting has sprung an association which boasts about 1950 male and female members and is not only the second oldest PGA in the world but also one of the most respected.

Not only has the PGA of Australia produced golfers who have matched and beaten the best in the world but it also has a reputation for producing some of the world’s best teachers of the game.

The 15 professionals combined for the historic first meeting three days after the eighth Australian Open had been played and won by Carnegie Clark for the third time. It followed some published complaints concerning the poor change room facilities and generally shabby treatment of the professionals who were the star players at the Open.

But there is no reference to those problems in the minutes of the meeting as recorded and published in the excellent book by Colin de Groot and Jim Webster, Pro Golf, out of the Rough, an illustrated history of professional golf in Australia.

It seems the professional realised that it was more important to consider the bigger picture of organising how to foster the game in Australia and they set about at the first meeting to elect chairman of the NSW and Victorian sections of the PGA.

Dan Soutar was unanimously elected Chairman and J Victor East, the first apprentice golfer in Australia, and R S Banks were elected the honorary secretaries of the NSW and Victorian sections by a similar vote. The first item of business was the setting of annual membership fees and these were accepted to be 10 shillings and sixpence for senior members and five shillings for juniors.

The PGA of Australia was at forefront of golf organisations around the world with only the British PGA being formed ahead of it.

The Australian PGA became affiliated with the British in 1912 and New Zealand followed in 1913 with the US the final major PGA being initiated in 1916. The PGA of Australia has been at the forefront of professional golf around the world since 1911 and remains one of the leading groups with plenty to celebrate in its 90th years.

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