There’s been a lot of changes in the golfing industry over the past 30 years, and there’s one Australian professional who’s been at the forefront of those advancements. That’s Denis Brosnan.
Denis started out as the golf pro at Redcliffe Golf Club near Brisbane in 1967. During his time there, he met a young caddie called Wayne Grady and showed him how to grip a club. He also gave a few lessons to a promising youngster named Ian Baker-Finch at the nearby Beerwah club. (Later, he was to help both of them with customized clubs and other equipment in the early stages of their pro careers.)
Probably the most significant thing that happened at Redcliffe Golf Club though, was that while he was working there, Denis first conceived the idea of making golf clubs.
At the time, it seemed buying golf equipment was out of reach for most Australians. Worse still, the product on the market wasn’t even suited to Aussie conditions. Denis decided to explore new technology, in an effort to create better quality irons and woods for the masses. Clubs designed specifically for everyday Aussies and everyday Aussie conditions.
The turning point came in 1977, when Denis was playing in the Australian Open. A casual chat with some overseas pros alerted him to the golf boom in the US and UK. Denis made a decision that was to change not only his future, but the future of golf in Australia.
Like most club pros, long hours were already par for the course for Denis Brosnan. When he decided to take on manufacturing giants like Prosimmon, Dunlop, Slazenger and Spalding (while keeping his pro job full time) many people thought he was as mad as a cut snake. But Denis believed that he could make it work for a couple of reasons. Firstly (and strange as it may seem) he would be one of only a few golf-oriented people in the golf manufacturing business at the time; secondly, he knew that if anyone understood what the average Australian golfer wanted, it was him.
Like any good Aussie battler, Denis Brosnan worked hard to get his business going. Within a year, staff had doubled, and what started as a tiny operation with four employees, has now grown into the second largest producer of golf equipment in the country.
Understandably, Brosnan Golf had a number of takeover offers, but Denis has been determined to keep control of the business for family reasons. His wife, June, works on the admin side, Denis concentrates on marketing, research and development, while their son Paul, manages the day-to-day operations as the General Manager.
The Brosnan Golf factory is only a stone’s throw from Virginia Golf Club, where Denis first nurtured boyhood dreams of golfing glory, back in the early 60’s. Denis Brosnan has definitely stayed close to his roots, and Bronsan Golf reflects those true blue Aussie values.