Declan Kelly: It absolutely blew my mind. It’s called OuttaBounds, and Jason is the man in charge there. Good morning, Jason.
Jason Roach: Good morning, Declan. How are you doing?
Declan: I’m very, very good. Now, I’m glad you’re wide awake because I know there’s a new arrival in the family, and that coupled with Masters golf in the wee hours of the morning — how are you travelling this morning?
Jason: I’m actually doing all right. It worked out quite well this time. I didn’t mind the early morning or late-night wake-up because that gave me the opportunity to watch some of the golf, so I can’t really complain this time around.
Declan: Good man. As I said earlier, I drive down Farrington Road a lot, and myself and a colleague popped out there the other day. You were very good with your tour and gracious with your time, and I was blown away.
I want to find out a little bit about OuttaBounds in a minute, but let’s get on with The Masters first, which a lot of people will certainly get their heads around over the next few days or so.
What did you make of it? It’s very, very early days. It’s obviously over the next three or four days from Augusta. That name Rory McIlroy is up there. I noticed Jason Day three-under. What’s your take, and any smokies we should be looking out for in your expert opinion?
Jason: Yeah, it was quite an interesting day one. As we know, as the old saying goes for The Masters, The Masters doesn’t really start until the back nine on Sunday for the final round, because anything can happen.
You’ve seen Jordan Spieth over the years. A few years ago now, he was leading by five shots going into the back nine and managed to lose that one to Danny Willett from England. It’s always up in the air until that back nine on Sunday because literally anything can happen.
But I thought with the good, firm and fast conditions, it would really favour the golfers who hit that high ball and are able to have a really steep descent angle to hold those greens, which are quite treacherous when they dry out and get firm and fast.
But it was interesting to see some of the strong golfers and long hitters like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, and these quality players, really struggle out there in the conditions yesterday.
It was great to see Rory McIlroy go through as the defending champion, finalising his Grand Slam last year with a win at The Masters, and someone who has notoriously struggled to get a good start at this tournament.
Over the last seven years, his best first-round score is 71, and he shot 72 last year in the first round and then went on to win the golf tournament, as we all know.
But it was really good to see him sitting there tied for the lead with Sam Burns, who’s not notoriously the longest hitter. Looking at the golf he was playing last night and early this morning, he really just left himself in the right position. He didn’t attack too many flags, he putted well and just left himself in the right position to limit the damage out there.
And really good to see one of the Aussies, Jason Day, Queenslander, finishing at three-under par and only a couple of shots back. That’s a really good sign, considering he’s had a couple of runner-up finishes at The Masters. You remember he finished third back when Adam Scott won the tournament and was only a shot back then.
Really good to see the Aussies. Jason Day in particular, and Adam Scott finishing even par — he’s still in with a chance.
As I say at this golf course, if you’re within 10 shots of the lead after round one, you’re actually still a shot at it.
It’s been quite interesting. I thought for the first day, if you look at the top 10, there are a lot of big names. I wasn’t expecting the American Kurt Kitayama to be sitting right up there at three-under as well.
But if you go down the leaderboard, you have Patrick Reed, who’s a Masters champion. You’ve got Xander Schauffele, who won The Open Championship a couple of years ago, Justin Rose, who’s been there before and was beaten in the playoff last year by Rory McIlroy, and then Scottie Scheffler.
Well, you can never count that guy out, sitting at two-under and clearly the best golfer in the world for a reason. He’s just lurking nicely.
He did struggle on the back nine, interestingly, where traditionally you have a better opportunity to make a few birdies, especially with holes 13 and 15 — two very reachable par fives that give you eagle opportunities.
For him to only make par on those two holes, that was really the difference between him and McIlroy and Burns sitting at the top of the leaderboard, who were able to both birdie those holes.
So, very interesting. But watch out for Scottie. He’s a bit too close for comfort for those at the top, I would say.
Declan: Yeah, absolutely the favourite there, Scheffler, and why not?
If you’ve just joined us, good morning. Sports Connection, Declan Kelly talking to Jason Roach, golf professional and General Manager of OuttaBounds, Perth’s golf and entertainment venue.
Jason, you mentioned Adam Scott there. Thirteen years ago, he obviously took the green jacket and prevailed in what would be a life-changing performance, and well done to him.
Cam Smith obviously made the big switch, the big-money switch across, and our own Min Woo Lee. You’ve said there’s lots of golf to play. What do you feel on both of those gents?
Jason: Cam Smith finished at two-over par, and I found he really struggled out there. For someone who has played so well at that tournament, we know back in 2020, the COVID year, when the tournament was shifted outside of April and played later in the year, it was much softer conditions.
He became the only player in history to shoot four rounds in the 60s and still lose the tournament to Dustin Johnson.
So in very tricky conditions, I was expecting more from Cam Smith, to be honest. He never got away. He struggled early, bogeyed the first hole and really just couldn’t get it going.
