Australian Golf Passport

The Women’s Australian Open is being held at Kooyonga this week, and is co-sanctioned by the LET. The field is strong and hopefully we see a return of the buzz created by year on year staging of the Women’s Australian Open as a stand alone event in late summer in Adelaide. We take a look at the field and briefly discuss the weeks of lead-in women’s golf in Australia.  We then speak with Zoee Dolling, past Club Captain at Kooyonga about the event, the course, and her golf journey. Zoee is a relatively recent convert to the game but has dived in to golf head first! She shares her enthusiasm for women’s golf, her Club and this event. We also get into a little broader discussion on golf across the state of South Australia, including the imminent opening of The Cliffs on Kangaroo Island, and the next few years of the LIV Adelaide event. Thanks so much to Zoee for chatting with us!
 
As mentioned in the episode – interstate and overseasvisitors who wish to play Kooyonga can enquire via this link - https://www.kooyongagolf.com.au/cms/golf/playing-at-kooyonga/visitor-golf-enquiry/
Last minute ticket purchases to the Women’s Australian OpenGolf at Kooyonga can be made here - https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=GOLFAUS26
 
And for those who want to see more of The Cliffs course atKangaroo Island - click here - https://thecliffs.com.au/cms/
 
And a special treat – a 40min highlight package from the1972 Australian Open contested over Kooyonga, won by Peter Thomson. https://youtu.be/5F2BQxhPe-Y?si=SWgTn3obsrGDZBgd
 
Our Podcast is published with support from Angus And GraceGo Golfing. Check their insta page and website for some of the best golf apparel on the planet. The latest Australian Golf Passport cap and tee have both sold out but there’s tons more cool stuff in store. We thank Matt – our OG partner!
 
Thanks to Dean and everyone at Seed Golf – they continue toprovide 20% off for Australian Golf Passport listeners via the code AGP at checkout. Get your hands on some premium golf balls at a super low price. Once you’ve tried them you will be so thankful.
 
Images related to this episode can be found on our Instagrampage (@AustralianGolfPassport) and on Twitter / X (@AusGolfPassport). Images accompanied by attribution to their owners / creators.
 
Podcast intro music - Nbhd Nick / Stop Playing With Me-Instrumental / courtesy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.epidemicsound.com

A long overdue catch-up with friend of the pod Lukas Michel, who has spent the past three years building his career in golf design while also keeping his hand in competitive amateur golf.
From helping to build 7 Mile Beach to working on a couple of course's in people's backyards, and testing his construction skills at Royal Perth, Lukas has had plenty to keep him busy.
And in between all that, he's still holding his own in Aussie amateur golf.
We put this podcast together with thanks to Matt Burns and his staff at Angus And Grace Go Golfing. Check their insta page and website for some of the best golf apparel on the planet. The latest Australian Golf Passport cap has almost sold out - grab one while you can.  And check out the latest refresh of the classic AAGGG shorts – perfect for summer golf!
Thanks to Dean and everyone at Seed Golf – they continue to provide 20% off for Australian Golf Passport listeners via the code AGP at checkout. Get your hands on some premium golf balls at a super low price. Check their website for Seed merch too – caps, gloves and other goodies available, as well as the new model of the SD-02.
Images related to this episode can be found on our Instagram page (@AustralianGolfPassport) and on Twitter / X (@AusGolfPassport). Images accompanied by attribution to their owners / creators.
Podcast intro music - Nbhd Nick / Stop Playing With Me -Instrumental / courtesy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.epidemicsound.com

We both walked the new Royal Sydney course last year and were high on the incredible Gil Hanse renovation, but did Scott's thoughts change after two rounds there during January?
We put this podcast together with thanks to Matt Burns and his staff at Angus And Grace Go Golfing. Check their insta page and website for some of the best golf apparel on the planet. The latest Australian Golf Passport cap has almost sold out - grab one while you can.  And check out the latest refresh of the classic AAGGG shorts – perfect for summer golf!
Thanks to Dean and everyone at Seed Golf – they continue to provide 20% off for Australian Golf Passport listeners via the code AGP at checkout. Get your hands on some premium golf balls at a super low price. Check their website for Seed merch too – caps, gloves and other goodies available, as well as the new model of the SD-02.
Images related to this episode can be found on our Instagram page (@AustralianGolfPassport) and on Twitter / X (@AusGolfPassport). Images accompanied by attribution to their owners / creators.
Podcast intro music - Nbhd Nick / Stop Playing With Me -Instrumental / courtesy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.epidemicsound.com

