Dan Andrews faces a deeply embarrassing rejection from one of his final chances to do what he loves – as he is increasingly locked out of the very state he once shut down

Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews is running out of places to tee off, after being barred from yet another golf club this week due to backlash from members over his harsh rules during the Covid period.

Melbourne golfers were outraged by the Victorian government’s ban on the sport during lockdown, despite it being in the open air with large distances between players and providing a rare outlet for exercise.

Last week, it seemed he’d finally found a club when The Herald Sun reported that his property developer friend, Max Beck, had secured him a spot at Moonah Links on the Mornington Peninsula. 

Beck had reportedly removed his wife’s name from his membership and replaced it with Mr Andrews’. 

But on Thursday, Moonah Links took to Facebook to ‘address recent public speculation’ and confirmed that Mr Andrews is ‘not a member of Moonah Links Golf Resort’. 

The post was met with dozens of thumbs up, smiling faces and heart emoticons, and, perhaps most tellingly, the club switched off comments in an apparent effort to prevent feedback.

Mr Andrews resigned in September 2023 after leading Victoria through the Covid pandemic, but garnered massive backlash for his harsh stance that made Melbourne the world’s most locked down city and earned him the name ‘Dictator Dan’.

Since beginning his retirement, he had reportedly tried to join the Portsea Golf Club last year on the Mornington Pensinsula, which prompted The Project host Steve Price to declare he wanted to ‘tear up’ his membership. 

A week later members of the National Golf Club, also on the Mornington Peninsula, banded together to write a letter to the club demanding Mr Andrews not be allowed to join.

Mr Beck previously said that denying Mr Andrews membership at Portsea, where he also tried to get him admitted as a member, was ‘ridiculous’, that the former premier had ‘worked his guts out for the state’ and ‘just wants to play golf’.

‘I can’t believe how small-minded people can be,’ Mr Beck said. ‘You can’t just ban people because of their political beliefs.’

There remains plenty of anger on the Mornington Peninsula over the former premier’s metropolitan lockdowns during the Covid pandemic, which included the region despite being 70km away from Melbourne CBD. 

One Portsea member previously said Andrews was at ‘very long odds’ to win admission to the club but they were conflicted.

‘It’s a tricky one because he has every right to apply to be a member but then it’s up to the membership base to decide whether that person is appropriate for their club,’ they said. 

But it seems golfers can hold a grudge.

Former professional golfer Mark Allen said in 2023 that the golfing community on the peninsula was tight.

‘They have not forgiven him and I can tell you this: at the Sorrento Hotel, it was the talk of the region and to the point where not only members from Portsea, but members from other clubs were saying that if he’s trying to join anywhere down here, they just will not let him join.’

It’s not just golf clubs banning Mr Andrews.

Daily Mail Australia revealed in December ex-AFL star Paul Dimattina, who runs popular South Melbourne venue Lamaro’s Hotel, had banned Mr Andrews from his venue. 

Mr Dimattina said the former premier was ‘easily the most hated person’ in Victoria as it is revealed multiple restaurant owners had refused service to Mr Andrews and his wife Cath. 

‘No hope Mr Andrews would get a seat at my pub,’ Mr Dimattina told Daily Mail Australia.

‘If he walked in and sat down the Lamaro’s crowd would be disgusted if they saw him. Mr Andrews is hated because of his whole anti-business stance.

‘The trail of destruction Mr Andrews left is still being felt today: small businesses closed down, endless lockdowns, critical healthcare neglected, children missing out on school. He didn’t help anyone.

‘Mental health went downhill and now Mr Andrews has a job in mental health if you can believe that.’

Mr Dimattina, who followed his 131-game AFL career by taking charge of the restaurant and produce empire founded by his father Frank, said Mr Andrews also ‘absolutely crippled’ the hospitality industry.

He became a leading voice opposing Victoria’s Covid response as Mr Andrews imposed the world’s longest periods of lockdown.

His attitude toward the government’s Covid response was further soured when he spent time in intensive care following a negative reaction to a vaccine booster shot.

‘Business was decimated, the CBD is a ghost town, once thriving restaurants are boarded up, its the same at every high street, Chapel St, Lygon St, there’s empty businesses everywhere,’ Mr Dimattina said.

‘What Mr Andrews did is he made running a small business not an easy thing… he’d be better off leaving the state, I’m sure there’s some people who still love him, lefties and that, but he’s not welcome anywhere and we’ll all be better off without seeing him here.’

Mr Andrews’ ban is a negative sign for his hopes of dining out in Melbourne given Mr Dimattina’s family own, and have owned, multiple restaurants in the city including along the famous Lygon Street precinct.

Restaurateur Chris Lucas also revealed he told Mr Andrews’ wife Cath there was nothing available after she called up to book a table at his Windsor eatery Hawker Hall, located at the once bustling Melbourne Chapel St precinct, during the Covid lockdown.

Mr Lucas said Di Stasio, a famed Melbourne restaurant group that is not part of his hospitality group, also refused Mr Andrews a booking for his birthday around the same period.

Jim’s Mowing boss Jim Penman also delivered the former premier a hammer blow, telling Mr Andrews he was banned from using any of the franchise king’s services.

He told Daily Mail Australia he had cancelled Mr Andrews and ‘believes all of Victoria’ should blacklist the former politician as well.

‘If I was on the tools, I wouldn’t work for him, and I’d encourage any franchisee or independent contractor to do the same,’ Mr Penman said.

‘He threw over 100,000 independent contractors out of work for two months.

‘I’ll be very pleased to think he may have to mow his own lawn, clean his own house and cook his own dinner but I’m sure there’s someone out there who likes him who’ll do it for him.

‘It must be humiliating for him [getting backlisted]. He was all powerful sitting on his throne at Spring St, wagging his fingers saying who can work and who can’t – but people now have the power.’

Mr Penman said he thought it was ‘personally a good idea’ for Mr Andrews to quit Victoria after his exit from politics and his new role as chair of youth mental health trust, Orygen.

‘I would hope he leaves… he’s running out of options. I would recommend he leave Victoria, the amount of damage he has done to this state is immeasurable,’ he said.

‘It’s the state that’s the most hostile to do business in. The guy is a disaster.

‘It’s also ludicrous this business of Mr Andrews running this mental health organisation its like letting rapists run women shelters or paedophiles running childcare centres.

‘Mr Andrews has done more to undermine mental health than anyone in the state’s history. I’ve seen the affects first hand, I’ve seen people lose homes and families. I actually know these people.’