John Drives Seniors to
QSOOM EVENTS
By David Newbery
John Jayo ’ s chest swells with pride and his eyes light up whenever there is mention of the PresCare Queensland Senior Order of Merit events .
That ’ s because the series of events is close to his heart .
As QSOOM ’ s coordinator , John has worked tirelessly for the past 3½ years to ensure club golfers aged 55 and over get the opportunity to play golf competitively at different courses throughout southeast Queensland .
“ We play about 30 events at different courses around Brisbane , the Gold and Sunshine coasts and out to Toowoomba ,” said John , who is also president at Redcliffe Golf Club .
Last year more than 670 senior golfers took up the challenge and that number is expected to grow as more clubs join the calendar of events .
Born in Spain , in Basque country , John grew up in Ingham ( North Queensland ) and attended James Cook University where he studied engineering and graduated with honours .
He moved to Brisbane to work for Telstra rising to national general manager and director of operations .
John told Q-Golf Online Magazine the golf bug bit when he joined Redcliffe Golf Club in 1980 .
Golf has been a constant in his life ever since and it is fitting he remains active in golf administration .
Mind you , he does take his mind off the job a couple of times a week when he and wife Dianne look after their two grandchildren .
I ask John , who plays off a tidy 10 handicap , how he became involved with QSOOM and what his role entails .
“ When Alan Davies ( inaugural coordinator ) relinquished the role to travel , Golf Queensland asked me if I ’ d be interest in taking over the role and that ’ s how I became involved ,” he said .
John liaises directly with golf clubs to create the annual calendar of events and keeps players updated with results and upcoming events .
“ The thing I love about QSOOM events is it gives you an opportunity to play good golf courses at reasonable rates and in a competitive environment ,” he said .
“ It ’ s okay to play different courses socially , but it ’ s nowhere near as much fun as playing competitively .
“ The other thing I like is it ’ s played in a friendly environment .”
Oftentimes , it ’ s where new friendships are formed and it ’ s not uncommon for players from different clubs to rendezvous after a round to share a meal and tell stories .
Of course , golfers , like fishermen , have a habit of adding colour to their yarns and there ’ s always a little friendly banter if a storyteller adds extra metres to a tee shot or a birdie putt .
It ’ s all good fun and one of the reasons why major sponsor PresCare jumped on board .
“ PresCare sponsors our events because we encourage an active lifestyle by playing a sport ,” John explained . “ The other benefit is the social interaction .
“ Golf actually keeps seniors active and healthy and encourages them to socialise , which is a bonus .”
Open to men and women , the events attract fields of between 50 and 100-plus . Occasionally , a number of border-hoppers join the field .
“ Players come from interstate and overseas to play while they are here on holiday . We had a Spanish golfer play at our Bribie Island event recently ,” John said . “ I don ’ t think he travelled specifically to play in our event , though .”
At QSOOM events , players are allocated points , however , not all events are equal .
“ For example , the 54-hole Queensland Senior Amateur is worth 450 points compared to an 18-hole event , which is worth 150 points ,” John said .
“ The players can play in as many events ( scratch and nett ) as they like and we pick their best eight scores over the season .”
www . golfqueensland . org . au Autumn 2017 Q Golf 23