Kerry Packer was an avid golfer.
BY MICHAEL COURT with ANDREW CROCKETT
HIS love for the sport of golf was extraordinary.
And because the twentieth anniversary of his passing approaches, tales of the late Kerry Packer’s involvement within the sport have grow to be nearly folklore.
Actually, some might have been embellished over time, however there’s definitely a component of fact to them as nicely.
Listed below are just some I’ve heard in my travels which will or might not have occurred precisely as they’ve been relayed to me:
No 1: Kerry Packer arrived for a mid-week sport on the Australian Golf Membership, the place he was a member.
He was politely knowledgeable that the course had been booked out by a personal group (I believe it was dentists) for the day and he couldn’t play till after that they had completed taking part in.
Packer requested how a lot that they had paid to have the course to themselves that day.
Let’s say it was $15,000, for arguments’ sake.
Packer then wrote a cheque for $20,000 and handed it over with the remark: “Make certain they aren’t right here subsequent yr.”
Jack Nicklaus landed the massive fish on a Kerry Packer organized Barrier Reef fishing journey. For Packer and Australian golf the Golden Bear was probably an excellent larger catch, with Nickalus competing in Australian Open’s performed at The Australian Golf Membership.
No 2: Packer was warming up for his sport on the observe inexperienced at The Australian Golf Membership and struggled to get it shut sufficient to two-putt a observe gap that was positioned across the nook close to the professional store.
He promptly supplied two trainee execs on the membership a few hundred {dollars} every if they may two-putt from the opposite aspect of the placing inexperienced.
Each of them proceeded to two-putt and Packer obliged by telling one in all his ‘minders’ to fork out the money to them instantly, a lot to the delight of the 2 younger males.
No. 3: Packer arrived for a sport of golf with three associates on the privately-owned and highly-rated Arundel Hills Nation Membership on the Gold Coast.
There he was knowledgeable that it was a personal course and public gamers weren’t allowed to play.
“How a lot for membership?” he requested.
After a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing, the secretary-manager arrived and instructed him the value of becoming a member of and Packer wrote out a cheque and joined on the spot.
We’re undecided if it was just for himself or for all 4 of them . . . however they bought their 18 holes of golf on the now-defunct golf course that was initially rated the most effective on the Gold Coast and has since given approach to builders.
No. 4: Kerry Parker additionally set about turning the Australian Open into the world’s fifth main, spending large quantities of cash to get The Australian Golf Membership’s course rebuilt by the good Nicklaus underneath Packer’s personal patronage.
For 3 years he staged the Australian Open with nice outcomes till the Australian Golf Union needed to take the Open to Melbourne.
Packer staged a document $240,000 Open there in 1978, received by his home visitor, Nicklaus, after which withdrew as a sponsor and switched his well-documented curiosity to cricket.
One in all our {golfing} greats, the late Jack Newton added his ideas on Packer’s involvement within the sport in Andrew Crockett’s 2013 ebook Bump And Run:
“I performed a observe spherical with Jack Nicklaus and I talked to him about look cash and all the remainder of it,” Newton instructed Crockett.
“At the moment the Australian Open was in all probability the equal of the third or fourth greatest match in America.
“Kerry Packer was placing up the dough.
“Jack [Nicklaus] mentioned he thought the Australian Open ought to be capable of arise by itself two ft as one of many greatest tournaments on the earth; one which one of the best gamers on the earth needed to win.
“Jack really went again after that observe spherical and gave his look a refund saying he needed it added to the prizemoney.
“Event director Tony Charlton mentioned, “You possibly can’t do this!”
And Jack mentioned: “I’m doing it and I need it to enter the prizemoney pool.” And so it was.
“It was the one different time in my life when the Australian greenback was past parity.
“Packer had the suitable thought – he paid all of them the identical cash, I believe it was $8000 or $10,000 in the event that they introduced their wives and the gamers paid their very own bills.
Kerry Packer introduced Jack Nicklaus to Sydney to do a revamp of the Australian Golf Membership.
“I keep in mind one yr he had 19 of the highest 20 Yanks right here, with Jack’s assist.
“Packer would take care of the gamers, take them as much as North Queensland fishing on his boat. He had the suitable thought.
“All the things was going nicely, however there was this sniping behind the scenes the place the AGU needed to flex their muscle groups, as they favored to do in these days.
“So, that they had a little bit of a ‘blue’ about gate cash (the cash taken for entry) and Packer simply instructed them to stay it and that was the tip of it.
“The usual reply is “oh, it’s solely $2500 we have been speaking about”, however they only didn’t play the sport the suitable means.
“Wealthy cats like that it’s important to kind of smoodge to them a bit and go their means and it was just a bit factor just like the gate cash that was the straw that broke the camel’s again.
“We’re in all probability nonetheless paying the value for that. You possibly can’t afford to lose individuals like that out of the sport.
“Packer began to revolutionise the tv protection and to at the present time Seven remains to be on the forefront of tv golf and has been, by Graham Rowlands, who was with out peer so far as producing golf tournaments was involved.”
Packer’s handicap was as little as 5 at sure levels and he mixed with Greg Norman to win the Bob Hope Desert Traditional at Pebble Seaside in 1992, profitable by six pictures.
He as soon as performed in a pro-am at Jack Nicklaus’s Memorial Event and his five-ball companions have been Nicklaus, Bob Hope, Gerald Ford and Perry Como.
In 1986 Packer additionally put up a $500,000 pot for a skins match between Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson and Greg Norman at The Australian and when his personal sport was a bit off, he as soon as flew in touring professional Phil Rodgers from the US, at Nicklaus’s suggestion, for every week’s teaching for a reported five-figure sum.
Yep, Kerry Packer cherished his golf.
Ellerston – the course that Kerry constructed
Kerry Packer by no means performed it, son James has ventured out onto the course very not often, if in any respect nowadays, whereas the unique {golfing} hideaway some say is maybe as onerous to get onto as Augusta Nationwide.
Nonetheless, regardless of its exclusivity, the Ellerston course, which winds its means by a bit of the Packer household’s property of the identical identify, has been seen by sufficient golfers and golf media to be ranked alongside the easiest programs within the nation.
The 14th gap at Kerry Packers’ Ellerston course close to Scone.
Situated east of Scone on the Higher Hunter Valley in NSW and designed by Greg Norman and Bob Harrison, Ellerston opened in 2001, constructed with an open cheque ebook and with a constitution from Packer to ship Australia’s hardest and most spectacular golf course.
Ellerston is so unique the resident greenkeeping employees hold the course in tournament-ready situation though there are days, even weeks, after they received’t see a single golfer.
Kerry Packer handed away in 2005 at age 68, with out ever having the chance to play the course.
