Australian Masters Leaving Huntingdale
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 23, 2008 10:38 AM EDT
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I have to admit a fondness for Australian golf. I've never been there, but would love to go - and see my Sydney Swans play an Aussie Football League match. That's why I'm happy to have Grant Dodd on the blogroll, and a new addition called Aussie Golfer. Short of going there, Dubai, South Africa, the UK and Ireland, and Argentina, these are my best bets for getting the real feel there.
I learned through Aussie Golfer of some sad news coming out of the Aussie Triple Crown - the Aussie Masters, Aussie PGA, and Aussie Open. Huntingdale, which has served as host of the Aussie Masters for its 29 year history, is now out as part of the Melbourne government's intervention to save the event.
The government has stepped in with financial backing which will secure the tournament - which has been without a naming rights sponsor - in Melbourne for the next three years.
However the tournament's long association with Huntingdale Golf Club - it's been the sole venue - is set to end after this year's event, to be held from November 27-30.
The Masters, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next month, will rotate around other Melbourne sandbelt courses from next year.
Tournament organisers have also promised to deliver a quality field in 2009-2010 which will include at least three players in the top 25 on the World Golf Rankings list to complement Australian players.
The Aussie Masters is not the only event getting state government support. New South Wales has propped up the Australian Open to ensure it remains in Sydney through 2015.
In a way, this is good. The tournament lives on and more courses in the Melbourne area will get to host. In another way, though, it shows the struggles of Australian golf events to compete with the US PGA and European Tours. The talk of the OneAsia concept - which I spoke with Ben Sellenger about this year on the show - has not produced a definitive schedule for 2009 or even 2010. While the growth of the European Tour may be good for golfers seeking more money, it may have very adverse side effects on Tours that are struggling to maintain or grow.
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Biting my tongue...
…not gonna start it again… :-D
Actually, I was wondering how much the government bailout of the horseracing industry over the last few years handicapped (pun intended) their ability to back the golf tournaments.
(if you hadn’t heard, Australia’s multi-billion dollar horse racing industry had never had a case of Equine Influenza until 2007 thanks to their extremely strict screening system – but somehow – 2 horses from Japan got through the system, and now they will have to deal with the problem until a complete cure is found. They had to shut down the industry for quite a while, and since the industry is government backed, everybody associated with horse racing from the food and beverage people to jockeys and trainers and track owners were paid by the government – plus they had to put vets to work innoculating the horses and investigators to figure out what happened)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Oct 23, 2008 10:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Whoa
I did not know that. And that’s the kind of random knowledge that makes WR’s readers/contributors the best around!
I do not know much about Australian politics or popular political theory, but I did not take Australia for a left-leaning society. I’m not sure where I got that impression, though.
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 23, 2008 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Aussie Politics
Australia is an entire continent country – but the population isn’t really all that big. Small countries have a better chance of doing well in a socialist type of arrangement than a huge country like the US. They still have their parliament and regular elections, so they do have a bit of control over politicians who might want to make outrageous changes. (besides – if Aussies get into a disagreement – it can usually be solved over a nice pint) :-)
(Democracy worked for a little while back in ancient Greek city-states where they were only dealing with a few hundred or thousand people. But hey – I have a friend who’s father forbade her from living with an odd number of girls in a house or apartment. He told her that sooner or later, 2 would gang up on 1 and the problems start. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what’s for dinner) :-)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Oct 23, 2008 11:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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