BACK in the day, it would have been unheard of for a woman to be running the show at one of Melbourne’s elite sandbelt clubs.
That’s certainly no longer the case, with Metropolitan appointing the eminently qualified Dayle Marshall the club’s new general manager.
As far as we can ascertain, Marshall becomes only the second woman in history to be appointed GM of a sandbelt club. The other one was the now retired Andrea Watson who shone in roles at Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne before winning the big job at Yarra Yarra.
Marshall replaces the incumbent Jon Gahan at Metro.
Gahan spent not much more than a year in the job before being headhunted by the Fox Group to oversee the redevelopment of the Capital Golf Club in Melbourne.
The company founded trucking magnate, Lindsay Fox, bought the Capital recently from Crown casino for around $100 million.
Metro has promoted Marshall from within its ranks, proving the powers that be are smart enough to recognise one of their own in plain sight.
“I’m so honoured that the people on the Metropolitan board have put their trust in me. It is an iconic club known around the world.
“It’s the people who make the club. As membership manager for the last nine and a half years, I feel I have come to know all of them. They have such a sense of pride in the place and there is a real sense of friendship among them.”
The Metropolitan course, one of the best on the Melbourne sandbelt.
Marshall, a highly respected sports executive with a deep history in golf administration, officially started the new job at the end of June.
She is a longstanding member of neighbouring Kingston Heath, playing pennant for the club. She was also an outstanding amateur player for Victoria and Australia. She tried life on the tour as a travelling amateur before realising, “it wasn’t the life I wanted” and turned her attention to the business and commercial side of the game.
“I have been so lucky to have had so many mentors and role models in my life along the way. They have all contributed to me getting this role,” Marshall said,
She reels them off by the dozen, but they are far too numerous to list here except for her partner, Ashley, a former tour player who has also had a stellar career in golf.
The couple have a son, Cameron, 23.
“He has autism and an intellectual disability. It hasn’t stopped him. He’s a champion triathlete and has won six national titles,” she said with immense pride.
Marshall has hit the ground running with a significant test of her ability – the planned merger of Metro with neighbour Huntingdale a major agenda item. A member vote is looming on the decision which could see her running the biggest golf destination nationally and internationally in Australia.
It is an understatement to say she is extremely well qualified for the position.
Marshall had been in charge of member services at Metro for nine years, managing the club’s extensive membership portfolio of over 1,350 members. She also oversaw internal and external communications, corporate governance and clubhouse operations. Her time has included close collaboration and mentorship under prominent Australian golf management figures Peter Paccagnan, Michael Burgess and Gahan.
Dayle Marshall has been appointed General Manager at the Metropolitan Golf Club.
The club believes the internal promotion ensures operational continuity for the club as it celebrates its 125th anniversary, for which it has commissioned an updated history by former Age sports writer Charles Happell.
Marshall also brings an extraordinary depth of commercial, high-performance and community golf experience to the general manager position, underpinned by a diverse executive background.
She previously served as CEO of Women’s Golf Victoria, managing operations for 345 clubs and 35,000 members, and sat on the Victorian Institute of Sport Golf Program Management Team, while also pioneering the groundbreaking Women’s Golf Network to drive female participation in the sport.
As the co-founder and organisation manager of the Stuart Appleby Junior Golf Foundation, she grew the start-up non-profit to over 6,500 members.
From a commercial perspective, she is a co-business owner and Director of Yarra Bend Golf, one of Melbourne’s premier public golf and driving range facilities and has past event coordination experience with GOLFSelect.
Beyond golf, she has served as vice president of the School Council for Ashwood Specialist School, helping secure a multi-million-dollar Victorian government capital works grant to upgrade senior facilities and sports ground.
Dayle Marshall is a brilliant appointment by Metro.
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