After 344 games with St Kilda and Essendon, recently retired AFL star Brendon Goddard is swapping the Sherrin for pennant golf. We caught up with arguably the most talented celebrity swinger in the land.
Australian Golf Digest: So definitely no more footy? Word has it Carlton was chasing you before Christmas?
Brendon Goddard: [Laughs] It was funny hearing that. There’s not a lot of footy news to report in December, so the tabloids were after a whiff of any story they could get. But no phone calls [from Carlton]. It was all just a bit of carry-on.
So now that golf has finally pinched you in a full-time capacity, tell us how you got hooked?
Mainly through Dad. He wasn’t much of a footballer, cricketer or basketballer – the three main sports I played as a youngster. His parents owned a little general store in the small Gippsland town of Toongabbie. Dad was the local superintendent and used to water the greens and tees at the local Toongabbie golf course. I remember it had an old classroom building for a clubhouse and the club relied on an honesty system for green fees. My brother and I would tag along with Dad and belt balls and swim in the dam to fish out old golf balls. Mum and Dad have pictures of me swinging a golf club as a 3-year-old… I would always try to sneak out when I could but I was often busy playing all the other sports. I played Sundays occasionally and followed Dad around when he played competition rounds at Traralgon. He’d let me hit a few shots here and there.
When did those “few shots here and there” become more frequent?
Well, Dad brought me to Melbourne to watch Greg Norman play in the Heineken Classic. That was pretty cool seeing our best player up and close, but it probably wasn’t until I went to boarding school at Melbourne’s Caulfield Grammar that I really started playing more seriously. I played regularly at nearby Elsternwick golf course. Then, when I got drafted to St Kilda in the AFL, golf became more accessible to me and I have tried to play as much as I can ever since.
It seems to have come pretty easily to you. What do you play off these days? Scratch?
My handicap is floating around 1. I went from plus-1 to 1 during winter. I couldn’t break 32 points. My biggest problem was I would play twice a week but I wasn’t practising or actually working on the weak areas of my game. But I’m starting to get into the habit of doing that now.
How important was golf for you outside the pressures of AFL football?
Golf played a huge role for me. I actually tried to explain its importance in the early days to a former coach of mine, Ross Lyon. He had a go at me one time after the 2009 and 2010 grand finals. My weekly preparation has always involved playing golf and hitting balls a day before each game to stay relaxed. Anyway, I stuck to my routine for the grand finals and ‘Rossy’ got wind of it and hit me up the following pre-season. He said, “I heard you were playing golf before the grand final?” I replied, “Yep, I wasn’t going to change the routine that has worked for me my entire career.” He then asked, “Do you think golf had an effect on your performance?” I was pretty adamant and fired back, “No, do you think I could have done more on grand final day?” [In 2009 Goddard was heroic in a losing side against Geelong, toiling with a suspected broken nose and a fractured collarbone for 21 touches and nine tackles, while in 2010 he took one of the great marks in grand final history to lift St Kilda to a famous comeback draw with Collingwood and force a replay.] He left it at that because he knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on. People say it’s stressful playing golf, but I saw it as an opportunity to escape the suffocating bubble of AFL football. It was real escapism for me.
“People say it’s stressful playing golf, but I saw it as an opportunity to escape the suffocating bubble of AFL football.” – Brendon Goddard
Now that explaining the importance of golf to coaches is past you, what are your plans for the fairways?
Truth be told, I’ve been playing a bit more but just haven’t been able to find continuity. I’ve been spending more time with my wife and kids, too, which is great but I’ll ramp up my golf for sure. I’ve spoken to the pennant manager for Metropolitan Golf Club and I’m going to represent them in Melbourne pennants this year. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but the pennant season never aligned with my football commitments. So I’m starting to practise a bit more now and hopefully I can cement a spot in the team.
You’re great mates with Aussie tour pro Marcus Fraser. How did that come about?
