English professional golfer Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston (pictured top right) stole the show at the recent GCSAWA Margaret River Conference, making a surprise guest appearance on the final day of the popular biennial event (17-19 August). The European Tour winner, famous for his laid back larrikin nature, big beard and trademark nickname, has been based in Perth for much of the year as he rehabs from a significant hand injury which put paid to his 2025 DP World Tour season. Johnston, together with wife Jodie and daughter Harley, made the three-and-a-half hour journey down from Perth to speak to around 80 delegates about his journey in golf and the significant mental health battles he faced in the wake of his rapid rise to fame. 

Johnston, now 36, debuted on the European Tour back in 2011 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa before going to earn his full card for the 2012 season. His breakout season would come in 2016 when, in a whirlwind four months, he claimed his one and only Tour win to date – the Open de España at Real Club Valderrama – before finishing T7 at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and T8 at The Open Championship at Royal Troon, his highest ever finish in a major. He finished 25th in that season’s Race to Dubai and earned over €1.267 million in prizemoney (his total career earnings are above €4.5m). That success, coupled with his jovial personality and unique nickname (coined by a childhood mate whilst they were playing a round of golf), endeared him to many and he quickly became a fan favourite across the globe. 

However, as he told an enthralled audience at Margaret River, things would quickly unravel. Despite enjoying the fame and the attention that came with it, it triggered an inner turmoil which would eventually see his form drop off significantly and ultimately saw him fall out of love with the game. Despite initially refusing to get professional help and not talking about what was affecting him, it was after a series of tournament withdrawals and the insistence of his wife that he started to address his issues. 

“I had a real good season that year (2016) and started playing well and the whole ‘Beef’ thing came out and I went from being completely unknown to having so many people coming up to me,” explained Johnston.

“I’m not going to lie, it was great fun, but with that fame, that place I was in, I started comparing myself to the likes of the bigger players – your Rorys, your Jon Rahms – and I started to put so much pressure on myself to play and compete like them when I wasn’t at that level. I was still very much on a learning curve and way behind in terms of my playing development, yet I was putting myself under this pressure to compete like them.  

“I would come off the golf course at the end of the week – where I finished, say, mid-30s – and I’d be so upset at myself. I remember after playing the 2017 Open at Birkdale – where I finished in the 20s – being so angry at myself. I was in that space where I was telling myself ‘I gotta win, gotta win, gotta win, hit better shots, hit it closer, I gotta shoot this score, that score, pressure, pressure, pressure’. 

“When I started comparing myself to other people and not living in my lane, I was slowly digging myself into a deeper and deeper hole. I stopped enjoying competing, stopped enjoying playing golf and stopped doing the things that I used to enjoy. It was actually here in Perth (playing the World Super 6 event) and I was playing the Pro-Am when I realised I couldn’t do this anymore, that I had to walk away from this. I’d dug myself into such a hole that I didn’t even want to be out on a golf course anymore! 

“That’s when my wife told me I needed to do something. I was a bit against it at the time and told her to just give me a couple of weeks out and I’ll refresh and regroup. I did that and then tried to play another event. I couldn’t, pulled out and after the third time of doing that she was, like, ‘Right, that’s it!’.” 

And so began the slow process of self-realisation for Johnston and working himself out of the hole that he had dug for himself. Being able to understand the destructive cycle he was in and talk about his issues proved cathartic. He was able to rediscover his core values which helped to instil a vital sense of perspective and balance which would have a profound effect. Now in a far better headspace, he has become a passionate advocate about the importance of mental health awareness, sharing his story in the hope that others going through a similar situation can take some learnings from what he has experienced.

“The mental health battle that people can fall into, it happens to most people in their lives and you can feel so shut off and embarrassed about it,” Johnston continued. “Men don’t speak about these things. I’ve always tried to be open and honest and when I came out and talked about what I was going through, I couldn’t believe the great feedback I got and how many people reached out and said they were in a similar position, thanks for sharing. From there it was like we just need to openly talk about this stuff and not hide things or bottle it up. To go through things like this is completely normal. Everyone has their own pressures in life – work, family, whatever – and the more people talk about it the more normal it becomes.” 

Johnston spoke of his awe and admiration for current world No.1 Scottie Sheffler who took some media heat after his comments in the lead-up to and during the recent Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Sheffler, who went on to win the tournament by a commanding four strokes, said in a pre-tournament press conference that there was more to life than winning tournaments and playing golf and that should the game ever start affecting his family life then he would walk away from it.