We are joined by stats guru Assoc Prof Dr Davis McCarthy for this episode as we do a post-mortem on the inaugural Australian Golf Passport rankings.
We debrief on the process of releasing our own rankings list and tackle almost two hours of listener questions on the rankings, the panel and the process of crunching the numbers.
Davis chats about the statistical process behind the final positions, about how fine the margins are between some courses, and what could be done for the next rankings to produce an even more robust result.
The discussion moves around a little as we get to various questions, and occasionally discuss specific courses, and golf centric topics like grass, routing, and more.  Thanks so much to Davis for all his expertise and help - we couldn;t have done it without him!

Davis’ bio is here for those interested - https://www.svi.edu.au/researchers/dr-davis-mccarthy/
The books we mentioned during the episode:
Grounds for Golf by Geoff Shackelford
Golf Architecture for Normal People by Geoff Shackelford
Spirit of St Andrews by Alister MacKenzie
Two GCA threads mentioned in the podcast:
St Andrews Beach review by Kyle Henderson
How to assess a golf course architecturally

We put this podcast together with thanks to Matt Burns and his staff at Angus And Grace Go Golfing. Check their insta page and website for some of the best golf apparel on the planet. The latest Australian Golf Passport cap has almost sold out - grab one while you can.  And check out the latest refresh of the classic AAGGG shorts – perfect for summer golf!
Thanks to Dean and everyone at Seed Golf – they continue to provide 20% off for Australian Golf Passport listeners via the code AGP at checkout. Get your hands on some premium golf balls at a super low price. Check their website for Seed merch too – caps, gloves and other goodies available, as well as the new model of the SD-02.
Images related to this episode can be found on our Instagram page (@AustralianGolfPassport) and on Twitter / X (@AusGolfPassport). Images accompanied by attribution to their owners / creators.
Podcast intro music - Nbhd Nick / Stop Playing With Me -Instrumental / courtesy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.epidemicsound.com

We get the New Year going with a bang, reviewing the 2025 goals, handing out the now annual Australian Golf Passport awards, and setting some goals for 2026. With a nod to the guys at NoLayingUp, the annual goals episode has become a regular for us, and we hope it motivates you all to set your sights on some achievements and personal development for the coming 12 months.
 
As mentioned in this episode – recent bushfires in central Victoria put Cathedral Lodge in peril – read more about that here – https://www.astma.com.au/news-item/21868/cathedral-lodge-and-golf-club-impacted-by-victorian-bushfires
 
And Will Watt’s latest publication Contours is available –grab a copy here! https://www.booktopia.com.au/contours-william-watt/book/9781761451669.html?msockid=3e7a9e593d7b672209c68ec43c91665e
 
We put this podcast together with thanks to Matt Burns and his staff at Angus And Grace Go Golfing. Check their insta page and website for some of the best golf apparel on the planet. The latest Australian Golf Passport cap has almost sold out - grab one while you can.  And check out the latest refresh of the classic AAGGG shorts.
 
Thanks to Dean and everyone at Seed Golf – they continue to provide 20% off for Australian Golf Passport listeners via the code AGP at checkout. Get your hands on some premium golf balls at a super low price. Check their website for Seed merch too – caps, gloves and other goodies available, as well as the new model of the SD-02.
 
Images related to this episode can be found on our Instagram page (@AustralianGolfPassport) and on Twitter / X (@AusGolfPassport). Images accompanied by attribution to their owners / creators.
 
Podcast intro music - Nbhd Nick / Stop Playing With Me -Instrumental / courtesy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.epidemicsound.com