A message from AWGN to our members.
As we approach the end of another busy year, it's been wonderful to see so many of our members join our AWGN Golf & Networking Events and form genuine friendships both on and off the golf course. The new business that has flowed through the community has been inspiring, and incredibly motivating to grow to other states and deliver a truly national program in 2023.
We’d like to highlight a few of our achievements from across the year... I know our members are always proud to hear about AWGN's success, and we’ve had some incredible results in 2022 that show how we’re continuing to make a difference.
With love and gratitude to all ~ Jessica Eden
January:
Our new Membership Program was launched with Introductory, Individual and Corporate tiers. AWGN formalised our business structure and streamlined the event schedule with 24 events in Vic and NSW. The uptake has been phenomenal with over 3,500 members nationally!
February:
Our first event for the year was at one of our favourite Melbourne Sandbelt Golf Clubs, Yarra Yarra. This event sold out in less than a week, and we were thrilled to have one of our head coaches Jasmine Hobbs agree to run private AWGN golf clinics at this premier course. Thanks to Andrew Bertram and his excellent team for the ongoing support. Another major highlight of this month was our Luxury Shopping Evening at Australia’s best women’s retail store Women on Course at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Sue Imray and Richard Hatt do such a fantastic job and we thank RM for the wonderful hospitality on the night! We look forward to the next one very soon…
March:
International Women’s Day was celebrated with a select group of members and guests at the beautiful Metropolitan Golf Club over lunch and a ‘Reading the Greens' Masterclass. Thanks to Dayle Mashall, Sonya Evans, and the Women’s Committee for joining us for this special event! The month was filled with golf clinics and we were thrilled to host our March Women’s Golf Day event at Huntingdale Golf Club another jewel of the Sandbelt, this event was very high energy and again a full house with members from Sydney and regional Vic attending! A special mention to Amy Lennon and her food & bev team, the service was excellent on the day. Our coaches all had the opportunity to speak to the group and shared some fascinating insights about the journey both locally and playing on international tours, Very inspiring always - Wendy, Phoebe & Jas!
International Women’s Day at The Metropolitan Golf Club!
April:
This month was one of strategy and business development with Drummond Golf committing to an annual sponsorship for our event days. Australian Golf Digest joined as a major sponsor, offering opportunities to create more valuable content for women in their top print and online publications. Our new off course high-level networking program was also established, something our members had been asking for!
May:
Building strong relationships with Melbourne Sandbelt GMs and the wider golf industry is always a priority for our team, and providing access for our members to these premium clubs is something we are most grateful for. The Metropolitan Golf Club has been very supportive of AWGN from the beginning, initially under Peter Paccagnan's leadership, and now Michael Burgess. The success of these event days and our May event was no exception, and is definitely due to the passion and commitment to advancing Women’s Golf by Phoebe Torrance, Women’s Golf and Development Manager and AWGN coach. This month also saw our coaches meeting at Golf Studio for a planning session and photoshoot, an excellent indoor golf facility with state of the art technology. In contrast was our wonderful cocktail event at Candela Nuevo, Australia’s most exclusive private member’s club where our guests were treated to a night of fine wine, food, music, networking, and the brilliant Rae Bonney who spoke about her life’s work.
June:
Women’s Golf Day was definitely for the brave-hearted! Moonah Links hosted us on the Open Course and we saw sunshine, hail, and rain throughout the day… members were rugged up and endured the conditions forming a very special bond! Thanks to Drummond Golf for sponsoring this event allowing us to provide one coach per group, and offering expert coaching for the entire round of golf - so valuable. The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney provided an equally challenging winter golf day with strong wind and rain for our advanced group of golfers! Wonderful to connect with our NSW members and of course our exceptional coach Sunny Wilkinson! Sunny is a former touring golf professional who transitioned to a financial advisor and has provided excellent support to our growing NSW network.
Women’s Golf Day 2022 - We don’t just play golf (and yes that’s hail in the photo)!
July:
James Makin Gallery in Collingwood, Victoria hosted our first Members Wine & Cheese networking evening! This was a stunning location for an exceptional evening of discussions about building an art collection, and sampling fine wines from Sons of Eden in the Barossa, paired with cheeses by Calendar. Wonderful to have our sponsors from the Cancer Council Victoria join us at this event too, we look forward to supporting them more in the new year. Our Women’s Golf Day event was back at The Metropolitan for July, and it felt like summer with perfect golf conditions and a delicious champagne brunch, it’s no wonder Metro is known for its fine hospitality!
August:
Our first AWGN event at Kingston Heath was certainly a highlight of the year. Corporate Member Tracy Tressider joined us from Sydney and presented a very insightful and beneficial discussion on golf psychology and her book Golf Mind Play. The golf course and clubhouse were absolutely superb, and a very memorable event shared by all.
September:
Our new merchandise range was designed and produced! Thanks to Vanessa and the team at A2Z Golf Australia for excellent customer service and such high-quality products. Our golf caps, visors and cart towels are sensational and our members just love them as you can see in all the photos! Working diligently on the 2023 schedule with the expert assistance of Callum Bakken, our SA and QLD membership grew and more premium interstate clubs were added. Our Golf Fundamental Program idea was also hatched - an exciting new concept for golf coaching and business networking on Melbourne’s famous Sandbelt!
Kingston Heath Magic, such a superb women’s golf day!
October:
As we neared the end of the year, events and clinics ramped up, as did our media appearances on Channel 10 News at NSW Golf Club, articles in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and on 2GB drive time. Thrown into the deep end, we promoted the benefits of professional women playing golf and connecting in the great outdoors. Very grateful for the media support and exposure! The sun was finally shining for our wonderful golf day at Peninsula Kingswood Golf & Country Club with so many beginners joining, what a great place to start your golf journey. Our final members & sponsors networking events for the year were hosted at Yarra Yarra Golf Club and Lindberg Galleries. Gallery Director David Moulday hosted an incredible exhibition of artwork, and our members and sponsors enjoyed a fine wine selection of US and Australian wines. This night was definitely a highlight with a select group of passionate golfers listening to GolfRules Questions expert David Blake discuss his recent fascinating experience working on LIV Golf tours.
November:
The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, wow! All we can say is, you just had to be there! A brilliant event to finish an exceptional year, the friendships, the course, the 5-star service, the 30-foot put on the first hole by beginner golfer Monique Richardson (!!) and the cheers and laughter that were heard across the golf course throughout the day. We look forward to working with the RM team more closely in 2023 and huge thanks for the ongoing support by Aaron Newham throughout the year.
December:
With AWGN events and golf clinics completed for the year we were able to enjoy the ISPS Handa Australian Open, a spectacular few days as guests of our sponsors Australian Golf Digest & Cancer Council Victoria. Our sponsors are an essential part of the enormous growth we have experienced, and we are excited about supporting them further in the coming years. Finally, our Golf Fundamental Program launched and our new AWGN video producers were appointed. We are excited to work more closely with our parent company Bison United on this exciting new program and think our members and the wider golf industry will just love it!
Bring on 2023!
Thank you to all of our members, the AWGN team, our family, and the wider golf community for the encouragement and support!
