Club Email

Below are notes from the Board Meeting held on 18 December 2024

Board Vacancy

It is with regret that I announce that Tony Johnson has stepped down from the Board of Directors. Tony joined the Board in October 2023 and was a member of the Building Committee through the consultation stage and Chair of the Membership Committee. Tony has added significant value during his tenure contributing to decision making and assisting in the development of policies and processes. Please join me in thanking Tony for his invaluable contribution to the Board and Club.

The Board is calling for expressions of interest in filling the consequent casual vacancy. We are particularly keen to add to the gender and age diversity within the Board and would encourage applications from female and/or younger Members with complementary skills to add to the Board's strength and depth. Please feel free to contact Ben or myself if you wish to understand any aspect of the role.

Please submit expressions of interest to the General Manager Ben Russell (ben@lrgc.com.au / 9971 8113) by Friday 31 January 2025.

EZGO Golf Carts

The new fleet of EZGO Golf Carts will be delivered on 30 & 31 January and the changeover will occur simultaneously. Several of the current fleet have experienced issues with the GPS units recently, so we apologise if your cart GPS is not working.

Medical Cart Discount

As noted in the November 'From Your Board', the medical cart discount guidelines have been reviewed. Members who wish to receive a discount on golf cart use due to long term incapacity to walk the Golf Course, must submit/resubmit their medical certificate and complete the new application form and return these to our Membership & Marketing Manager Kimberley Conaty via membership@lrgc.com.au. The medical discount will only be available to those Members who are restricted to the use of a cart to complete 18 holes. Members who walk some days and ride in a cart other days will be ineligible.

Click Here to complete the new online application form and upload your relevant documentation

Click Here to download new application form

Members who provide the appropriate documentation and are approved will receive an identification on their Member profile only visible to the Golf Shop staff. The staff have been informed that from 1 February 2025, the discount can only be applied to those who have submitted or resubmitted their application and been approved.

Players Personal Liability Insurance

Members may have recently received an email from Golf Australia detailing changes to Golf Australia's Players Personal Liability Insurance (PPLI). The PPLI policy applies to any Member of a Golf Australia affiliated Club and provides cover for third party damage or injury.

All Long Reef Golf Club Playing Members fall under the Golf Australia PPLI policy and in addition, the Club take out the same coverage for all social golfers when playing a round at Long Reef Golf Club.

The communication from Golf Australia and what the policy covers can be viewed here.

The QR Codes on the 9^th, 13^th and 16^th tees are in place for players to record their details if they hit a golf ball out of bounds. This information is needed as it must be provided by the Club when making a PPLI claim to ensure any loss is covered by the insurer.

Junior Green Fees

From 1 January, any player under the age of 18 years will receive a 50% discount on the applicable public green fee. This initiative is aimed to encourage junior golf participation and an opportunity for junior golfers to access the Course prior to becoming a Member.

Joining Fee Increase

Having analysed the joining fees of Sydney Clubs, the extensive waitlist and current demand on golf, the Board have approved an increase in joining fee from $3,500 to $4,500. The increased joining fee will be applicable in the next Membership intake which is yet to be determined.

Keith Warren | President

Note: This document is not intended to be a minute of the relevant Board meeting but is intended to provide members with a summary of the significant decisions made or issues discussed by the Board at its most recent meeting. Certain matters may be commercially sensitive, subject to privacy considerations or otherwise confidential and will not be included in this summary document.

Welcome Back

I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year. I'm looking forward to another great year of golf at LRGC, as I'm sure all of you are.

It goes without saying that the Course needs more rain as there hasn't been any significant rain since early December 2024.

The course received 10.5 mm on the 3 January, however, the recent bout of hot weather has dried the course out even more. Kurt's team have been watering the fairways and greens ensuring the course is in the best possible playing condition during this warm weather.

Hopefully, any rain that falls this week will green things up!

Major Pennants

The Major Pennants commence Sunday 2 February, with Long Reef hosting the first home match against Manly from 7:00 am.

Long Reef is in Division 2 with Manly, Bankstown and Oatlands.

Tony Holley is the Team Manager and we wish Tony and the team all the best for the coming season.