We got to know one another really well through a mutual friend, another golf pro, Andrew Tampion. They’re both members of Peninsula Kingwood. I guess my love for golf combined with Frase’s love for footy saw us hit if off. He is a Bombers fan but when we first met I was still playing for the Saints. Suffice to say, he was pumped when I made the move to Essendon. He is one of my best mates these days and we play a lot at Peninsula Kingswood.
We’re hearing great things about that place. Is it all true?
Well, the first time I played the South course there was during the middle of winter and halfway around I said these are the best greens I’ve ever played on. I think the South course will be a top-10 golf course in Australia pretty soon, while I honestly believe the North course will be challenging Kingston Heath for No.2 in the country – it’s that good. I think the typography of the place is equal to, if not better than, Royal Melbourne. But the club has a really cool vibe. I envisage taking my daughters out there, letting them run around on the practice chipping area. We can all hit balls. It has this great country club atmosphere with a pool and tennis courts but it still keeps the golf courses as the main focus, which collectively in my opinion will form the best 36-hole golf facility in the country when it officially opens in March.
You’re also a member of the most exclusive golf club in Victoria, Cathedral Lodge (in Thornton). How did you manage this?
Towards the end of 2012 I met with Essendon to discuss my move. It was there I met the Bombers then-chairman David Evans. After the footy talk was done, we continued chatting and he started talking about golf, which got my attention. He told me his dream was to one day build his own golf course. When someone says that you automatically think, Yeah that’s my dream too. It’s one thing to have the vision to do something like that but to also have the resources and the courage to do it is something else. Everyone advised him not to do it but “Evo” saw it through. I’ve had a great relationship with him and his family ever since so it was a no-brainer when the opportunity came up to join his club. It’s a great place to get away for a weekend with the wife – we don’t have a holiday house so it’s the perfect place for us to get out of Melbourne and enjoy some country life. The culture Evo has created, the people involved, it’s a very special part of the world. Never mind the fact it’s a Greg Norman-designed course, which is only going to get better as it matures, too!
You’ve even dabbled in caddieing. Future career as a bagman?
I caddied for Andrew Tampion in the Australian Masters a few years ago, along with a few other tournaments. I always joked with Frase that when I retire from footy I’d jump on his bag. He told me he didn’t have anyone carrying for him at the Hong Kong Open last year so I got permission from my wife and the next minute I was jumping on a plane to Hong Kong. It wasn’t a great week score-wise but I enjoyed playing fanboy on the range, seeing guys like Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood hit balls up close. I could have stood there for hours and watched them.
Any bucket-list courses you want to tick off now that you’ve got the time?
A bunch of school mates and I go on a golf trip after Boxing Day every year. In 2017 it was King Island and these past holidays it was Adelaide. We played Royal Adelaide, Kooyonga and The Grange. I’m keen to get to Bonville Resort to take a look. I hear it’s pretty special. I’m planning a trip to the East Coast of America next year with a mate, who’s on a mission to play the top 100 courses in the world. I’m hoping to tick off Pine Valley and National Golf Links, and return to Shinnecock Hills and Friar’s Head. I love that joint.
Career highlights in golf?
The first time I shot under par was a pretty big moment for me. I had this hoodoo when I was a member of Yarra Yarra that I couldn’t shake. I was playing so well and just couldn’t break par. I would always tee off on the back nine and every time I would come to my final few holes (seven to nine), I’d gas it every time. My first ever hole-in-one was at Yarra too, on the 19th hole. It was a 98-metre temporary hole. It still counts, right?
They all count if no one else is counting.
Exactly.
Which scenario would you prefer to face: a 40-metre kick from in front to win your first AFL premiership or a sneaky, downhill five-footer to win your first club championship?
I’d back myself with the kick every day of the week. One thing on my bucket list is to win a club championship, so hopefully I can tick that off down the track. I really have no more excuses now. Maybe Cathedral Lodge (with only 70-odd members) is my best chance to do it [laughs].
Brendon Goddard spoke with Brad Clifton
