Spotlight On – Tieri Golf Club

Your name & role: Mick Cutts, President
How long have you been with Tieri Golf Club: 18 years all up, and President for nine of the last 10 years
Locations serviced: Tieri mostly, but we also often have visitors from Capella, Middlemount, Clermont, and Dysart

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Tell us about yourself and how you came to be involved with Tieri Golf Club.
I only took up golf at 40, so I’m a relative late-comer to the game. But given there’s not a whole lot to do out here, golf is a really great way to socialise, so I joined the club. Then, at one point, I volunteered to help out, and I ended up on the committee.
It’s a lot like running a small business…but you do it for free, or for the love of the sport and the community. It gives me something to do when I’m not working and keeps me involved in the community, which I enjoy. Now, on occasions, I get to play golf and have a beer with some of my five adult sons who have all grown up here. On very rare occasions, the six of us all get to have a hit together along with our dog, Hulk, who knows the course back to front. These times are very special.
When was the golf club first established?
Around 1985 and the original clubhouse was just a donga. It was one of the first recreational sites built here by passionate volunteers. We are currently in the process of re-building parts of the clubhouse to keep us as a solid option for the community and endeavour to attract more patrons.
Why do you believe the club is such a valuable addition to the town and people of Tieri?
We’re far more than just a golf club; we’re more like a social or community club. A place for everyone to come down, relax, catch up with friends, and let the kids run around safely.
You recently had your AGM and announced the new committee – who is on the team and what are they responsible for?
We’ve got a great mix of fresh faces and experienced ‘old timers’ on the committee this year, so I reckon it’s going to be another really proactive group we’ve got this year. We have a record number of committee members and more volunteers than I’ve ever seen.
• Me, Mick Cutts: President
• Matty Martell: Vice President
• Nathan Ban: Treasurer
• Pat Freiberg: Secretary
Pat’s new to the club. He’s worked out here for years as FIFO, but only recently moved to town with his partner. He put his hand up straight away and we’re glad for the injection of new energy and enthusiasm. Pat brings a high degree of order and compliance to his position. Nathan Ban, our new Treasurer, in his day job is the Principal Electrical Engineer for Glencore so he has certainly raised the collective IQ of the new committee! Nathan now lives in Mackay but still calls Tieri home having lived here for many years. He is passionate about everything he does and has some great ideas for the club moving forward.
As an Executive Committee, we essentially run the ‘business’ side of the club, whilst our Club Captains run the ‘golf’ side of things. We’ve traditionally only had one Club Captain, but we’ve decided to make it a shared role this year. Shaun Christensen and Joshua Edmonds are our Club Captains for the year, and they will be running all the competitions, making the rules for tournaments, and so on.
In addition, we also have a new Greenkeeper, Peter Malick. Peter has relocated to Tieri from Middlemount, with his wife. He’s deep in the throes of getting his head around things and is grateful for all the volunteer support he’s received.
On the subject of the team, our long-standing Treasurer, Arthur Dobeson, has finally decided to step down. Arthur has stuck by us, contributing remotely via email and Teams meetings, as he’s been residing on the Gold Coast for the past few years. The Club owes Arthur a huge debt of gratitude for his business and accounting acumen, his professionalism, stewardship, and holding our committees accountable over many years. Arthur, a heartfelt thank you from all of us.
What membership options are available at the Club?
There are two main options:
• Social membership: $10 a round – pay as you play
• Annual membership: $300 per year gives you access to the Club and course year-round, and a Tieri Golf Club polo shirt.
Our annual membership fee hasn’t changed in as long as I can remember and is reimbursable for eligible Oaky Creek Coal employees under their Active Lifestyle program (page 27). We currently have 116 members this year, our highest ever number
and testament to the great work the team is doing to attract
and retain members!
Part of that ‘great work’ is the events the Club regularly holds; what staples are on the calendar?
Every Friday afternoon we have our Chook Run. A 6-hole social round of golf, with lots of banter and prizes at the end, including vouchers, golf balls, and, for the player nearest to the pin on the Chook Hole (the second last hole), a voucher from Foodworks Tieri (page 32) for a hot cooked chook! It’s $10 for both members and non-members, and all the money goes into the kitty for the prizes.
Social Saturdays is an Ambrose team event for men, women and children. Teams are picked on the day, and we always keep an eye on the handicaps to make sure it’s as even as possible, so the winning team invariably only wins by a point or two. Social Saturdays are free for members, and $10 for non-members.
On Sundays we hold varying competitions, such as the Single Stroke event or Stableford. These are all proper competitions for members with a Golf Australia number and a handicap.
Every month we hold the Monthly Medal competition, another handicapped event for members, where the winners of each month go on to compete against each other in an end of year competition.
In July, we have our annual award winning Tieri Pro-Am event which attracts professional golfers from all over the country. Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to offer between $30,000 – $50,000 in prize money, which is pretty significant for a small
club like ours.
The last quarter of the year (Oct – Dec) is when we hold our Club Champions event, specifically for our Tieri Club members. And in the first quarter of the year (Jan – Mar) we hold the Tieri Open, where other Central Highlands teams come to battle it out on the greens.
We always promote our events on the Tieri Golf Club Facebook page; that’s a great way to keep across what’s happening.
The golf club is also available as a venue for people or organisations to hire for their own events. What sort of events can you cater for?
We’ve had weddings, Christmas parties, the Tieri Hoe-Down, 30th, 40th and 50th birthday parties, and small gatherings like the Tieri Ladies Social Hub ‘Paint n Sip’ events. We’re open to discussing any type of event that people, businesses or organisations within the community might be looking to hold. We’ve very flexible and have lots of different size spaces including inside with air con, or outside under the pergola, with a relaxing view looking down the fairway.
What food options are available at the club?
Cassie Ricketts has recently taken on the running of the club house during the week. She’s open from 2pm until 7pm, every Monday to Friday, and the Committee takes over for the weekend. Cassie brings a ridiculous level of enthusiasm
to the club and with her vibrant personality is attracting a heap
of new customers.
You can get loaded hot dogs, hot chips, toasties, pies and chicken chippies, soft drinks and alcohol. It’s a great spot to come and grab a cold drink and enjoy the view at the end of the day…and maybe hit a few golf balls…maybe not!
What other services does the club offer?
We sell golf balls, gloves and tees in our small retail section. We’ve got a new pool table on the way, which I’m excited about. It’ll be free to use, and we’ll look at running some friendly tournaments.
We’re also looking at installing an outdoor playground for the kids. It’ll be modular with a built-in soft floor and enclosed for safety. This will be a great addition and we’re really hopeful it will encourage more women to head down to the Club to catch up with their friends, knowing they can still keep an eye on their little ones as they enjoy the playground.
And, of course, we have BBQ facilities here. We’ve found it’s proven to be a great place for the guys on roster to come down, relax, and connect with their workmates over a steak and beer, before heading back to their accommodation for the night.
For anyone new to Tieri, where can they find the club?
7 Maywin Drive, about 1km up the hill from Langerak Park.
What are your opening hours?
The clubhouse is open Monday to Friday, from 2pm until 7pm, and on weekends from 10am until the last punter leaves! We’re licenced until midnight.
Access to the golf course is open any time from around 4am until, well, until you can’t see the ball anymore! We’ve had some people finish off their last hole using the lights from their cart!
If you’re a social member, you just need to pay your $10 in the honesty box – cash and card are accepted.
How can people contact you?
The easiest way to contact the club is via our Facebook page. Otherwise, you can email club@tierigolfclub.com or call me on 0419 795 240.