Richard Champion enjoyed a stellar AFL career with the Brisbane Lions (previously Bears), several times awarded best clubman and praised for his professionalism both on and off the field. These days ‘Champs’ is a well-known media personality, on radio, television, emceeing events and performing live with bands, including The Filthy Animals. ‘Champs’ is just as likely to be seen strolling the links of his local Brookwater Golf Club, or engaging in celebrity pro-ams, charity golf days or maybe belting out a cover version of ‘Cheap Wine’ at the annual Jack Newton Celebrity Classic.  

Inside Golf’s Andrew Crockett caught up with Champion, who is now a big part of ‘The Jack’, to talk a little AFL but more about golf and his love of the game. 

Can you remember when you first got into golf and who got you into the game? 

I’m from country South Australia and mum, dad and my older brother played.  Because we were just so competitive as a sporting family, golf really suited, and I took to it very early. I don’t know what it was that sort of got me hooked, that gave me the passion for it, but I think because it’s such an individual game and I am competitive with everything I do. Golf just suited my personality. 

As a kid I played at the Kadina Golf Club on Yorke Peninsula, which has got sand scrape greens. So, when you travelled to Adelaide or any sort of city that had greens, it was like going to heaven in that you didn’t have to rake and scrape the line to the flag to have a putt.

As a junior, I’d go and play nine holes and then just keep on playing until it was dark. 

Now a passionate golfer, Champion plays his golf at Brookwater in Queensland. 

What sort of handicap did you get down to as a teenager before you really got into AFL? 

 I was around about the 13 mark. Once footy started, it was just sort of spasmodic when you played golf. It’s always been my goal to get to single figures. That’s been a goal for probably 40 years now. The lowest I’ve been is 10.2. 

In the peak of your AFL career, were you golfing much with any of the boys? Any good players amongst them? 

We only really had one day off. You’d have a hit, or you’d go to a corporate day or something like that. Some of the AFL players are real golf enthusiasts and play well. Brad and Chris Scott, who are both coaching now, they were always very handy. Jason Ackermanis is now pretty much off scratch. Dan Rich, I think he might be single figures. Alistair Lynch, my best mate, we play every Wednesday at Brookwater in the social comp and he hits a good ball, but we’re both still too inconsistent.  

Okay, so Jack Newton. Did you ever meet Mr. Jack Newton? 

Ripper bloke. I’ve been retired for 24 years now. Shortly before I retired Alistair Lynch, we were still both playing footy then. Lynch, he loves his golf, comes to training during the week and he said he just played in this Jack Newton Celebrity Classic up on the Sunshine Coast and if you ever get a chance to get an invite, it’s amazing! It’s a bloody good three days of golf, entertainment, drinks, food, and the ‘who’s who’ of Australia are there.

Just after the 2000 Olympics, the organisers of The Jack knew I was friends with Kieran Perkins and said to me, “If you can get Kieren Perkins to come and play, you’re in.”  I’ve gone, right, deal. So, I’ve just absolutely pestered Kieren to come and play in this event.  He begrudgingly said, “I’m not a very good golfer.”  I said, I don’t care. I really want to play, you have to play. And thankfully, he agreed. The next year, I got an automatic invite. And the invites have kept coming since. That was 26 years ago. Now I’m on the committee for the tournament and I’ve emceed a few times. So, I’ve gone from begging to be involved in this tournament, to now being a big part of it and loving it. 

I’ve made so many friends out of The Jack.  We do say it’s a family. Everybody looks forward to it each year. Jack Newton’s son (Clint) and his wife (Carly Newton) do a great job of building this tournament the great Jack Newton started. Last year was a bit disappointing though, as I was paired up with Jan Stevenson and rain cancelled that day’s play. But very much looking forward to the event at Cypress Lakes in December. 

Have you played much golf around the world or mostly in Australia?

I’ve been lucky enough to play some fantastic courses, like the old course, St Andrews, Pebble Beach, Hawaii, New Zealand. I have travelled a bit the last couple of years with work and more planned over the next couple of year. I am going to try to get to as many courses as possible. I love playing new courses, different courses. 

Favorite courses in Australia? 

I do love Brookwater just for its natural beauty and how much of a challenge it is. We travel to Barnbougle and Lost Farm every year, and we play there when we travel down to the Launceston Cup for the races. I really enjoy, Barnbougle. My brother is a member at Kooyonga and my nephew’s a member at Glenelg, so obviously being from South Australia, it’s always nice to get back home and we normally try to fit in a couple of rounds. 

Champion pictured with Jack Newton and Bob Hawke at the annual Celebrity Classic.

Who are some of the most fun celebrity golfers you’ve had a hit with? 

There have been some fun ones, for sure. Kram (Spiderbait) plays The Jack every year….in shorts and thongs. He hits a pretty good ball. He was so close to winning a couple of times and he just loves it. He doesn’t get caught up in the whole, dress regulations and etiquette, but he’s the nicest guy in the world. 

Elite sports performance and pressure. Can you see any similarities with the mental game in AFL and the approach on the golf course?

That’s a great question. If I was an AFL coach of a senior footy club, I would encourage as many of my players to play golf as possible. It builds that competitive edge within yourself because the game is all about you. You can’t blame anyone else. So, you’ve got a role to play with footy, and you’ve got a role to play as a golfer in managing your way around a course. It’s all about you and your concentration and doing what you need to do and doing what you think is the right thing.

When it comes to course management, and this is where the similarities come in, is that in this day and age of footy it’s all about, managing your way down the field. So, it’s pretty much like a golf hole, you have to strategize your way forward, and keeping possession of the footy. Back in the day, we just used to bang it down the line and that was sort of it. But these days, it’s all about maintaining possession and strategising your way down the field, much like a fairway. 

When it gets to the very end of that strategy and management, when you’re putting, you need to get it in the hole, much like when you’re kicking for goal, it’s all about routine. You know, you can kick and handle a footy without even thinking about it, but where some people get the yips and not quite get things right is when they have to go back, think about it. They’ve got the pressure on them and they have to slot it through the goal, or in the hole. That is then all about technique. It’s just like a golf shot, just like a golf putt, you’ve got the right technique, and you execute it, you’ll kick a goal or you’ll put it in the hole. It is kind of similar.

Richard Champion, a former AFL star with the Brisbane Lions.

If you strike it perfectly if you’ve got a nice smooth swing, you hit it in the right spot, same if you drop the ball onto your boot correctly and you follow through with your foot, it’s going to go through the goal and you’ll get the same result. 

I think it’s the same as if you’ve got a problem with your kicking or with your drives or whatever it is. Again, it’s thinking the glass half full scenario, you should be telling yourself the positive things to do.

www.richardchampion.com.au