Current Golf Victoria president Professor David Shilbury was among a further 15 Australians with a connection to golf who were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the annual King’s Birthday Honours list.

Professor Shilbury (pictured) was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to golf dating back more than three decades. 

After starting out for the Western Australia Golf Association in 1989, Shilbury made the move to Victoria where he became a non-executive director of Golf Victoria.

Shilbury has been president at Golf Victoria since 2022 and was made a Member of the Golf Australia Nominations Committee in 2024 with previous advisory roles for the AFL, Basketball Victoria, the Australian Touch Football Association and Cricket Australia. 

He is well known as the course creator of the Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University, and was the foundation president of the Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand 

Other Australians with strong connections to golf and their community who were awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on King’s Birthday include: 

Mr Maxwell Rolland Blacketer
Major Malcolm Wayne Botfield
Mr Leslie Desmond Hampel
Mr Lance Elwyn Harrigan
Mr Hieu Huy Hoang
Mr Mark Kevin Holton
Mr Philip John Ledger
Mr John Vincent Mackey
Mr John McKenzie Middleton
Mrs Margaret Phillippa Middleton
Mr Gary Robert Pollard
Mrs Wendy Jane Pope
Mr Juris Turmanis
Mrs Lorraine Evelyn Winchcomb

Story by Nick Creely/ Image courtesy of Golf Australia