March 20th, 2026
By Australian Golf Digest
Plenty of questions arose from our “What is Golf Australia trying to become?” feature in the March issue. And Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland has the answers.
What governance and project-delivery lessons has Golf Australia taken from the rollout of Golf Australia CONNECT?
The key lesson has been the power of a whole-of-sport approach to change. More than 3,600 club administrators were trained ahead of launch, 1,400 volunteer Golfer Onboarding Champions supported golfers on the ground and a 50-strong customer support team operated extended hours to resolve more than 10,000 enquiries in the first two weeks. At this scale, no rollout is ever simple, but the way clubs, volunteers, software providers and partners came together to deliver this transition was extraordinary.
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Golf Australia now controls one of the largest participation databases in Australian sport. What protections exist in the event of a cyber breach and how can the Australian golfer expect their data to be used?
As the governing body of Australia’s most participated sport by adults, supporting golfers throughout their journey and protecting their personal information have always been core responsibilities for Golf Australia.
The new platform has been developed with ‘privacy by design’ and is built on proven technology already used by more than two million golfers and more than 5,000 clubs internationally, including in the UK and New Zealand. It is hosted in secure Australian data centres on Amazon Web Services and uses strong encryption, secure passwords, multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring and regular independent security testing. Golf Australia and its technology partner DotGolf are fully compliant with the Australian Privacy Act and the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme, with clear incident response and notification processes in place.
Golfers can expect their data to be used only for clearly defined purposes, primarily handicapping, identity verification and delivery of golf-related digital services. Personal data is not sold or commercialised, and partners only ever access de-identified, aggregated insights. All marketing and communications are permission-based, with golfers in full control of their preferences through their Golf ID profile.
E-mail addresses were required as part of the transition because they complete the digital verification loop between a golfer and their Golf ID. In the GolfLink era, this was done using a postal address and physical card. In a modern digital environment, e-mail allows Golf Australia to securely link a golfer to the correct Golf ID record so they can access digital services such as the app, scoring and handicap management.
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Did Golf Australia’s reliance on government funding influence its stance on Moore Park? How do you balance advocacy for golf facilities with maintaining government relationships?
Golf Australia has played a leading role in forming and driving the Moore Park Golf Collective, alongside the PGA of Australia, Golf NSW and Moore Park Golf Club [pictured], which developed and formally submitted two alternative design proposals that retain 18 holes of public golf while enhancing the broader recreational offering of the precinct. That work reflects constructive, solutions-focused advocacy, not hesitation.
Advocacy for the protection of golf facilities and public golf-course land is entirely separate from government funding considerations. Golf Australia represents more than four million adult golfers in a sport that continues to grow strongly. Given the current demand and growth trajectory, we need more golf courses, not fewer. We will continue to publicly and privately advocate to protect existing courses and stimulate investment into existing and prospective places to play. It is in the best interests of both golfers and governments to protect access to golf, which delivers proven physical health, mental wellbeing, social and economic benefits.