TOM HAYES
TENNIS/GOLF
By TOM HAYES
FATHER and son duos are often hard to come by.
But what makes Andrew and Arlen Peavey different from the rest is the fact they have made a name for themselves across two different sports.
Andrew has done it all; a local tennis champion with a stacked resume, and now he is watching the rise of his son Arlen’s game in the sport of golf.
The Express ran a story on Andrew back in 2003, when he was presented with life membership at Morwell Tennis Club.
Up to then his achievements were quite astonishing, and since that date, more has been added.
Andrew began his tennis journey at the age of nine, growing up in a small farming community near Welshpool, called Hedley.
“I just followed my parents, mum and dad played B Grade for Hedley,” Andrew said on how he got into tennis.
“(Tennis was) huge, it was everywhere.
“I’ll give you an idea of Morwell, Morwell when I started coaching had six clubs in the town, now they’re down to one, it was massive and all courts were packed.”
Before and after tennis on every Saturday, he and his family would be out on the farm milking cows.
His rise in the game came thick and fast, never dying down, winning a junior premiership in his first year, before hastily rising the ranks.
“I got better quickly, by age 10/11 I played in the winning A Grade senior men’s flag that year,” Andrew said.
“And then by age 12, I was the second-youngest male player in history in the Gippsland Tennis Association (GTA).”
From the age of eight to 10, Andrew played at Hedley, before moving to Yarram Tennis Club until the age of 12.
Andrew would be recruited to the Traralgon Tennis Club for the next six years by Barry Cook, before moving to Morwell Tennis Club as an 18-year-old.
“The year I won the Traralgon Men’s singles club championship, which was 1986, Murray French – who was the top player at Morwell (Tennis Club) … recruited me over to Morwell to become club coach and I stayed there ever since, I was the club professional there for 30 years,” he said.
“Murray French was a big influence on me, he was big player at Morwell.”
Andrew would go on to win the Morwell Tennis Club Men’s Single Championship 24 times.
As a junior, Andrew’s highest ranking was number three in Victoria, boasting multiple flags in his younger years.
He won the GTA’s Men’s Singles Championships at the age of 18 and 20, before winning five more throughout his career.
But, the achievement on the court that he is most proud of now is becoming the Victorian Country Inter Regional Men’s Singles Champion in 1991, at the age of 23.
“I beat the number one player in the state, which was Steve Packham, that was a big victory,” Andrew said.
“Then in 1996, I won the Victorian Country week men’s singles, but growing up as a country boy, to win the inter regionals, that was the best players in country Victoria/Victoria, that was always a goal.”
Andrew represented Victoria Country on a number of occasions throughout his career, from being a representative to a champion.
“I was invited to go on tour (in Europe), but I just couldn’t afford it,” Andrew said.
“So I decided to stay and start up a business instead.”
Nowadays, Andrew runs a sports coaching business, where he has visited more than 75 schools, coaching thousands of students.
He teaches sports to school kids, ranging from tennis (of course), to Aussie Rules and soccer, to badminton and bowls.
Andrew is now teaching across a dozen-or-so schools around central Gippsland, running classes on Monday to Friday, which he has been doing for the past 30 years.
“I stepped down as the (Morwell Tennis Club) club pro, six years ago, and now I run school programs, teaching up to 500 kids a week … in up to 10 different sports,” Andrew said.
Now, it’s Arlen’s turn on the big stage, with the 11-year-old taking the golfing game by storm.
Arlen first picked up a golf club while in lockdown during the COVID pandemic, and immediately fell in love.
“COVID was a pretty interesting time for sport, golf was one of the few sports that actually had a surge in participants … because you could socially distance,” Andrew said.
“So that’s how he (Arlen) started, he found a club in the shed … and started hitting balls in the paddock.”
Arlen believes the reason he got into golf was his liking to mini-golf, finding it interesting.
Weeks later on his birthday, Arlen got a set of clubs and began to play down at the Morwell Golf Club, before eventually signing up as a member alongside his dad.
And just like his father, his rise as been astronomical in just a short period of time.
Andrew has since also given golf a go, currently having a handicap of 1 – must be that hand-eye co-ordination he developed in tennis!
“I’ve actually really enjoyed the journey into golf, I know the tennis world inside-out, so I’ve loved going in a new direction,” Andrew said.
At the age of nine, Arlen began playing golf in the Golf West Gippsland Division 1 Men’s Handicap Pennant, and currently holds a positive winning record for the Morwell Golf Club.
When Arlen began pennant, his handicap was 45, to which he has since played down to a handicap of 11, which is absurd for someone of his age.
He already has a plethora of good moments on the course, but he simply nailed it down to one putt.
“When I was playing a tournament up at The Sands, I drained a huge putt for birdie, and it was just a really good feeling,” Arlen said.
His resume is already impressive up to this date, and only looks to grow as he develops his game further and continues to get better.
In the same 12 months that he began to swing the golf club, Arlen won the 2022 Golf West Gippsland Junior Championship, still at the age of nine – a competition that has competitors up to the age of 18-years-old.
Usually a 10 or 11-year-old would find themselves up against someone similar to their age, but Arlen is up against people that are nearly twice his age, currently competing in B Grade, as well as, Under 18s at tournaments.
He has since won a couple more junior events and championships during 2023, and has started to up his playing level, going up against people closer to the city.
“If I can be successful, or even get into a pro level I’d be very happy,” Arlen said.
“If I could make a career about it that would probably be one of the main things that would be good.”
Arlen is currently a member of the Gippsland Sports Academy (GSA) Golf Program, and they will continue to help him develop his game as he grows up.
“As a parent you just want him to enjoy the sport, but I think he’s got a really good upside,” Andrew said.
“At Gippsland level Arlen’s got a really bright future … I just want him to enjoy the sport and the journey it takes him on.”
“Me and dad do a lot of playing social golf just to get better, but I was selected for the Gippsland Sports Academy (GSA) in the golf criteria this year,” Arlen added.
“It’s going good, very much enjoyed it so far.”
Arlen has a number of people helping him grow, from his dad and the rest of his family, the Morwell Golf Club, Brad Smith, Nikki Tepaa (who gave him his first lesson) and the GSA.
He looks forward to getting out on the course again soon, with a few more tournaments coming up.
Meanwhile in the summer, Arlen is a keen cricketer for the Latrobe Sharks, particularly as a pace bowler.
He certainly has a bright future ahead of him, no matter what sport he decides to ultimately pursue.
Up and coming: Arlen Peavey (middle) after winning the Bairnsdale Pro/Junior event alongside Cooper Eccleston (right).
Form: Arlen Peavey gets ready to strike the ball onto the fairway.
