Weekend Read: Why LIV star Cameron Smith wants golf to copy rugby league

First Cameron Smith helped fuel the LIV revolution, and now he wants to start another, believing golf can learn a thing or two from rugby league and his team Ripper GC, writes Brent Read.

Cameron Smith helped fuel a revolution. Now he wants to start one of his own. Smith, whose big-money move to the LIV Golf League helped the Tour in its pursuit of credibility, has been in Australia for the past few weeks enjoying the comforts of home.

Only last week, he played at Nudgee Golf Club in the Queensland PGA. The last time he did that, he reckons, may have been a decade ago around the time he turned professional.

Smith has done plenty since then, not least win the Open Championship before being lured across golf’s great divide by Greg Norman.

Right now though, he wants to talk shop. He wants to talk about being part of a team and helping grow that team – Ripper GC – into the sort of juggernaut that can become a global force.

Ripper GC is the only all-Australian team on the LIV Tour. Smith is its captain and talisman. He takes his responsibilities seriously, right down to weekly meetings with his new general manager Nick Adams.

He plays a part in selecting members of the team. He is surrounded by fellow Australians and at this point in time, there are no plans to alter that theme.

The colours of maroon and gold were selected with two of his great loves in mind – Queensland and Australia. He even played a role in designing some of the merchandise.

Ripper GC captain Cameron Smith owants to turn his team into a global force. Picture: LIV Golf

“I would say I definitely have a big role,” Smith said.

“I wouldn’t say I sign off on anything, but you know, the rugby old school rugby sweater was something that I came up with and everyone loved.

“And the logo, the name, all that stuff at the start was all a pretty cool process. Although there were a lot of other people there with their input, it was pretty fun, pretty cool.

“There is a lot of hands-on stuff. You know, whether it be Zoom calls, meetings during the week or stuff that we’re really not used to.

“It’s definitely different, but it’s something that we’ve all kind of taken and run with.”

They don’t plan to stop running either. LIV and the PGA Tour remain locked in talks over a merger but Smith insists the team concept will live on regardless.

Whether a peace deal comes to fruition is not exactly at the forefront of Smith’s mind. He and Adams – formerly of ESPN and Sony Australia – are pushing ahead with plans to get bigger and better.

They want to set up a pathway – complete with a High Performance Centre – in Australia for young golfers to feed into Ripper GC. Australia is the fertile ground and Smith wants to plough it.

Ripper GC stars Matt Jones, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert have no plans on stopping the team, regardless of PGA-LIV peace talks. Picture: LIV Golf

“Cam and I have lengthy weekly conversations around strategically what we’re thinking about and what’s important to him,” Adams said.

“You know, one of those things is creating a really strong pipeline of players. You ask the question around keeping (the team) all-Australian – we think we can create a performance centre and a talent identification set up where we can identify the best kids coming through.

“We just want to give Australian kids that are into the sport of golf the best opportunity in a straight line to actually go from here to there and …. directly on the pathway through to LIV to eventually being on the Rippers.

“It makes it straightforward and easy for them. We’re the only Australian professional sports team that’s representing Australia 14 times a year globally.

“I think it’s a pretty unique situation which we’ve created.”

Smith grew up playing rugby league and cricket. Team sports are close to his heart. That, and the chance to leave a legacy in Australia, were driving forces behind his decision to make the switch to LIV Golf.

Smith convinced Greg Norman to bring an LIV event to Australia, becomeing a poster boy for the Tour. Picture: AFP

He talked with Norman about bringing an event to Australia and the result has been one of the most dynamic tournaments in the sport. LIV Adelaide has become a poster boy of sorts for the Tour, opening the game to a new audience.

The only downside of coming home at this time of year is that his beloved Brisbane Broncos have just kicked off their pre-season. Smith has trained at the club’s headquarters and played golf with a handful of their stars – earlier this year he even led them in a rousing rendition of the team song.

“That was pretty crazy,” Smith said.

“We had a big day at the pub and then went into the sheds and they won that game obviously against the Raiders in the wet.

“It was a really good game to watch. It was probably the first Broncos game I’ve watched in probably close to nine or 10 years.

“So it was a really cool experience, especially getting to know a couple of those guys and. Yeah, it was awesome.”

Smith has a handful of tournaments still to play while at home. The NSW Open is coming up as are the Australian Open and PGA.

After that, he will return to LIV and continue selling a story that he and Adams believe they can take around the world. The revolution is far from over.

Originally published as Weekend Read: Why LIV star Cameron Smith wants golf to copy rugby league