THE Horsham Golf Club has appointed pro golfer Paul Riley as its new general manager/director of golf.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Riley is currently working at The Jockey Club in Hong Kong as the head of golf and tournament director and will start his new duel-position role in Horsham from June 18.
Horsham Golf Club president Leo Delahunty said Riley was a big coup for the club.
“It’s great to have a general manager and a director of golf who is a professional golfer at the same time,” he said.
“He is currently in Hong Kong at The Jockey Club where they have 54-hole golf course. Before that he was working in Singapore. He has been overseas for a number of years and was looking to move back to Australia to bring up his young family.”
Mr Delahunty said Riley would fit in with the Horsham Golf Club’s strategic plan which was implemented late last year.
“He has a really clear understanding of the Horsham Golf Club and what we are about, so it’s really exciting for us,” he said.
“He will be looking at expanding the golf program. His appointment falls neatly into our strategic plan we adopted in September. He is a very good fit for what we are trying to achieve. It is about trying to refocus on the golf offered at Horsham and he will be great.”
It’s great to have a general manager and a director of golf who is a professional golfer.
- Leo Delahunty
Mr Delahunty said it was a bonus that Riley has solid management experience as well as professional golfing pedigree.
“We advertised for a general manager and we were really open with the way we formulated the job position,” Mr Delahunty said.
“We had a number of very good applicants, some of whom were golf professionals and some of whom who had just done management. It was really about going through the opportunities. It was opportune that we have someone who has such great qualifications.
“He hasn’t played on the professional circuit for a while but he has been involved at a professional level and also with the administration side of things.”
Riley will take over the position from current interim general manager John Ackland.
“John has filled a great role and done a lot of work that was badly in need of being done,” Mr Delahunty said.
“It was only ever a short-term appointment. The process to find someone permanent took a while but we had to do it right.”
