Brendan Maloney has been something of an icon in the Australian golf media scene for many years and has now released his long-awaited memoirs.
Maloney’s career spanned the glory days of Greg Norman through to the rise of Tiger Woods and beyond.
As the book launch Media release says:
The book captures four decades inside the ropes and inside the media centre, with the keen eye and dry wit that made him one of Australian golf’s most trusted voices. A life member and past president of the Australian Golf Writers Association, Moloney covered 15 major championships and countless international tournaments during his years at Melbourne’s The Age newspaper.
Under his own steam at the helm of Interstate Moloney Group (IMG), he was in demand as both a columnist and running media centres at PGA tournaments.
In 75 Plus Thais, he reflects affectionately on the game’s characters, controversies, and changes, recounting tales from the titans of the fairways to the unsung heroes who shaped the sport locally.
Readers will find memorable encounters with legends like Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, and Greg Norman, alongside evocative portraits of those whose contributions to golf rarely make headlines.
The book’s title is inspired by a humorous incident at the Thailand Open, when a local player confused “ties” with “Thais” when discussing the tournament cut. It’s a fitting emblem for Moloney’s style which is always attuned to the human side of the game, even in the heat of competition.
Beyond golf, Moloney’s adventures included mussel farming, large-scale pumpkin growing, sky diving, flying gliders, and being the only journalist to complete the 400 km Red Cross Canoe Marathon on the Murray River.
In 2018, Moloney was inducted into the Victorian Golf Hall of Fame, joining only two other writers before him, Jack Dillon and Don Lawrence. His memoirs continue that tradition of excellence in sports writing.
An early review calls 75 Plus Thais “a terrific book reminding us of events and people from an era not so long ago who played their part in making our local game what it is today” and praises the sections on Peter Thomson as “worth it just for the Thomson stuff — but there is much more.”
You can order Seventy-Five plus Thais by Brendan Moloney now through Ryan Publishing.