It's time to find out who is the Visionary of the Year. An award celebrating the fantastic work being done across Australia to promote gender equality in golf.
Over the last two years, Golf Australia have found a fantastic way to highlight the great work that is being done at grassroots level to get more women into golf. Whether it's the club committee, volunteers or the current women's section, through sharing golf club stories Golf Australia has brought women's golf to the fore and also included best practice advice to those clubs who are looking to grow.
Visionary of the Year is an honour that rewards outstanding initiatives within the golf community that show great leadership towards gender equality while inspiring, educating, and empowering others to follow.
Three finalists were chosen from the monthly winners, the 2022 finalists were Mount Macedon Golf Club, Barwon Valley Golf Club and Tony Craswell - find out more here. Votes were cast by the Australian public to find an overall winner.
Visionary of the Year 2022 winners
On a day that marked 40 years since the destruction of Mount Macedon Golf Club in the Ash Wednesday fires, the club has proven just how far it has come since that day…
Mount Macedon Golf Club has officially been crowned as the 2022 Visionary of the Year for their work as allies in getting more women into golf.
In recent years, 10 male committee members at the club have shown an exceptional example of how men can be powerful allies in making golf a sport for all by working with new women at the club.
It has also been a shining example of how a small, regional club can overcome common barriers associated with its size and location.
Marcus Ward, club secretary and Bruce Fraser, committee member were invited online to learn if the club had won the 2022 Visionary of the Year.
Visionary of the Year 2022 presented by Karrie Webb
Australia’s greatest major champion, Karrie Webb, popped up on screen - then came the big news that small, regional club had won $10,000 of products from the latest Callaway REVA product range – designed specifically for women’s golf.
“This is all so wonderful,” said Marcus.
“The success of our on-going programs and result is thanks to a whole of community effort including club volunteers, members and committee, the Dalhousie District, the entire Macedon Ranges community and local press.”
Middle-aged white men often get a bad press in golf, so it is brilliant that we are also able to celebrate men like Marcus and Bruce championing the sport to women. We know from the last two years of Visioniary of the Year that they are not alone and it is fantastic to see so many male allies who are so passionate about growing the sport.
Nominations for Visionary of the Year 2023 open on March 1, 2023. For more information on Golf Australia's Vision 2025 please visit their website here.
