Gawler Golf Club, located in Sandy Creek at the entrance to the Barossa Valley, has announced that recently appointed SA Redback’s Captain, Travis Head, will be playing a vital role with the club after accepting the position as Club Ambassador. The agreement will see the young and vibrant Head work closely with the Club to help them deliver their goal of increasing participation in the game of golf in the local community. Head was first exposed to the Gawler Golf Club in his junior years. While he has experienced a number of courses since then he has decided to return to his roots making Gawler Golf Club his home course for the next three years.

“We are proud and excited that Travis has agreed to work with us for the next three years. While our course is well regarded within the SA golfing fraternity, we certainly recognise that a person of his calibre would have a multitude of choice of where to play and lend his support. This endorsement of our course and club is truly appreciated. We are confident that by working with Travis we will be able to offer value to our members and visitors with a particular focus on increasing golf participation in our growing region.” Commented Gawler Golf Club President Chris Thornton

While Travis is shortly heading to India for the 2015 IPL Tournament, having recently been signed by the Delhi Daredevils, he expects to be a regular at the Gawler Golf Club on Saturday mornings over the winter period and to attend functions to support the Club when his cricketing commitments allow.

“I’ve always loved playing at Gawler Golf Club, it is a challenging course that over delivers on value. The greens are some of the best I’ve played on and the course superintendent and his dedicated team do a great job in presenting the course. So when I was approached to take on this role as Ambassador I was delighted to accept. The Club officials I’ve been dealing with have been really professional and I am looking forward to doing what I can to help them out, get out on course,  mix with the members and promote a healthy and active lifestyle within the community where I grew up.” said Travis.

The Gawler Golf Club has undergone a significant change process over the past twelve months with a focus on making the Club a more active participant in the local Community. A new branding and identity coupled with strategic partnerships at industry and community level has seen the profile of the Club rise considerably over this period. The Club has successfully hosted events as part of the Adelaide Fringe and is offering a Gastronomic Golf Trail as part of the upcoming Barossa Vintage Festival; in partnership with local tourism business association, Southern Barossa Alliance. The State Foursomes, a sanctioned Golf SA event, will also be hosted at Gawler Golf Club in August this year. The Club offers through its PGA Professional, Brayden Wauchope, the industry’s national MyGolf junior program along with other Come and Try events and links with the local schools to increase participation. The addition of Head as Ambassador is a key progression to extend the reach of the Club further into the local community and supporting golf in the region.

“A key area of focus for the role is supporting and encouraging new golfers, be they juniors or adults, to take up the sport. Golf is a sport for all ages and genders. Our previous two annual Play Golf Week Come and Try days and our quarterly MyGolf Junior Development programs have been well supported. With the added involvement of Travis throughout the year we expect these initiatives to have even further success.” added Chris.

Travis is keen to return from the IPL season and work with the Club while also enjoying the fellowship that the Gawler Golf Club offers. With a Golf Australia Handicap of 13.9, Head is as handy with the golf club as he is the cricket bat.

“Given my commitments with the IPL, unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the Club’s annual Tour Barossa Classic being held 16-19^th April. There are a good number of events covering the social golfer, ladies, juniors along with the 36 hole championship event. I’d encourage anyone wanting to give the course a go to take advantage of this four day event to experience what the Gawler Golf Club and the Gawler & Barossa region has to offer.” concluded Travis.