Herald Sun Article on ACCC submission against Golf Australia

The following is a statement from SGA founder & Managing Director Matthew Pitt.

The Herald Sun published an article today (30/09/2026) with the headline: “Golf Australia reported to ACCC over claims it copied virtual golf club model”

While we are pleased that News Corp are reporting on the ACCC submissions alleging anti-competitive conduct by Golf Australia (GA), the initial narrative of the report suggests GA copying our idea business model is the issue. It is not. The issue we took to the ACCC is the allegation of anti-competitive conduct by GA.

The sub-headline in the original version published online states: “Social Golf Australia has accused golf’s governing body of brazenly ripping off a business product that gives weekend hackers an official handicap without having to join a club.”

While it is true that The Golf Australia Club replicates the SGA model that has been operating in partnership with GA for nearly two decades, and Golf Australia appear to have created an untenable conflict of interest by entering a market they own, govern and control, the issue that we and others took to the ACCC was not that GA have copied the business model of their the stakeholder Virtual Clubs, it is the allegation that GA are using their market power to gain an advantage in the market.

It is a distinction that we think is very important. Social Golf Australia does not have a problem with competition. We embrace it. We started in the Virtual Club sector in Australia two decades ago and we would have had a dozen entities copy our model. As it happens, nearly all of them have come and gone while SGA has become the biggest golf club in Australia.

We have been competing for nearly two decades and we believe competition ultimately produces better services, better value and more choice for Australian golfers. And Golf Australia has benefited directly from that with more than 3 million dollars paid in affiliation fees by SGA since 2006.

Over a long period, we have demonstrated that we love competition. What we don’t like is a fellow competitor breaking the rules to try to gain an advantage. Our concern in this matter is about whether that competition is occurring on a level playing field.

It is valuable to note that Golf Australia isn't simply another participant in this market. It is the national governing body of the sport and sits at the centre of Australia's handicapping and golf administration ecosystem. For many years, organisations such as SGA have worked within that system controlled by GA, paid affiliation fees and helped introduce thousands of social golfers to the formal game.

Australians understand the concept of a fair go. If Golf Australia wants to compete with SGA and other independent providers, we welcome that competition. But it should compete on the same terms and without using its position as the governing body to give its own product an advantage.

At SGA, we don't object to competition. We object to the referee joining the game and then changing the rules. Our intention is not to prevent Golf Australia Club from existing. It is to ensure Australian golfers continue to have genuine choice and that independent organisations can compete fairly.

SGA has spent many years supporting Australian golf and providing an affordable pathway for social golfers to obtain and maintain an official handicap and contributed millions of dollars to our governing bodies via affiliation fees and driven millions of dollars into golf clubs around Australia. We want to continue doing that alongside Golf Australia and other providers.

All we are asking for is a level playing field.

For more information about SGA's Submission to the ACCC, Click here.