He hung around that even par and obviously bogeyed the last to finish two-over par, but I found he just couldn’t get himself going. His strength, which is his short game, his chipping and putting, just wasn’t quite there yesterday.
He wasn’t really able to take advantage of some of the pin positions that were available to him.
And then, unfortunately, Min Woo Lee, who grew up playing golf at Royal Fremantle, and obviously coach Ritchie Smith, who continues to teach out of there now — I was expecting really big things.
I was extremely confident that he could have a really good tournament. He’d been in good form this year in particular. He’s been to Augusta previously, and experience and a bit of that local knowledge counts for everything there.
But he really struggled. He bogeyed the first, had a couple of bogeys to end the front nine and had the one birdie for the whole day, which came on the 12th hole, the par three, but then followed that up with a double bogey on the par-five 13th.
He really struggled early to put himself in good positions and give himself some good angles into some of those pin positions as well.
Because, as you know, at that golf course, it’s not just about hitting the fairway. You’ve really got to be on the right side of the fairway to give yourself the best angle of attack into that green and try to get the ball as close as possible, especially when the greens get firm and fast like they are this year. That is vitally important.
He’s 11 shots back at six-over. If he goes out there and gets away to a good start, we know with his length and his ability that if he can sneak a couple of birdies away early, I think he can really come home on that back nine.
He’s got the ability. He can shoot a 65, 66, and then he puts himself back in contention. So he’s definitely not out of it by any stretch.
I think that bit of fire in his belly after a bit of a struggle today, he might just go out there and be a little bit more aggressive and attacking, and hopefully it pays off and he makes a few birdies or eagles.
Declan: We’ll be watching with interest as the days roll on, and Saturday or Sunday especially, we’ll be a lot more expert!
Now, Jason, to most of us, playing golf and earning a living sounds like the dream job. You’ve done that, and now you’re obviously in the management side. What’s your backstory in the world of golf?
I know where you are nowadays, but the journey up to taking on the General Manager’s role at OuttaBounds — where has golf taken you?
Jason: I turned pro back in 2006. I was 18 years old at the time. Like all young kids coming through, we all saw the glitz and glamour of Tiger Woods in that era, and Phil Mickelson and what they were able to generate.
From a young age, it really was my dream. It was something that I practised and did every day.
I was involved in a motor vehicle accident through no fault of my own, which inhibited the amount of practice I was able to do. But I still wanted to give back to the game. There are so many good values within the game that it delivers.
I still wanted to stay within golf. I had a passion for management. I surrounded myself with really good mentors and business people and really got a passion for business, but I also wanted to stay within the golf side, which for me is still most enjoyable as well.
At a young age, it was interesting. I played junior golf with a gentleman who’s sitting there at three-under par by the name of Jason Day.
I grew up in Queensland and realised that three-under par in a round of golf was not going to be good enough because he shot a course-record nine-under that day.
I went, maybe I’m not good enough to get to the top. To see what these guys — the Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelsons and Sergio Garcias who I watched and idolised growing up — were doing, maybe I wasn’t going to be good enough to compete if I couldn’t beat anyone in my own home state.
Little did I know that Jason Day, within five years of playing alongside him, was going to become the world number one golfer and win major championships and multiple times on the PGA Tour.
But that being said, I have no regrets. I still love the game of golf. I have three young children now, and those three boys are absolutely golf mad as well.
I also love seeing new people coming into the game — younger people, female golfers. Female participation has just gone through the roof, and the younger crop coming through now as well.
It’s really changing the perception of what golf was seen as previously, and now seeing it as fun, entertaining and enjoyable, but also providing the physical and mental wellbeing benefits.
That wasn’t really focused on previously, but now with the focus on mental and physical health over the past decade or so in particular, not only sportspeople but also 18-to-35-year-olds who are studying, working and trying to find their journeys in their own careers can have that release.
They can come through and hit some golf balls, socialise with friends, have a good time and have that entertainment and fun with golf as a by-product of that.
It was something that I was passionate about, and I really wanted to get more people into the game. Golf has given me so much, so I just really wanted to repay the game for what it’s given me.
I’ve done plenty of coaching. I’ve run junior programs, ladies’ clinics. I’ve done all of that and really worked from the grassroots and introduced people into the game.
Then, as my career has developed, I’ve gone into that management role where I get to oversee the business, but also work on strategic programs and encourage people to come and try this game of golf.
What we’ve seen, especially since COVID when so many things were not accessible, is young males and females being able to come out and experience golf and go, “Hey, this is actually really fun.”
We’re seeing them still now, six years after COVID occurred globally. It’s not just in Australia — globally, golf participation numbers have just gone through the roof, and it’s really, really good to see.
I’m just proud, and I enjoy playing my part in that.
Declan: Well, Jason, you’ve got fans already because we have a Retrovision text line, and plenty of people come in when we’re talking AFL and NRL and EPL and all the sports.
I’ve got a Jimmy from Florida saying, “I’m listening to Jason on SportFM, and I want to congratulate him and thank him for the work he did at Wembley Golf Club.”
