General News
7 August, 2025
A round of golf with Dipper
AFL football legend and all-around great bloke Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico said he’ll round up a bunch of his famous mates to enjoy a huge two-day fundraising event at Chalambar Golf Club in October.
“We’re hoping Tommy Hawkins is coming down,” said Dipper.
“We’ve got Ian Cover from the Coodabeen Champions – Who actually wrote ‘I Am DiPierdomenico’ my song – Well, his song,” said Dipper, “He’s part of Cottage by the Sea.”
“I’ve got good mate Gary Buckenara coming down and I’m hoping Dermott Brereton will come down. I’ve put out a couple of calls to some jockeys, Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate winners, because they all love their golf.”
When he found out about local efforts to fundraise for sending all grade five students in the Ararat area to the Take a Break camp at Cottage by the Sea in Queenscliff, Dipper didn’t hesitate to get involved.
“I love the story, the charity we’re supporting,” he said.
“I haven’t dealt with them before but more than happy to put my hand up because they’re doing good work.”
The 1986 Brownlow Medal winner expressed gratitude for the opportunities he’s had in life following a glittering football career with Hawthorn, winning five premierships and earning three All-Australian selections.
“Playing sport just opens so many doors,” Dipper said.
“As a young boy myself, I used to have a very bad stutter, long name, Italian background, and you know, I got pushed around a bit when I was a young kid.
“Now because of sport, it allowed me to open up a lot of doors and tell stories, and that’s what it’s about, we’ve all got a story to tell, some good, some bad, some indifferent, but we’ve all got a story to tell and the more we tell of our stories, the more I think that people can help each other.”
Dipper’s partner Rebecca Hindson has been one of the driving forces behind turning Chalambar Golf Club’s fortunes around during tough times and had bounced ideas around with the affable Hawks legend about ways to bring more people to the golf club.
“I’ve done a lot of charity work but also, I’ve put a lot of golf days together and I said, why don’t we do a golf day?” he said.
“I recently met a bloke called Barrie Lester, he’s a gold medallist bowler, and because it’s a bowling club, I thought why don’t we have a bowls and golf day? So that’s how it all came about."
Dipper admits he doesn’t know a lot about bowls apart from the fact his new mate Barrie is a champion player, but he does know a thing or two about golf.
“I took up golf after playing footy, I love my golf,” he said.
“Golf is something that brings people together and it’ll be an Ambrose game which is terrific.”
“We’re playing golf and bowls, and raising money, how good is that gonna be?”
The bowls clinic with Australia’s top bowler Barrie Lester will be held on October 9 followed by the four-man Ambrose golf day and lunch and charity auction on October 10.
More information will be published in future editions of the Ararat Advocate.
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