SINCE the Australian Pitch and Putt Open Golf Championship started in 2007, Canberra players have taken home 14 national titles, but who knew?

While 18-hole pitch-and-putt golf is big in Europe, particularly in England and Ireland (where it was invented in 1929), the game is still gaining momentum here and so is the national championship. 

The championship first kicked off in Australia in 2007 and now Warren Gray, a pitch and putt player (not putt putt!) and volunteer at the Canberra International Pitch & Putt (CIPP) golf club, is making some noise about it in the lead up to this year’s championship, which is being held at the club in Narrabundah on November 16-17. 

“I just love the sport and want to raise the profile and get more people playing it,” says Warren, 66, of Calwell.

“Pitch and putt golf is little known and deserves recognition as a healthy pursuit whether you are young, old or anywhere in between.”

Warren’s seen these healthy benefits first hand since he started playing at the old course in Queanbeyan about 25 years ago. 

Back then he would take his daughter with him and push her around in a stroller while he played, which he says was easy because of the short course – about a kilometre long. 

“Pitch and putt is about 66 per cent of what you’d play on a big course, [which makes it] very, very hard to lose a golf ball so you’re not taking your time looking for lost golf balls,” he says. 

“It’s about chipping it on to the green and putting it into the hole.

“The big thing at the moment is that people are time poor, but with pitch and putt, it only takes an hour and a half to play.

“You can have it over and done with and get home and do your weekend chores.” 

Warren also wants to raise awareness of the benefits on the overall health of the community and the people who play it. 

“The politicians don’t back you unless you’re the Canberra Brumbies or Raiders,” he says.

“But pitch and putt is a great way to get the kids off the couch, it’s a low-impact sport, there’s little to no injuries and, on the other end, it keeps the older generation out of the health-care system a little longer.

“Our unofficial motto is: ‘It keeps you healthy, physically, mentally and socially’.”

Warren also loves that pitch and putt is one of the few gender-equal sports around. 

“Both men and women tee off from the same spot and quite often the ladies will win,” says Warren, who believes it’s all-inclusive, too. 

“Our oldest member is 97 and still plays a couple of times a week and we also have members with disabilities including being legally blind, suffering from MS or Parkinson’s.”

Then there’s members, like Warren, who come from a golfing background and find pitch and putt easier on their bodies. 

“I’ve had knee replacements and a bad back so walking around a big course takes it out of me,” he says.

“It’s a great starting point for new players, it’s also great for people coming to the end of their golfing career or for people wanting to hone in on their short game.

“Anyone from the age of eight can play [and it’s] much cheaper than traditional golf as you can spend a couple of thousand dollars on a set of clubs (14 clubs) to play big golf but with pitch and putt you are only using three.” 

And it’s not without competition, with Canberra members often qualifying to compete nationally and internationally, but Warren says people don’t often go far because they have to pay their own way. 

ACT members make up a big chunk of the state competitions, such as the NSW and Victorian competitions, and will fill a large number of spots in the upcoming national competition.

Marie Hutchison, the women’s champion of the national competition in 2015, agrees with Warren and says it’s a game for everyone. 

“Pitch and putt caters for beginners as well as quite advanced golfers,” says Marie, 81, of Queanbeyan. 

“One of the noticeable things about pitch and putt is that everyone joins in whereas in some golf clubs men don’t want to associate with the women. 

“Here, everyone plays with everyone else. There’s a real social feel about it.”