“I listened to that interview quite a few times and so many people misread his comments,” said Johnston. “I was like, this guy is in such a good mental space, it’s no wonder he is winning so many tournaments. He’s playing with such a clear mind, playing so freely. That is the space to live in. He’s so comfortable in his own skin doing what he does – I’m here, I’ll play and whether I win or lose I’ll go away and spend time doing what I want to do with the people who are most important to me. 

“It was one of the most interesting interviews I’ve heard in a long time and it shows all of us that sense of perspective and reality about what is really important in our lives. We all have our jobs, we all work and want to do well – have the best presented golf course – and we put so much pressure on ourselves to do the best we can, but at the end of the day it is well down the pecking order of what is important.”

Johnston’s presence and brutally honest session, which was followed by a more light-hearted Q&A about his career and life, capped off a big week for the GCSAWA. Also featuring prominently during the conference were two other international keynote presenters – St Andrews director of greenkeeping Sandy Reid and Eden Park turf manager Blair Christiansen. Both had jetted into Perth the week prior and had visited a number of golf clubs and stadiums alongside GCSAWA committee members Shane Baker (president, Mosman Park GC, CSTM) and Fraser Brown (superintendent, Lake Karrinyup CC). Also joining them as a keynote speaker was VGCSA president and Commonwealth Golf Club superintendent Adam Lamb who spoke on the recent Renaissance Golf Design redevelopment of the Melbourne Sandbelt course.

Reid, who arrived at St Andrews in 2018 after a distinguished career at another of Scotland’s famous links, Carnoustie, gave two presentations while in Margaret River. The first included a detailed account of the history of St Andrews, a look at the seven courses which the St Andrews Links Trust oversees and the greenkeeping department which comprises a total of just over 100 people (a mix of 60 permanent greenkeeping staff plus a number of summer seasonals, admin staff, gardeners, irrigation techs, mechanics and rangers) spread across three teams working out of three different facilities.

Reid’s second presentation took delegates on more of a personal journey from his early days in the highlands of Scotland through to his first job at Letham Grange and onto his current role at St Andrews. He spoke with great fondness of the 21 years he spent at Carnoustie, initially joining there in 1994 under legendary greenkeeper John Philp who had helped restore the famed links to its former glory. After experiencing the 1999 Open Championship as an assistant greenkeeper, by the time the course hosted the 2007 Open Reid was head greenkeeper of the Championship Course and in 2012 took over from Philp who had retired after 27 years in charge. Reid would then move to St Andrews as director of greenkeeping in December 2018 – he applied for the job just as Carnoustie was hosting the Open that year – and was part of the team that hosted the famous 150th Open in 2022 which was won by Australia’s own Cameron Smith.

Fellow keynote Christiansen, who had only recently returned to New Zealand after spending 42-days based at MetLife Stadium in New York as a FIFA pitch consultant for the Club World Cup, spoke about his role as turf manager at Eden Park where he has been for the past 20 years. He discussed the evolution of the ground from a rugby and cricket venue into a true multi-purpose stadium that is now on the cusp of a major redevelopment. Christiansen spoke about the changes in the nature of the Eden Park surface, their switch to hybrid surface technology, their portable cricket pitch set up and agronomic practices.

Elsewhere across the program, WA superintendents Callum Hitching (Karratha CC) and Roger Innes (Kalgoorlie GC) gave presentations. Hitching spoke on the redevelopment of the Karratha course, while Innes relayed his greenkeeping journey from South Africa to Australia and now preparing the Graham Marsh-designed desert course for the WA PGA Championship each year as part of the PGA Tour of Australasia. Royal Canberra superintendent Ryan Stores, who was a guest of WA John Deere distributor AFGRI Equipment, also spoke on the recent works at the club, including converting the fairways back to couchgrass from bentgrass. GCSAWA president Baker also spoke on his recent travels, including being a volunteer at Oakmont Country Club for the 125th US Open. 

The conference also included the GCSAWA AGM with Whaleback Golf Club superintendent Ben Eddy elected to the committee alongside Baker, Brown and Wembley Golf Complex’s Nick Kinley. The event concluded with a golf event at the nearby Margaret River Golf Club (superintendent Scott Barnett) where Sam Butler (Marri Park GC) and David Cassidy (The Cut) collected the stroke and stableford shields respectively. The ASTMA congratulates the GCSAWA on another fantastic event, in particular the efforts of Baker and Brown who organised and chaired the event seamlessly. 

Photos (from top down): Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston; GCSAWA’s Fraser Brown (left) with presenters Andrew Johnston, Sandy Reid (St Andrews) and Blair Christiansen (Eden Park); Sandy Reid; Blair Christiansen; and golf winners Sam Butler and David Cassidy. 

Story and photos: Brett Robinson