- Steve Price has threatened to cancel his membership of the golf club
- Dan Andrews is reportedly interested in joining Portsea Golf Club
- The members are divided over the ex-prime minister’s interest in the club
Shock jock Steve Price has threatened to ‘tear up’ his membership if former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews tries to join a golf club on the Mornington Peninsula.
“This is the Prime Minister who banned us from golfing for two years during Covid,” Price told Sky News Australia.
“This is the Prime Minister who has locked down this community even though we are 120km outside the city.
‘The same Prime Minister who had people playing golf on the other side of the bay. That man should absolutely not come to the golf club.’
On Monday the Herald Sun reported that the avid golf fan and now retired Prime Minister would face stiff opposition from Portsea Golf Club members if he were to apply for membership.
Steve Price has threatened to leave Portsea Golf Club if Dan Andrews is allowed to join
An avid golfer, Andrews tried to join Portsea Golf Club but was turned away
While president Phil Cramer said Andrews’ application would be considered in accordance with the club’s constitution, Price gave Cramer a blistering ultimatum.
“If Dan Andrews is allowed to join Portsea Golf Club I will resign, cancel my membership and play golf elsewhere,” Price said.
Former professional golfer Mark Allen also told 3AW that other golf clubs along the Mornington Peninsula are considering a similar response if Mr Andrews applies for membership.
“To the point where not only members of Portsea, but members of other clubs said that if he wants to join anywhere here, they just won’t let him,” he said on Wednesday.
The anger was partly due to state restrictions on golf during the pandemic.
“Think about one side of the peninsula where they could play (golf) and get around, on the other side of the peninsula they weren’t allowed to play,” Mr Allen added.
During Covid, golf enthusiasts in the Melbourne metropolitan region and parts of the Mornington Peninsula were banned from the fairways and greens – a rule only mirrored in the Northern Territory.
Portsea Golf Club (above) is one of Victoria’s most elite clubs and the president said he would consider all applications
Andrews is a keen golfer, but he is not a popular figure on the Mornington Peninsula
While clubs were allowed to reopen from September 2021, toilets had to remain closed, angering enthusiasts.
Announcing his retirement from politics, Andrews said he planned to spend more time with his family and on the golf course.
“As for what I would do now, I have some spare time and spend some time with Cath and the kids, play a bit of golf and read the pile of books on the corner that haven’t been read yet,” said Mr Andrews.
“I’m going to do a few things that are about me and I’m going to go through quite a challenging adjustment.”