So that’s nice that you’re obviously being recognised, Jason.
I’ve just met you and found you at OuttaBounds. Tell us a little bit about OuttaBounds because, talk about fun. I saw a sign, we went down and had a look at it. It’s at 24 Baker Court, just off Farrington Road, with massive signs there.
But I was genuinely blown away. I still think it’s a great secret, even though it was packed the other day with people drinking, eating and, most importantly from what I noticed with my colleague, people were laughing and smiling. You could hear it all around.
Can you give us a bit of an overview about OuttaBounds, please?
Jason: Sure. OuttaBounds has been open now 16 months, so it is very new into the market.
Look, we sell fun and entertainment. This is taking my golf professional hat off and making sure that we can sell fun and entertainment. We sell experiences here.
We cover all demographics, from your golfing purist, your elite golfer, all the way down through to families, friends and young kids, providing those facilities and opportunities to have good experiences — that stress release, creating some camaraderie, catching up between friends and socialising.
All of these things make you feel good and provide an enjoyable afternoon, evening or morning, as we’re seeing here at the moment with mini golf packed full of families and young kids.
What we have here is an 18-bay, full-length driving range. The driving range is 300 metres long. We have targets out there that, at night-time with all the neon lights, start flashing around.
All bays have ball-tracking technology, so you’re able to see the full flight. Your friends behind the bays can see on a TV screen how far you’ve hit it and how far away it was from the target.
We provide a very fun, games-based environment as well. There are plenty of fun games there. You don’t have to be a golfer at all.
We see a lot of people who have never played the game of golf before. It’s very simple-to-use technology with touchscreens, and they’re able to go through, play some games and have some fun.
That’s the outside driving range, where you get to see the full flight as well.
We also have nine indoor simulators, which are extremely popular, especially when it’s raining over winter or cold, or at the other end of the extreme when summer is very hot.
We have nine of those, so that’s the most of any venue in WA. It allows you to play traditional courses like Pebble Beach and St Andrews virtually in air-conditioned or heated comfort, depending on what time of the year it is.
Once again, you’re indoors, you’ve got a great atmosphere, the music’s always on and you’ve got your TV screens. We’re playing live sport every single day of the week.
You can have some fun, whether it’s games-based, playing virtual golf courses or even doing some practice — checking what your distances are, trialling new golf equipment or trying a new swing.
You get that instant feedback and data immediately from both our undercover outdoor hitting bays and indoor simulators.
We’ve also added to our offerings here at OuttaBounds. We have two augmented reality dartboards. You’re playing with real darts on a real dartboard.
We have a projector that goes over the dartboard, and it’s all done through sensors. It does all your scoring for you and sets up your games.
There are all the traditional games that I grew up playing with my dad — 501, cricket and Shanghai — and then a lot of kids’ games as well.
It projects really cool images onto the dartboard. It tells you where you need to aim next and gives you all the rules and how to play the game.
That’s been extremely popular for date nights. This has been a really popular venue for date nights, group parties, hens’ nights and families. We really do cater for everyone. The darts have been really good as well, and that’s indoors.
Then we’ve just opened, at the end of February, a new 14-hole mini golf course along with a kids’ playground.
Over the warmer months, we have shade sails over that as well to keep everyone nice and cool.
There are dual pins on every hole. You have a black pin, which is our easier pin for younger kids or those who have never played mini golf before, and then our orange pin positions, which are certainly more challenging.
There are lots of contours. We have artificial bunkering here as well, so it provides a truer version of mini golf — a miniature form of real golf.
The feedback has been really good, obviously through the school holidays. We provide exceptional value for money for what we offer with our services.
It’s been extremely popular with kids and families, but also for date night as well. People come down, have a really nice feed, we’ve got drinks available, they can watch sport, have nice music and a good atmosphere, and then go out and have a game of mini golf.
It creates that fun, competitive, relaxed atmosphere, whether it’s at night-time or throughout the day. It’s all done with festoon lighting over the mini golf, which really creates a nice atmosphere and ambience at all times of the day.
Declan: I saw it firsthand the other day, and I’d also highly recommend it for team bonding.
Rather than just bringing a group of workmates — or, if you’re the boss, just going to a pub and sitting there drinking — you can still have a drink, you can have great food, as we saw, but for team bonding and putting smiles on people’s faces, I would highly recommend it.
Jason, you ooze passion. I knew you did the other day when I met you, and it’s just been verified over the last 15 or 20 minutes.
Lovely to talk to you, lovely to connect with you, and I’d like to stay in touch, especially with our golfing. There’s a huge amount of interest there, and we’ll be in touch, no doubt.
And I urge people: OuttaBounds — check them out on their social media platforms or outtabounds.com.au.
Jason, I hope you get some sleep. Thank you very much for your time, attention and detail today, and I’ll hopefully talk to you again on Sports Connection in the near future.
Jason: That’s good. Thank you for your time, Declan. Have a good day.
