Sport
16 January, 2026
Mark Wyllie becomes 10-time Maryborough Golf Club champion
Everyone enjoys a pastime activity to relieve themselves from the stresses of everyday life. For some, it could be knitting, doing puzzles, reading, or running. For Mark Wyllie, it’s golf.
Ever since first picking up an iron 45 years ago at the age of seven, golf has come naturally to Wyllie, culminating when he became a 10-time Maryborough Golf Club champion late last year.
It was a familiar face that introduced Wyllie to the world of golf, with his mother a seasoned player at the Talbot Golf Club.
“It was sort of a case of mum wanted to play golf and someone had to look after me, so I just tagged along and there were probably half a dozen kids about my age out there, so we all just went out and had a bash,” he said.
“Nowadays there aren’t too many kids playing, so unless you have got a few mates, it’s sort of hard to stick with it if you are only just a young kid by yourself.”
Advancements in technology have drastically changed the way golf is played since Wyllie first started, with equipment like clubs and balls routinely adapted to maximise performance, forcing courses to get longer and harder.
While the sport continues to evolve, Wyllie said the allure of perfection, no matter how brief, remains the same.
“I suppose it’s the old adage that you can always get better. You never know if next week you might have a once-in-a-lifetime round,” he said.
“It’s pretty easy on the body too, I find it easier to back up playing golf than it used to be playing football or cricket.
“When I started, it was the wooden-headed clubs for drivers and now it’s gone all titanium and whatever else they use.
“I’ve probably gone through around 10 sets of golf clubs, so you have to keep updating as the equipment updates.
“The courses continue to keep improving all the time and the upkeep seems to be better, so it’s progressed that way.”
Along his 45-year journey, Wyllie has collected club championships at Talbot, Creswick and even Tasmania while also playing a couple of Australian Open qualifying rounds.
However, Wyllie has routinely saved his best golf for the Maryborough Golf Club championship.
After recently finishing as A grade runner-up to Craig Boucher in the Andrew Maggs Memorial 27-hole scratch event during the club’s 109th annual tournament, Wyllie entered the final round of the championship as joint runner-up alongside Garry Sluce.
The duo trailed Jody Thomson by two when play started on Saturday, November 22, setting the stage for a three-way fight pitting former club champions against each other.
After falling behind early, Wyllie found his groove to tie with Thomson at the round’s conclusion. In the deciding playoff, Wyllie held his nerve brilliantly to birdie the 17th and par the 18th to clinch his 10th club championship.
“It just sort of unfolded in front of me, I wasn’t expecting anything. Garry started the best and I thought he would finish off,” Wyllie said.
“To be honest, I had no idea what the score was. Normally, I keep track of what’s going on, but for some reason this time I didn’t.
“It wasn’t until a couple of holes to go that I started thinking that I must be pretty close and then on the last hole, Jody indicated that we were tied.
“In the playoff, I probably played my best two holes for a long time.”
With work commitments routinely taking up his weekends, Wyllie doesn’t hit the course as much as he would like. However, that hasn’t stopped him from setting some lofty goals.
“It’s good to get out and relax from work. I’m probably out here five out of seven days a week because I walk the dog, that’s as close as I get to practising,” he said.
“I know the record (for club championships) is 17, so I’ve got a little way to go. My aim is to get to 17.”