Just on a year ago, two board members of the Australian Golf Foundation – Richard Allen and Chair Stephen Spargo – approached Andrew Thomson with a proposal.

The AGF is the national fund-raising body for golf in Australia, established by Golf Australia in 2018. It has raised $5.3 million for the sport with results that include the phenomenally successful AGF Girls Scholarship Program. Its lofty ambition is to “transform lives through the power of golf”.

Thomson is the son of five-time Open Champion Peter, a writer and a thoughtful contributor to the sport in this country. Crucially, he liked their idea, which was to create a Peter Thomson Society, firstly to formalize the legacy of arguably our greatest-ever player but just as importantly to provide a conduit between the AGF in its philanthropic aspirations and golf-loving people.

The society was launched with the family’s imprimatur during ISPS HANDA Australian Open week at Victoria, Peter Thomson’s primary club. Ian Baker-Finch, 1991 Open Champion and a person who has acknowledged his debt to Peter Thomson for his mentorship and support over many years, spoke about their relationship.

As Andrew Thomson observed, the venue – the bar at VGC – was perfectly appropriate. In 1950 it was a group of members of VGC who met in that same room and decided to raise funds to send the young professional Peter Thomson away to play the New Zealand Open.

As an aside, when Thomson won the 1954 Open Championship (the first of his five) the same group of members held a celebration in the same room, and when the player himself was invited, some members took exception because he was a PGA Professional.

In those days, professionals were treated like petty criminals by some clubs, but as Andrew Thomson told it: “Dad said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m coming in’. That was the beginning of the end of that convention that professionals couldn’t come in the clubhouse.”

What is the Peter Thomson Society? It is a vehicle through which people can make a bequest to golf via the AGF.

Of course, bequests are an awkward topic but Andrew Thomson said they need not be. Andrew Thomson himself drew some laughs at the launch when he suggested wryly that thoughts about wills are necessary for people “like me, who are in the evening of their life”.

The end result, it is hoped, will be that golf flourishes and in particular, barriers will be torn down. Cameron Wade, Executive Director of the AGF, is one who believes that it is imperative that the sport embraces a broader and diverse range of people.

“Many Australian families face significant financial barriers that prevent their children from participating in sport, including golf,” said Wade.

“These challenges are even more pronounced for children in regional areas, low-income households, or those from culturally diverse backgrounds.

“AGF is dedicated to making golf accessible to all, where every child has the opportunity to experience the joy of golf, and develop a lifelong passion for the game. This, in turn, ensures the continued growth and success of Australian golf.

“We are committed to breaking down barriers, and ensuring that no child is turned away due to a lack of resources or their background.”

The AGF is only six years old, but its impact has been immediate.

The AGF Girls Scholarship Program has handed out 3071 scholarships to girls aged between nine and 16 with the aim of taking that number to 10,000 scholarships by 2030. A total 210 Australian clubs have picked up the scholarships with results that are worth recording.

Of the 2023 scholarship girls, 88 percent have retained a club membership. Sixty percent of the recipients are from regional Australia. There has been a 7.1 percent increase in the national number of junior female members.

In the immediate future, AGF has plans to begin investing even more in other participation programs run by Golf Australia, such as TeeMates and MyGolf. The AGF is already heavily involved in GA’s High Performance program through Golf Australia’s Give Back program, a world-first initiative under which successful touring pros donate some of their earnings back through the AGF to help train and condition talented young amateur players.

Essentially, these are the types of projects that a donation to the Peter Thomson Society will help.

“Somewhere out there is another Ian Baker-Finch, or Hannah Green or Minjee Lee,” said Andrew Thomson. “As Australians we face enormous competition from many other countries in producing these champions. It will not be done without this kind of support.”

For enquiries and further information regarding the Australian Golf Foundation contact:

Cameron Wade

Executive Director, Australian Golf Foundation

cameron.wade@golf.org.au | 0408 474 659