By Peter Owen
WHEN John Mellish was appointed head pro at Beerwah Golf Club, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, he was thinking no further ahead than the six-month trial he’d signed up for.
But somewhere between August 1, 1985, and February 1, 1986, the paperwork must have been lost because the trial period was never again mentioned.
Mellish has been there ever since, outlasting countless committees, presidents and secretary-managers, and establishing a reputation for hard work, reliability and service that is virtually unmatched in the industry.
He’s already notched up 38 years presiding over his golf shop which overlooks the first tee at this popular country golf club, situated just up the road from Steve Irwin’s iconic Australia Zoo, and which was once Ian Baker-Finch’s home course.
And when his current contract’s up, he plans to exercise an option that will keep him there until 2033. By that stage he’ll have been head pro at Beerwah for an extraordinary 48 years.
Mellish, who was employed as an assistant to Charlie Pettit at Royal Sydney, had been playing in a pro-am at nearby Woodford in 1985 when he heard Beerwah might be on the lookout for its first contracted professional.
“From Royal Sydney to Royal Beerwah was a bit of a stretch, I know,” said Mellish, who had completed his traineeship under his brother Andrew at nearby Nambour Golf Club.
“But it turned out to be a pretty good decision.”
He recalls Beerwah as being a much different golf course nearly 40 years ago.
“I started there just after the second nine holes had been opened,” he said. “You’d play the back nine, hit your ball, then pick up sticks and branches as you walked along, and throw them into the rough.
“It was so open that you could see the road from one side of the course to the other.”
Club membership then numbered about 300. Today it’s more than 900.
John Mellish displays a loyalty to, and pride in, Beerwah Golf Club that is matched only by his passion for the Manly Sea Eagles, to whom he erected a shrine in his shop after their 2008 NRL premiership success.
Voted Queensland’s PGA Professional of the Year in 2010, he hopes he has helped golfers enjoy themselves at Beerwah by creating a welcoming, friendly environment.
When a visitor turns up, or when a member is playing in a group with people he doesn’t know, Mellish calls them into his golf shop, and introduces the players to each other.
A visiting pro, waiting outside for his tee time, spotted this one day and said to Mellish: “That’s a nice gesture. How often do you do that?”
“Every single time,” Mellish said. “When visitors come to the club, it’s very important to make sure they enjoy their day and you want them to go away and say what a good time they had at Beerwah,” he said.
Mellish’s service to the club was recognised in 2021 when he was awarded life membership.
“I was very honoured,” said Mellish. “There are not a lot of golf pros who have actually been awarded life membership of the club they’ve served at.”
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