59club Recognises AU/NZ Leading Clubs & Resorts in Service Excellence
COOGEE BAY, SYDNEY — On Friday, 29th May 2026, 59club Australia & New Zealand held its third annual Service Excellence Awards at the Coogee Bay Hotel on the eastern beaches of Sydney. The intimate awards cocktail ceremony served as the ultimate stage to recognise the very best Venues, Teams, and Individuals for their unwavering dedication to customer service excellence.
59club Australia/New Zealand’s industry accolades are uniquely determined by scores collected from impartial mystery shopping audits.
These rigorous evaluations assess the exact experience afforded to patrons, measuring everything in accordance with 59club’s objective global benchmarking criteria.
New South Wales Golf Club & Links Golf & Wellbeing Dominate the Field
Two properties stamped their authority on the region’s golf hospitality landscape this year. New South Wales Golf Club and Links Golf & Wellbeing emerged as the main winners of the night, securing accolades in a total of eight awards between them, while both successfully retaining their coveted Gold Flag Designations.
New South Wales Golf Club enjoyed a spectacular clean sweep across multiple major categories, highlighted by:
- Golf Operations Team of the Year: Awarded to New South Wales Golf Club, led by Craig Stickling, PGA.
- Retail Manager of the Year: Awarded to Brad Fairclough.
- Food & Beverage Manager of the Year: Awarded to Victoria Trikilis.
- Superintendent of the Year (Over $120 Green Fee): Awarded to Mark Parker for immaculate, championship-tier course presentation.
Meanwhile, Links Golf & Wellbeing proved its regional powerhouse status as Paul Rolles claimed the prestigious Golf Manager of the Year title, reinforcing the resort’s elite management standards.
Setting the Standard: The Elite Individual & Experience Winners
The event presented six main award titles recognizing sustained excellence throughout 2024 and 2025, alongside six specialized awards honoring the teams responsible for delivering the single best one-off experiences in the country.
Service Excellence Main Award Winners
- Golf Manager of the Year: Paul Rolles (Links Golf & Wellbeing)
- Golf Operations Team of the Year: New South Wales Golf Club (Led by Craig Stickling, PGA)
- Retail Manager of the Year: Brad Fairclough (New South Wales Golf Club)
- Food & Beverage Manager of the Year: Victoria Trikilis (New South Wales Golf Club)
- Superintendent of the Year (Under $120 Green Fee): Kurt Schulenberg (Long Reef Golf Club)
- Superintendent of the Year (Over $120 Green Fee): Mark Parker (New South Wales Golf Club)
Leading Individual Experience Award Winners
- Leading Individual Food & Beverage Experience: New South Wales Golf Club
- Leading Individual Retail Experience: Manly Golf Club
- Leading Individual Golf Operations Team: Links Golf & Wellbeing
- Leading Individual Golf Visitor Experience (Under $120 Green Fee): Coolangatta & Tweed Heads Golf Club
- Leading Individual Golf Visitor Experience (Over $120 Green Fee): New South Wales Golf Club
- Most Improved Golf Visitor Experience: Portsea Golf Club & Mercure Portsea
Flag Designations: The Ultimate Industry Benchmark
The ceremony culminated with the presentation of 59club’s iconic Gold, Silver, and Bronze Flag Designations—the international hallmark for clubs and resorts striving to deliver elite facilities and service to members and guests. Eight flags were awarded in total.
🥇 Gold Flags
Elanora Country Club officially joined the exclusive ranks of Gold Flag venues in Australia. By consistently exceeding the stringent testing criteria, Elanora adds its name to an illustrious list of industry leaders who successfully retained their Gold status: New South Wales Golf Club, The Lakes Golf Club, and Links Golf & Wellbeing.
🥈 Silver Flags
13th Beach Golf Links made history by becoming the first venue to successfully transition from a Bronze Flag to a Silver Flag—a testament to their continual focus on elevating the customer journey, backed by a nomination for F&B Manager of the Year. Glenelg Golf Club also retained its Silver Flag, demonstrating remarkable year-on-year consistency.
🥉 Bronze Flags
Portsea Golf Club enjoyed a breakthrough evening, capturing its first-ever Bronze Flag Designation alongside the Most Improved Golf Visitor Experience award. The achievement capped off a highly successful cycle for Portsea, which shared nominations across Retail, Golf Operations, Club Management, and Agronomy. Noosa Springs Golf & Spa Resort also proudly retained its Bronze Flag status.
From 59club
Reflecting on the collective progress of the industry, Sam Hughes, General Manager of 59club Australia & New Zealand, commented:
“It was an honour to once again celebrate the outstanding achievements of the venues and individuals who have partnered with 59club Australia & New Zealand this year. We continue to see remarkable improvements across all venues as they apply rigorous measurement to their customer journeys and team interactions, consistently raising service standards and setting new benchmarks for excellence in the golf industry.
Their ongoing commitment to enhancing guest experiences, driving revenue growth, and building lasting brand loyalty remains truly inspiring. It is especially rewarding to witness the awards grow year on year, with more attendees each year joining us to recognise and celebrate this collective progress. To all nominees and winners, your passion, dedication, and hard work continue to shape a stronger, brighter future for our industry.”
The 59club team extended a special thank you to its valued partners—Turtleson, Golf Industry Central, Pacesetter Technology, Global Talent Solutions, Zen Golf, Power Tee, Banbury Litho Ltd, Caddy Clubhouse, and Studio Graphene—for their unwavering support, with eyes already firmly focused on an even brighter celebration in 2027.
The 59club Global Awards are being held in November in the Algarve, Portugal.
