people
Wisdom of the Elders: Brian Twite
By The PGA of Australia
Metropolitan continuing to this day.
T
“I always liked to help young people from
the bush because they don’t have the access
to things like the city kids do,” he says.
hey say golf is a game for life and Brian
Twite is proof of that. At 86 he not only
plays the game every day, he still gives
lessons!
“I started volunteering my time to go and
coach out there years ago and have kept it
up to this day.
“I still hit balls and play golf every day, too,”
he said when asked why he continued to
work well past retirement age. “If I stopped
I’d be dead in five minutes. As long as I’m fit
enough I’ll keep giving lessons and playing
the game. It’s what keeps me going.”
“We still have a program here at
Metropolitan that awards scholarships
to juniors and gives them a year’s free
membership at the club. It’s a big help in
getting them started.
Twite has been a fixture at Metropolitan
Golf Club in Melbourne since 1955 when
he was head-hunted from the Sunningdale
Golf Club in London to fill the role of Head
Professional.
“It’s something I’m very proud of.”
Twite has seen his fair share of changes
in golf in all areas, from swing theory to
equipment to agronomy.
An enthusiastic 22 year-old at the time,
the thought of travelling halfway across the
world never fazed him. He left behind 11
siblings but having already tasted life in the
Navy during the war it didn’t seem a big deal.
“When you’re that age everything is just a
big adventure,” he says.
Twite came to the Metropolitan job in
circumstances that would seem unlikely
today. He was Head Teaching Professional at
Sunningdale in London, not far from where
Qantas had their England head office.
“I taught a lot of Australians in those days
because of that,” he says. “And many of them
were members at Metropolitan.
He thinks most of it is for the best though
laments the loss of shot shaping at the
highest levels.
“That’s how I got recommended for the job
here. And as soon as they offered it to me I
jumped at it and I’ve never looked back.
“I feel very blessed to have been involved
with two of the world’s truly great golf clubs
in Sunningdale and Metropolitan. They are
both everything a golf club should be.”
Twite held the top job at Metropolitan until
1994 when he retired because his wife was ill.
After she passed the club asked if he would
like to come back and teach.
“I think I’ve probably spent more time at
Metropolitan than I have at my own house
since I’ve been in Australia,” he says with a
laugh. “And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”
Twite was last year awarded an OAM for
his services to golf; several of the programs
he started while Head Professional at
“I don’t think we’ll see another player like
Seve or Norman, the guys who really worked
the ball,” he said.
“The modern clubs and the modern ball are
designed to go high and straight and stop
quickly when they land so it’s changed how
the game is played.
“I still think it’s exciting though, just
different to what it used to be.” •
To find your local PGA Pro