The Squad

Luke Shahmatov, Luke Edgell, Nick Hutchinson, Lennox Cleary, Cam Gillespie (C), Matt Hunter, Harry McKerihan, Dom Dowling, Innes MacLennan, Matt Tierney.

Reserves

Ryan Farrell, Will Elliott, Joel Warren, Oli Robinson and Harry Woolford.

This year the Major Pennants are being sponsored by: Styleness and Strokes Gain Studios.

Christmas Invitation 2024

A field of 153 enjoyed perfect weather and a well-presented course which made for a great day and excellent scores.

The nearest the pin on the second hole was won with two Holes in One. In the morning round, Ronald Slater from Castle Cove Country Club had an Ace and in the afternoon round, Richard Hailstone from Cromer Golf Club also had an Ace. A rare occurrence, and a notable memory of the day.

The winners of the Four Ball were:

Morning: Andrew and Noah Smith with a score of 50 point

Afternoon: John Bryant and Lydia Bryant also with 50 points.

Christmas Dress Up Day

A terrific day with many great outfits. However, the standout was the group of Billy Watson, Connor Duff, Harry Woolford and Dom Dowling as the Grinches of Christmas.

Results

Saturday 21 December - 4 Ball Ambrose Christmas Dress up with a field of 216.

The winning team with a nett score of 54.625 was Mitch Bockman, Tony Holley, Ben Knight & Colin Thomas

Saturday 28 December - Medley Stableford and 2 Ball Multiplier with a field of 212.

The winner with a score of 43 C/B was Mark Small

Wednesday 1 January - Medley Stableford & 4BBB with a field of 156

The winner with the score of the day went to Mike Hankey with 42 points.

Saturday 4 January - Medley Stableford and 2 Ball Aggregate with a field of 201.

The winner with the score of the day went to Matt Harris with 41 points on the countback.

Rob Cordaiy | Captain

Happy New Year to all Women Members. I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable break over the Christmas period and are now looking forward to getting back to golf with Opening Days fast approaching. Here is to a 2025 full of enjoyable golf!

Weekday Opening Day - Thursday 30 January 2025

The Weekday Opening day will be a Dropout Ambrose event with an 8:00am shotgun start. Please enter you name/team on the sheet in the locker room to play in this event. The $15.00 Green Fees will be paid on the day at the Golf Shop. Please nominate one member of the team to go into the Golf Shop to pay your competition fee. The other members of the team will have their names marked off at the table at the entrance to the Golf Shop. Also, to avoid disappointment please book carts prior to the day. If you are paying for a cart, please can this person only go to the Golf Shop to pay for the team and collect the instructions on how to play the Dropout Ambrose.

Lunch will be $35.00. Please pay online using MiClub. (The same way as you book your tee times). Go to Bookings, scroll down to Thursday 30 January, click on Women's Open Day (Sheet is Open), select "Book Me" and proceed with payment. Please do not worry where you book as this is just for payment only of the lunch ahead of the day. If you have any dietary requirements, please notify Michelle Milsted.

Weekend Opening Day - Sunday 2 February 2025

All 6 and 7 day Members are invited to play in the weekend opening day. A sheet is up in the locker room for you to put your name down. If you cannot make it to the Club to put your name down, please notify myself and I will put your name down for you. The competition will be a 4BBB Single Stableford event, played between 11:00am and 11:33am off the first and ninth tees. Entries close 25 January 2025 and a draw will be done. Light refreshments will be served after the game in the Reef Room.

GNSW Fees - $15.00 for Weekday players and $10.00 for Weekend players

Time for payment of your Golf NSW fees. To be eligible for the following GNSW events you are required to the pay the $15.00 or $10.00 at the beginning of each season i.e. at opening day or shortly afterwards.

1. GNSW Medal $5 (Weekday and Weekend)

Six Stroke rounds played in three Divisions, between January and September. The winner is the player in each Division returning the lowest nett aggregate of three (3) scores at the end of the six rounds. You can win the club medal but to be eligible to represent Long Reef Golf club at the next stage you need to have paid the GNSW fee.

