Demons legend David ‘Ox’ Schwarz defends his golfing buddies in 13th Beach gender storm

Melbourne legend David Schwarz has teed off on the sex storm dividing a Victorian golf club, saying it was his mates who were suspended over a stunt in which one dressed up as a woman to snag a deal.

Melbourne great David ‘Ox’ Schwarz has been caught up in the gender storm dividing Barwon Head’s 13th Beach Golf Links, revealing it was his golfing buddies who were suspended after one dressed up as a female to protest the cheaper deal on offer for women golfers.

Schwarz told the Herald Sun on Thursday that while he had not been suspended from the club for two months like his mates, Terry, Nigel and Kevin, he was visible in video which has since circulated on WhatsApp.

“They played in my group but I wasn’t a part of it (the dressing up),” he said, adding “it was just a joke” and he also believed the new, cheaper six-day golf membership for women was unfair.

Video shows one of Schwarz’s golf buddies presenting at the club’s reception desk dressed in a golf skirt and wig, claiming he now identifies as a woman and should therefore be entitled to the cheaper deal, offered only to female players.

A male member presented at the 13th Beach Golf Links reception desk in a dress and wig. Picture: Supplied

He has since been suspended. Picture: Supplied

“It was a joke … I’m one of those members that would love a six-day membership because I don’t play weekend golf,” said Schwarz — who played 173 games and was the Demons’ 1999 best-and-fairest winner.

“I’ve been a member there for 15 years, and never played on a weekend, ever. I’ve never played in a club championship, and I’d love the opportunity to have a six-day membership.”

He said many members at the club felt the same.

“I understand we want to grow the game, and we want more women and whatever they can do to get more women to play, we’re all for that, but this is not the right way to go about it,” he said.

“I think what most other clubs … right around Victoria do, is offer a discount on a joining fee for junior memberships and that’s certainly a way to get to get more participants, but to isolate one section with a special membership is just totally unfair and probably not thought through because there’s a lot of people that financially find it difficult to pay their subs each year.”

David Schwarz has teed off about the way 13th Beach has handled its bid to get more members. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Schwarz said a number of other decisions made by the 13th Beach committee, including those involving recent renovations, had also “raised some eyebrows”.

And the suspension of a teenager for posting on social media that the pies were more expensive at 13th Beach than at the MCG showed how out of hand things had got at the club.

That decision had been successfully appealed, Schwarz said.

“There’s just been a lot of been a lot of mistakes (where) I think members haven’t been consulted,” he said.

“And when you try and make a point, it’s like the f..king Gestapo.”

Both 13th Beach Golf Links and Golf Australia have condemned the dressing-up stunt as disrespectful.

Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said any behaviour which opposed inclusivity, “whether it be with women, juniors, people with a disability or those from culturally diverse backgrounds”, reinforced the perception “that golf is stuck in the past and refuses to change”.

“Such behaviour should not be tolerated and should be challenged by the broader golfing community,” he said.

13th Beach Golf Links general manager Rob Hurley said the three men had been suspended for allegedly breaching club policies, not because of “the chosen attire of the members”.

He said club staff members had been treated with disrespect, filmed without consent and the video had then been published on a messaging service.

“13th Beach has a clear process for dealing with complaints related to member behaviour, and the process for this matter is still ongoing,” he said.

“13th Beach is committed to protecting and providing a safe work environment for its staff.”