Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Winter 2012 | Page 16

“I started that article off by mentioning that fact that
these days you drive up to most golf clubs and there
is a great big sign stating things you can’t do rather
than a sign saying welcome and let’s have some fun.

That Newton was able to survive such
an horrific accident and has been able
to turn his hand so successfully to the
many other disciplines in which he has
become involved bears testament to a
man who has a never give up attitude and
one whose opinions are often sought and
listened to. To say the least he has done
the hard yards and his forthright manner
reflects just that.
Newton’s opening remark referring to
that article of last year last year was as
follows. “Steve Kiepert, who was the then
editor of Golf Digest, said he had never
had such response to an article.
“I never realised it would be that
controversial as many of the things I said
in the article most people feel in their
guts that that is what needs to happen
anyway. I am a believer in the old adage
that if you keep doing what you have
always done then you will always get the
same result and I think that is where golf
has been heading in the last 40 or 50
years in this country.
“There have been changes but I don’t
think there have been enough. I wrote
this article based on the 25 years in which
my Foundation (Jack Newton Junior Golf
Foundation) has been going. I have 6,000

16 Q Golf Online Winter 2012

kids in it and we see another 25,000 kids
through our school programmes each
year.

where the kids can wear whatever they
like as the goal is to get them there and
for them to take an interest in the game.

“I’m passionate about junior golf and
surely anyone in their right minds has to
recognise that the young people of the
game today are the future of the game
tomorrow and where our members are
going to come from.

“I started that article off by mentioning
that fact that these days you drive up to
most golf clubs and there is a great big
sign stating things you can’t do rather
than a sign saying welcome and let’s have
some fun.

“

A lot of young guys
now would rather go
and spend $150 for
a round at a good
Resort course rather
than spending $1000 a
year on something less
attractive.

“

Newton was struck down by a propeller
of a small aircraft at Sydney airport as
he was rushing to catch a flight back to
Newcastle. He was lucky to survive but
the loss of an arm and an eye amongst
many other injuries and ongoing
complications turned his life around.

“I don’t think the game has moved quick
enough for our kids. We need to seriously
look at some of the traditions of the
game. Every time I raise this issue of dress
or the like it is thrown back at me as to
how a change in dress standards might
affect the traditions of the game. In my
opinion the traditions of the game are
the rules of golf and it doesn’t matter two
bob what you are wearing.
“My Foundation has ‘come and try’ days

www.golfqueensland.org.au

“Surely these days when membership is
dwindling in most golf clubs you just can’t
afford to turn someone away just because
of what they are wearing. Most golf clubs
just have to raise the fun metre. We have
gone past the area of exclusivity and
waiting lists of 15 years - that is just not
happening anymore.
“I often hear it said kids that give the
game away but inevitably they come back.
I have seen kids (girls) who were in my
Foundation come back after having had
three kids but if you can teach kids the
basic fundamentals then they have learnt
when they are young. We all know how
difficult it can be to take up the game at
50 years of age. It can be a difficult game
to learn at that age.
“Golf in itself is a discipline and when you
add the other issues of integrity, honesty,
consideration for other people, the rules,
etc they are great lifestyle skills for young
people to learn in an era where there is
not a lot of discipline.
“I have seen some of the wildest little
buggars of all time come through my
Foundation but when they get on a golf