Few PGA Professionals have left as big an impression on so many aspects of the game as the renowned Mark Duder.

Mark Duder was recognised for his contribution to WA golf

As a stalwart of Western Australian golf Mark Duder has witnessed and indeed influenced some remarkable changes during his 55-year involvement with the game. Recently honoured with the WA Golf Industry Recognition Award for his dedicated contribution to golf in the state, Duder’s career is a highlight reel difficult to surpass.

He caddied for Kel Nagle for several years whenever Nagle played in Perth, and later caddied for Arnold Palmer in the Australian Open at Lake Karrinyup in 1968. He played on the European Tour and missed the cut in The Open at Muirfield by one shot, which he labels his biggest disappointment. He spent six years from 1979 as the Professional at Albany Golf Course where he looked after more than 20 golf courses from Katanning to Salmon Gums, offering golf lessons and selling equipment from the back of the car with his wife Margaret. Whilst in Albany Duder also became heavily involved with the Graham Marsh Junior Golf Foundation. And that’s only the beginning. He also served on various Western Australian PGA committees, held the position of Chairman of the West Australian Division of the PGA and served on the Board of the PGA of Australia. He chaired the PGA National Education committee and was a member of the Golf Management Australia Association for 13 years. It was a career that spanned private, public and resort courses as well as off-course retail, driving ranges and course maintenance.

Reflection

So what does a man who has just about done it all think of his achievements? "That’s a hard question to answer because achievements come in different shapes and sizes. I’ve gained so much satisfaction from my experiences in many different ways," says Duder. "I’ve taught in dust storms and hail storms. I’ve been very lucky in terms of who I’ve worked for and with over the years. I learned so much from so many Professionals. Somebody like Len Thomas was an inspiration to me. He helped forge a direction for future Professionals and he was a promoter of the game of golf in the truest sense." There’s no question Duder can also claim to be a ‘true promoter of the game.’ The record and industry acknowledgements speak for themselves. "The WA Golf Industry Recognition Award was something I didn’t expect at all. It was quite humbling and overwhelming to be selected by my peers. You don’t set out to win an award like that but it’s very special when you do."

Wales to WA

Born in Cardigan, Wales, in 1945 Duder emigrated to Australia in 1957 when his mother secured a job as a Governess on a cattle station 300 miles from Alice Springs. He was introduced to golf by his grandfather ‘Chip’ during a spell back in England in 1960. By 1961 Duder had returned to Australia to start a PGA Traineeship with Charlie Earp at Redcliffe Golf Club in Queensland. He found his way west to complete the Traineeship with Charlie Newman at Royal Perth Golf Club and has held a long association with the region ever since. The 1970s were spent working with Len Thomas and John Hadley at Perth’s Golf Centre, the city’s first ‘off-course’ golf outlet, and later at The Wembley Golf Course where the floodlit driving range was opened.

Changing Times

If any PGA Professional can comment on the development of the industry over the decades, it’s Mark Duder. "The industry as a whole – from the style of golf clubs and the way we teach to what we sell and how we communicate – is very different to what it used to be. 

The opportunities for PGA Professionals have changed a lot from 20-30 years ago," he says. "There have been major changes in how we teach golf with the introduction of video technology. Coaches can accurately map out a player’s progress or even go online to do their job. It’s quite amazing. "Retail is different too. New technology as far as golf clubs are concerned makes the game so much more enjoyable for the average player. And it helps retain the distance for the older player like me. I’m not hitting the ball further now, but I haven’t lost much and the golf course doesn’t play all that differently for me to how it used to. I was always more of a swinger of the club than a flogger, anyway," he says. If change is as good a holiday, then PGA Professionals can look forward to one exciting adventure according to Duder. "I see the golf industry continuing to undergo change, absolutely, and it needs to. The old way of advertising purely through newspapers and radio, for example, is gone. "It’s all about your website, social media and online sales.

People know what they want, they’ve researched it, and they want it to be easy to buy. It’s important for Professionals to accept that this is the way of the future," Duder says. "If you’re marketing to a 20- or 30-year old you’ve got to remember they do business differently to a 60- or 70-year-old. If a Pro is not that way inclined and he only cares about teaching rather than the retail side of things, it’s going to hold back his business. "Perhaps the solution for that Pro is to find a younger person who is up to date with these things and pay them a decent wage to take control of the marketing and promotion.

That new person might invigorate the business." Duder believes there are some fantastic operators all around Australia who are great at their jobs because they’re on the ball with marketing and sales. "The best of them are progressive and they keep up with the times. I would love to see all private courses in Australia be financially viable. There are challenges, no doubt. Often golf club members don’t recognise why prices have to go up or how beer sales go toward something like a new mower." They are wise words from a highly credentialed voice.

Joining Joondalup

From 1985 to 2010 Duder ran Joondalup Country Club. "When I leased it from the government it cost $23,000 to fit the shop out to government specifications. That was huge money in those days and that was before you added stock and staff. It was a busy time but it was enjoyable and we did well out of it." In 1994 he became the General Manager Golf Operations when the current Singaporean owners bought the resort.

It was the first contract in Perth for a Professional paying a lease. He brought a number of Trainees through the ranks such as Rob Farley, Brad Logan, Stuart Beament, Paul Breuker, Duane Crabb, Wendy Miles, Tony Howell, Aaron Johnson, Peter Clark and more. During that time Joondalup Resort was awarded Australia’s Number 1 Public Access Course in 2002 and Australia’s Number 1 Resort Course for 2003/4, 2005/6 and 2007/8 by Golf Australia Magazine.

Managing Expectations

"I’m passionate about golf management. I was one of a handful of Pros to be a GM at a golf club or resort course and I’m pleased to see that a lot more Professionals are taking up these sorts of roles now. That’s a real positive. I love seeing enthusiastic people embracing that element of golf business," he says. "Things like bottom lines, budgets, board meetings, procedures, staff management, food and beverage requirements, and occupational health and safety – it’s essential for the modern golf manager to be knowledgeable in all these areas. I learnt the hard way, but we need to focus on these things in education and training programs." These days Duder spends his time travelling the world with his wife, skiing, fishing and enjoying his 1976 Renault Alpine A110, which took 11 years to restore. "And playing golf of course. But I still haven’t worked out the putting part of my game."

———-

Related Links

News / Vines, Duder, Graham and Husband elevated to PGA Life Members, 26.05.15