GMAQ - Golf Management Australia Queensland Spring 2017 | Page 6

GMAQ NEWS
VALE PATRICIA BRIDGES,
AN AUSTRALIAN GOLF ICON
A
ustralian golf’s grand matriarch, Patricia
Bridges OBE, has passed away. She was 95.
Mrs Bridges, Golf Australia’s only life member
and whose name adorns the trophy of the Women’s
Australian Open, died peacefully in Sydney on
August 5 th .
Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt said it was
a “very sad day” for all in the golfing community.
“Some might not realise it, but Patricia Bridges was a
fundamental part of golf in this country,” he said.
“She played a key role across so many regions and
facets of the game for so many years that her efforts
have touched us all.
“From her time as a player and committee woman
in southern New South Wales from the early 1950s,
through decades on national and international
bodies, Mrs Bridges was the epitome of grace,
organisation and a very rare `can-do’ attitude.
“Her loss is Australia’s. She was a great woman.”
She was president of the NSWGU, where she was
later made a life member in 1984. In 1969, she
became vice-president of the ALGU and was soon
president from 1970-1973. She later joined the Royal
Sydney Golf Club where she remained a member
even when her health no longer permitted her
regular patronage.
By 1981, Mrs Bridges was awarded the OBE for
“Services to golf and the community”, but her work
had only just begun. In 1991, she was elected
for a third term as ALGU president and, in 1992,
she negotiated the purchase of the ALGU’s first
permanent office in Melbourne.
In 1994, Mrs Bridges was appointed chairman of
the women’s committee of the World Amateur Golf
Council, a position she held until 2000, and became
the first Australian to hold an executive position on
an international golf committee.
In 2001, she was awarded life membership of
Women’s Golf Australia and, in 2006, the first and to
date only life membership of the newly established
Golf Australia.
Born on 30 December, 1921, Mrs Bridges began her
lifelong love affair with golf playing at the Delegate
Golf Club on the tablelands of far southern New
South Wales, inland from Eden.
She was introduced to the game by her brother-in-
law, but was said to have been a better tennis player
as a young woman and played both until the war
years.
Mrs Bridges was first appointed to the Australian
Ladies’ Golf Union in 1964 and became an Australian
selector in 1969. Over 11 years, she captained six
ALGU teams to destinations including South Africa,
Spain and New Zealand and proudly represented
Australia on numerous international golf
committees. Her ability to co-ordinate those around
her with ease and grace was widely recognised
wit hin sporting and business communities.
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Vale Patricia Bridges