The countdown has begun for the Moolarben Celebrity Golf Classic as competitors take to the green in a matter of days.
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Although golf is a major aspect of the event, Founder Peter Mayson says it also has a lot of relevance to the general community.
Before his current stint at Mudgee, Mayson worked at the Magenta Shores Golf Course at the Central Coast where Peter Sterling was a member.
On Peter’s return to Mudgee as the Club Professional, he developed an idea to run a charity golf event to raise money for local charities and get Mudgee Golf Course on the map.
“It started with the notion of trying to help motivate golfers and members back into playing golf. The Club needed a new event to rekindle the Club after the devastating fire and the lean time following it,” Mayson said.
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The next piece of the puzzle was approaching both Sterling and major Mudgee celebrity, Ken Sutcliffe who both jumped on board.
Now eight years later and the event is nearing the $200,000 donation mark - an impressive amount.
“From how it’s started, to where it is now to where it’s is now, it’s mind-blowing to think how we have created such a blue ribbon event,” Mayson said.
Instead of being able to give back $10,000 to charity, in the last couple of years we’ve been giving $20,000 to $30,000 back to charities.
- Peter Mayson
Moolarben Celebrity Golf Classic event is known of and highly regarded in Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong and across the Central West.
The tournament is a six man ambrose where 200 players tee off in under five hours - the only format of its kind in the world.
“I believe that the Moolarben Celebrity Golf Classic is one of the largest corporate tournament there is in Australia and it’s held in Mudgee,” Peter said.
The auction and raffle are also major parts of the day.
The players who come don’t just sit on their hands, they dig deep and they spend a lot of money on auctions and raffles which helps the charity side of things.
“It [corporate side of things] helps promote the two things we started off with, we wanted to help the charities who are the beneficiaries of it every year, and raising the profile of a little course in the middle of NSW called Mudgee.”
Moolarben Coal, Komatsu, the Property Shop, Ross Granata Motors, The Oriental, Midstate Smash Repairs and Liebher have been a part of the event from the very beginning.
Confirmed celebrities making an appearance this year include Mark Ella, Malcolm Johnston, Ray Price, Ben Ikin, Craig Young, Steve Edge, Steven Menzies, Jim Cassidy and Sam Kekovich.
Mayson says if it weren’t for Sterling and Sutcliffe, having the calibre of celebrities wanting to play on the MGC would not be a possibility.
“Ken and Pete voluntarily get all the celebrities, they have so much pull in the world of sport and celebrities,” Mayson said.
To have who has been here in the last eight years and do it voluntary, just comes back to those two.
The Moolarben Celebrity Golf Classic will tee off at 11am on Friday February 1, 2019 at Mudgee Golf Course.
Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
