8th September 2020
News Archive
2nd September 2020
Keperra Bowl – Female First / Golf Australia Article
The Keperra Bowl has rapidly risen to become one of Australian amateur golf’s most cherished prizes.
And even amidst the tumult of 2020, the proactive Keperra Country Golf Club in Brisbane’s north-western suburbs is taking another key step to securing that mantle.
Entries for the 2020 edition, to be played from 13-16 October, open today — and for the first time in its 16 years, there will be a female crown up for grabs.
It’s a move that Keperra general manager Gavin Lawrence said was “only logical” for the national rankings tournament.
“We all know that women’s golf is critical to the future of the sport and, to be honest, this has been something of a void for us, so we’re delighted to introduce women to the Keperra Bowl,” he said.
“From Marc Leishman as our first men’s winner and onwards, we’ve got a great honour roll and we’d love to see that become exactly the same in the women’s (division).
“Everyone at the club’s right behind it and very supportive, so we can’t wait.”
Golf Australia’s female pathway manager and former Vic Open champion Stacey Peters was equally excited.
“It’s fantastic that the decision was made to have a women’s field join such a prestigious and well regarded event,” she said.
“We’ve felt a lot of momentum building around female golf lately and the more we see clubs get behind this concept, the better it will be at all levels of the game.
“We commend Keperra for being so proactive and encourage all clubs to consider such moves to help us promote the equality we’re striving for as part of Vision 2025.”
The field will comprise 136 men and 36 women, with additional non-exempt entries balloted out based on GA handicap at 30 September.
A pair of 36-hole cuts will reduce the fields to 40 (and ties) and 21 (and ties), respectively, for third-round play.
1st September 2020
Website/MiClub offline Monday Evening
Members, please be advised the Club’s Website and Software systems will be offline due to the service upgrade from Monday September 7th from 8:30pm until Tuesday September 8th at approximately 5:00am. It is expected the Club website will not be accessible between these hours.,
25th August 2020
COVID-19 Club Update
On 22 August 2020, the Chief Health Officer (CHO) put in place several revised measures to respond to new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Queensland.
Businesses operating under a COVID Safe Plan were not impacted by these most recent changes, which fortunately included Keperra CGC which also operates under a COVID Safe Industry Plan & COVID Safe Checklist.
The community has entered a critical stage, and it’s important to adhere to the directions from the CHO to protect our fellow Members, Guests & Staff.
The new restrictions were not extended to licensed premises/clubs on the condition of continued strict adherence to the guidelines included in COVID Safe Plans.
Among other things, we must ensure:
- Members, Guests & Visitors to the Club observe physical distancing
- Patron numbers are limited to the maximum permitted levels
- In every instance, personal details for Members, Guests & Visitors MUST be collected accurately, including arrival & departure times.
- Any Person showing any symptoms do not enter your venue.
More recently there has been member requests to relax some of the COVID operational changes introduced both on and off the golf course. The COVID operating plans of the Club are under constant review by management and are formally reviewed monthly by the Board. Mindful of the most recent events, current operating practices which are endorsed by Golf Australia and form part of the Clubs COVID Safe Plan remain appropriate & necessary.
It is imperative that we remain vigilant, conscious of our responsibilities & importantly continue to keep each other safe.
Gavin Lawrence
General Manager
24th August 2020
James Sutherland appointed CEO of Golf Australia – GA Article
Golf Australia has appointed James Sutherland its new chief executive. Sutherland, 55, will begin his role from 1 October after an exhaustive recruitment process had yielded several quality candidates for the position. Golf Australia chairman Andrew Newbold said it was “exciting” for golf to have attracted a candidate with vast experience in sport, with Sutherland having been chief executive at Cricket Australia for 17 years.
“James has a resume that is long and distinguished and I’m delighted that golf will be able to tap into his vast knowledge and resources as we push into a new era,” Newbold said.
“He did so much in cricket at so many levels from playing to financial and corporate to stakeholder relations.
“But one of the things that stands out to me was when I saw the MCG filled with almost 100,000 people to watch the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup this year, then contemplated the switch and modernising of goals and attitudes to have achieved that objective. I see that as a tremendous achievement by James and his team. “He knows what excellent and elite look like and I can’t wait for him to impart his vision on the broader golf industry.” Sutherland, a former first-class cricketer with an accounting, coaching and management background, guided and oversaw a time of great change in Australian cricket, including a tenfold increase in revenue, a 500 per cent lift in corporate sponsorship and a 250 per cent spike in participation, including a tenfold boost in the female game and development of a gender pay equity plan. He played a key role in the development of the BBL and WBBL, which reinvigorated cricket’s fan base and built new and valuable commercial assets for the sport. Most recently, Sutherland has been working as chairman of the Live Entertainment Industry Forum as it seeks to find a path through the current pandemic for sports and entertainment businesses around the country. “I’m genuinely excited to have the opportunity to work in golf, obviously for Golf Australia, but more importantly for the sport around the nation,” said Sutherland, himself a keen golfer. “These are challenging times for us all, but I know that Andrew and his board have positioned us well to cope now and thrive later. “I’m really looking forward to advancing that work and helping unify, modernise and grow golf to be a sport that welcomes people of all backgrounds and grows to achieve its enormous potential.”