A GOLF coach working to achieve gender equality in the sport has been recognised with an award.
Garth Cusick is the founder and head coach of The International Golf Academy. He plays golf at the course in Bangholme.
Last month, Cusick won Golf Australia’s Visionary of the Year July award for his work helping Chinese-Australian women get involved with golf. “It all happened quite organically,” Cusick said. “A Chinese couple, who were interested in learning golf, realised I spoke Mandarin. They made me aware that there was a large population of Chinese-Australians in Melbourne who were somewhat unable to participate in sport or leisure activity due to a language barrier. I remembered that feeling of isolation when I was unable to communicate overseas, and that is how my business model was born.”
Cusick now runs 14 two hour classes a week, most participants are Chinese-Australian.
Golf Australia’s head of female engagement Tiffany Cherry said the program was helping the sport move into the future. “It’s fantastic to see golf clubs, facilities, PGA Professionals and Community Instructors think outside the box to innovate and create pathways into the game for more of the community,” she said. “Golf has an outdated reputation that we are hellbent on changing because there are so many clubs, facilities and individuals making the game more accessible, and through the visionary of the year award we hope to inspire more in the golfing community to do the same.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 10 August 2022