2. GNSW Women's Bowl $5 (Weekday and Weekend)

The Competition is a 4BBB Stableford event which will be held on 17 April 2025 for mid-week players and 26 April 2025 for weekend players, the best score from these two events goes to GNSW. The Overall Winners will be rewarded with a place in the 2026 Women's NSW Open Pro-Am.

3. Goodwill Plate $2 (Weekday Only)

A special annual competition to raise funds for donation to a Charity recommended by the Board of Golf NSW. The Competition is played in conjunction with the 6 March 2025 medal round.

4. Cancer research $3 (Weekday Only)

The Charity Day played on 20 March 2025 is our Cancer Day. The Club sends $3 x the amount of players who have paid the GNSW fees to support cancer research.

To pay the GNSW Fees please pay online using MiClub. (The same way as you book your tee times). Go to bookings as above (Sheet is open) and choose either Weekday GNSW fees on Thursday 30 January and pay $15.00 or for Weekend players GNSW fees on Sunday 2 February and pay $10.00.

Grade

Our grade team will be playing in Division 2 this year. Emma Thurlow will again captain the team and our games will be as follows:

Round 1 - 14 February v The Australian @ Killara time TBC
Round 2 - 21 February v NSW @ The Australian 8.10am
Round 3 - 28 February v Pennant Hills @ Bayview 8.00am
Round 4 - 7 March v Bayview @ Wakehurst 9.00am
Round 5 - 14 March v Wakehurst @ Pennant Hills time TBC
Round 6 - 21 March v Killara @ NSW 8.35am 1^st tee
Round 7 - 28 March Long Reef Hosting

Pennants

This year Long Reef will again enter teams in the Northern District Pennant Competition. If you are interested in playing, please make a note in your diary for the following dates:

Silver Salver GA9.0 - commencing on 4 April 2025 and going through until 30 May 2025. Long Reef is hosting on 23 May 2025.
Bronze Plaque GA18.0 - commencing 16 May and going through until 27 June 2025. Long Reef will host on 16 May 2025.
Bronze II GA 23.0 - Note this is a new Pennant division for Long Reef. Bronze II will commence on 16 May and go through until 27 June 2025. Long Reef will host on 20 June 2025.
Bronze IV Shield GA 31.0 to 45.0 - commencing on 13 June and going through until 25 July 2025. Long Reef will host on 13 June 2025.

The draws are on the notice board in the locker room for further details. Further information will be provided closer to the dates to those interested in representing Long Reef Golf Club in this wonderful competition.

Upcoming Fixtures

GNSW Medal round 1 - 6 February 2025

Single and Long Markers Knockout qualifying round. Match play 18 February, 20 February, 25 February and finals on 27 February 2025.

Pointscore and 1st Eclectic commences

13 February 2025 Barrenjoey Team event will be held at Long Reef on Thursday 13 February 2024 - 8.00am shotgun starts. Women's Member competition not available.

Sue Kruse PSM | Women's Captain

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the passing of Ken Sapsford aged 91 on the 10 December 2024. Ken joined the Club in 1986 and was a member until his resignation in 2022, due to ill health. He will be remembered with great fondness.

We extend our deepest sympathy and thoughts to Fay, Steve and the rest of the family during this difficult time.

Our Vice Captain, Tony Holley had an accident on Christmas day whilst surfing. He broke 5 ribs & fractured 4 vertebrae. Luckily, he will make a full recovery. It will be a while before he swings a golf club, however, he is back home and improving each day.

We also have a number of members recovering at the moment from knee & hip replacements.

I hope that all our members, staff and their families had a great Xmas and that Santa was kind.

Stephen Twigg | Welfare Coordinator

Titleist Ball Fitting Day
17 January 2025 | 9:00am - 1:00pm

Long Reef Golf Club is excited to host the Titleist Pro V1 and Pro V1x Golf Ball Fitting Day!

This exclusive event offers players the opportunity to experience the latest advancements in Titleist's legendary Pro V series. The new Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls feature a refined blend of distance, spin control, and consistency, ensuring top-tier performance for all levels of play.

Whether you prioritise feel, distance, or control, these balls are designed to elevate your game and help you achieve your best results.

