Memberships for rich and famous | Inside Golf. Australia’s Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers

TALES about the late media mogul Kerry Packer abound.

One of my favourites was the day he ‘allegedly’ turned up to play at his home club in Sydney and found it had been booked out by a group (I think it may have been dentists) and found it was closed to members until their day was over.

The story goes that he asked how much they had paid to use the course and immediately wrote out a cheque for the same amount and handed it over, demanding they not be there next year at the same time, should he turn up for a game.

Ah, the joys of a private golf club.

Which brings me to this month’s gripe … where did things go wrong in ‘The Lucky Country’?

Australia has always prided itself on being a place where the man in the street could afford to join a golf club.

Suddenly, and the Covid-19 pandemic must shoulder some of the blame, it is becoming a sport mainly for…