Trott Elected as 10th President of the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects
MELBOURNE – The Society of Australian Golf Course Architects (SAGCA) has officially entered a new chapter following the election of industry stalwart Justin Trott as its 10th President. The announcement was made during the Society’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held last week in Melbourne, culminating a series of high-profile industry events that brought together the finest minds in Australian golf design and turf management.
Trott, a highly respected figure whose career uniquely bridges the distinct worlds of elite course design, large-scale construction, and comprehensive turf maintenance, steps into the leadership role at a pivotal moment for the sport. He succeeds Paul Mogford, who completed a tireless and highly successful four-year tenure at the helm. Joining Trott on the newly formed executive team is Ben Davey, who was elected as the Society’s new Vice President.
“It is an absolute honour and a privilege to have been elected as the 10th President of the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects,” Trott stated following his appointment. “I am looking forward to building on the strong, foundational work of those who have served before me as we continue to support, protect, and advance our profession on both a national and global scale.”
The AGM capped off a vibrant week for the Australian golf industry, which commenced with the annual Turf Conference at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. The week’s festivities transitioned into the formal Golf Architects’ meeting, followed by a round of golf and a networking lunch at the iconic Commonwealth Golf Club.
A major highlight of the gathering was an exclusive one-hour fireside chat featuring Richard Forsyth, the Director of Courses at Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Forsyth captivated the audience with profound insights into world-class course presentation and management. The event was further elevated by the presence of SAGCA Patron and Australian golfing legend Graham Marsh, who offered a poignant analysis of the contemporary challenges and economic pressures currently facing the broader golf industry.
A Lifelong Obsession with the Greens
Trott’s ascension to the presidency represents the culmination of a lifelong obsession with the sport. Describing himself as someone “born to live and breathe golf,” Trott’s professional trajectory was fundamentally altered at just 14 years old. A chance meeting in 1986 with renowned architect Ross Perrett at the grand opening of the Cape Country Club in Cape Schanck, Victoria, sparked an immediate and unwavering determination to pursue a career in golf course architecture.
Throughout his schooling and university years, Trott maintained close contact with Perrett and his legendary design partners, Michael Wolveridge and five-time Open Champion Peter Thomson. After completing five years of rigorous university study and finishing a brief but valuable stint as a groundsman at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Trott fulfilled his boyhood dream in 1995 by officially joining the powerhouse design firm Thomson Perrett & Wolveridge (TWP).
Over the next 16 years, Trott was privileged to work on hundreds of diverse projects alongside Thomson, Wolveridge, and Perrett. His design work took him across the globe, contributing to the creation and transformation of some of the world’s most celebrated layouts.
Among his extensive portfolio are landmark projects such as:
- Dent Island Golf Club
- Tianjin Fortune Lakes Golf Club (China)
- Moonah Links Golf Club Development
- The National Golf Club Redevelopment
- Remodeled layouts at Ballarat Golf Club and Manly Golf Club
- The acclaimed new Black Bull Golf Club at Silverwoods
The Turning Point: From Design to Contracting
However, a sudden and severe downturn in the Chinese golf market in 2011 forced a dramatic shift in the international industry landscape. Facing a mad scramble to secure immediate-term projects, Trott recognized an opportunity to venture into the commercial contracting and construction side of the business—a transition he describes as the most difficult professional decision of his life.
Leaving TWP, which had essentially become his family, to join the specialized golf course contracting firm Turnpoint marked a literal turning point in his life. The move exposed Trott to the intense technical realities of large-scale logistics, strict budgeting, complex costing, and rigid project delivery timelines.
He suddenly found himself managing hundreds of staff across simultaneous maintenance and construction divisions. At any given time, this responsibility involved overseeing the maintenance of a dozen premier courses across Australia while concurrently managing multi-million dollar construction projects from one end of the continent to the other, alongside various commercial landscape construction ventures.
In 2014, Turnpoint was acquired by Programmed Maintenance P/L, integrating the business into a massive national property services framework that today employs up to 30,000 people daily. Under this umbrella, the Turnpoint brand continues to maintain a substantial footprint across Australian golf infrastructure. The firm remains heavily engaged in premier greenfield developments—such as the world-renowned Cape Wickham Golf Club on King Island—as well as major redevelopments like the Shortland Waters Golf Club in Newcastle, and targeted enhancement programs like the recent re-bunkering project at Mollymook Golf Club.
This diverse corporate and creative journey places Trott in a uniquely advantageous position as SAGCA President.
“Being able to seamlessly jump from pure design to daily maintenance, and then to heavy construction, puts me into a very unique position to fulfill all the questions and challenges presented by modern clubs and complex projects within the golf industry,” Trott noted.
Guiding the Future of Australian Design
Founded in 1989 by a passionate group of visionary designers, the SAGCA was established to foster professional camaraderie, exchange innovative ideas, enforce the highest standards of design, and elevate the status of golf course architecture. Today, the fully constituted society is officially recognized by Golf Australia and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A), operating directly out of its headquarters at Golf Australia in Melbourne.
As President, Trott assumes leadership at a time when environmental sustainability and land scarcity dominate the architectural agenda. The SAGCA remains deeply committed to advancing sound environmental design, ensuring safety in design principles, and navigating the profound impacts of modern equipment technology on both legacy and contemporary golf courses.
“Both new and existing golf courses will simply not be able to escape rigorous environmental scrutiny moving forward,” Trott warned. “As suitable land becomes an increasingly precious resource, its utilization will require an absolute appreciation of detailed environmental planning, sophisticated landscape management, and careful rehabilitation methods.”
Beyond environmental stewardship, the SAGCA under Trott’s leadership intends to aggressively promote the broader societal values of golf courses, highlighting the mental and physical health benefits of the game, the vital social interactions it facilitates, and the critical importance of golf courses as irreplaceable green open spaces within modern, expanding urban centers.
Despite the heavy administrative and corporate responsibilities on his horizon, Trott’s personal love for the game remains entirely undiminished from the 14-year-old boy who stood at Cape Schanck nearly 35 years ago. He still sneaks away to play as often as possible at his beloved home course, The National Golf Club, where he currently plays off a formidable +1 handicap—a number he notes with a wry smile is “thanks mainly to the new handicapping system, otherwise a gracious four or five would be my preferred number of strokes asked.”
With a deeply rooted respect for the history of the game and a modern, holistic understanding of what it takes to build and maintain a sustainable golf course in the 21st century, Trott’s presidency promises to strengthen the position of Australian golf architecture on the world stage.