Book in via the link below for the 17th of January to receive personalised recommendations, and a chance to see how the Pro V balls can enhance your performance on the course.

Click Here to book

Ping Club Fitting Day
17 January 2025 | 8:00am - 12:00pm
Click Here to book

Join Us! Our 2025 Dine In Dates:

Thursday 6 February
Thursday 10 April
Thursday 8 & 29 May

Our Dine In evenings offer our Members the chance to enjoy a seasonally inspired menu overlooking Fisherman's Beach and are the perfect opportunity to get a group of friends and family together for an evening of good food and good company at your Club!

We offer an elevated dining experience for our Members to experience. with table service, a set three course menu, wine pairing suggestions and with the same familiar faces you see in the bar and café.

Golf Members Dine In Voucher Redeemable
(Buy-One-Get-One-Free)

Bookings via Clubhouse Reception (02) 9971 8113 or email: office@lrgc.com.au

Special Olympics Australia - Sydney Northern Beaches Annual Golf Day at Long Reef Golf Club is coming up!

The Annual Golf Day is dedicated to Judy Buckley

Date: Friday 28 February | 8am Shotgun Start

Round of Golf: Long Reef Members $110
Visitors $150 (Inc. breakfast & lunch)

Click Here to download Registration Form

Registrations should be sent to: SydneyNorthernBeaches.Chair@specialolympics.com.au

Friday Club will resume Friday 31 January

1925

The Archive Committee wishes you a happy and healthy (historical) New Year. It has some aims and objectives of its own (should these be resolutions?). We hope to receive some help along the way as we strive to save the Club's present achievements in a format that gives easy reference in the future.

In the meantime we look back one hundred years to 1925 to see a key year in the Club's history.

The ocean view from the Course was busier in 1925 as steam ships traded up and down the coast. There was a break however with seaman's strikes and riots in Sydney over activities of the Shipping Labour Bureau. The resolution became a port of the legislation that year to approve a 44-hour working week in both NSW and Queensland. No mid-week golf or "working from home" in those times!

There were several 'firsts' at the Club in 1925. A flag pole was purchased and the protecting fences were removed from around the greens. Professional Frank Eyre played moonlight golf with the aid of a torch and scored 39 over 9 holes. It was good publicity! There were 152 male members that year and 119 associates (women), which I think means over one-third of the Membership were female. This is probably why in that same year as stated in the minute book that - "The links were closed to lady visitors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons."

The Course has changed over that 100 years but one of the most dynamic changes has been in the method of administration of the Club. Mick Snell has studied the topic and over the next couple of issues will demonstrate the changes. 1925 is not the starting point of his story but there were two significant appointments in 1925. One was the first caterer, a Mrs Griffiths (as different from the Hon Arthur Griffith, LRGC Life Member and Minister of Lands.) The other was the employment of the first Club Secretary, retired Headmaster, Alfred Lambert. He had already been the Hon. Secretary from 1923. From 1925 he was paid 3 pounds per week and did his duties single handily throughout. In 1940 he resigned at the age of 80. Mick will be able to point out the shift in management styles since 1921.

New/Old Memorabilia

Recently we have very gratefully received some new items for the collection. Retired golfer, Gold Member, Eric Tazelaar, has kindly donated his medals from the 70s.

He remembers winning three in one calendar year in 1973 or 74. This was at the time when only one was awarded across the field, one of which came with a tankard. The tankard is a very elegant shape and one we didn't have in the archive. Eric believes that the other medal not in a box, was won by his father, Louis Paul Tazelaar who joined in 1964. Of course these medal are only the size of a finger nail. We will look into the dates but there is every likelihood that Eric's father's medal which is the smallest was won in the 60s. Did our logo become the medal or did the medal become our logo?

Thanks also go to:

Di Heffernan for the framed photo of the 1988 Women's Weekend Premiership winning team. It features Di.

From the Office - one large flag with the shield design in Club colours light blue and dark blue.

From Wendy Millson a Grade T-shirt and records of the Rookies administration and news.

Organised by Mark Pitt the loan of historical documents in two folders from the Goulburn Weekends of Golf for us to copy and keep before returning the originals.

Many thanks to all who care about the club's history and preserving it.