Club Email

From your Board

FINANCE
The Net Profit for December was $88,003. The Net Profit for the year to date is $459,745. The profit was severely impacted due to lower numbers of people attending the Clubhouse.

COVID RESTRICTIONS
The current restrictions in place at the moment include:

One person per 2sqm indoors.
Face masks must be worn at all times for floor staff and only for patrons when they are indoors. This includes the Pro-shop.
Patrons must sign in via Service NSW app at BOTH the Clubhouse and the Pro-shop, as they are classified as separate "venues".
1.5m distancing between tables.
These restrictions have been extended until at least 28 February 2022.

BOARD VACANCY
Stephen Holdstock has been appointed Treasurer. Four Members expressed interest in the casual Board vacancy and will be interviewed by the Board on Thursday 10 February.

STRATEGIC PLANNING
The strategic planning process has commenced. The first stage of the planning process will be reviewing the current vison and mission statements, evaluating Member expectations and identifying key issues and developing strategies.

VISITOR'S COMPETITION FEE
The Board agreed to increase the visitor's competition fee from $50 to $60- aligning the fee to a Member's guest fee for social golf ($55) and competition golf with the addition of the prize contribution.

BUILDING COMMITTEE
The Building Committee will be re-instated once the Strategic Plan has been completed. Andrew Thurlow will be the chair.

Steve Twigg | 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

From the General Manager

Anzac Avenue Parking

The Club was notified yesterday that the Council will be implementing 6 hour parking between 8am and 6pm everyday on the southern side of Anzac avenue and on both sides of the cul-de-sac adjacent to the Members carpark. The posts have been erected and it is expected the signage will be installed in the coming weeks.

The 6 hour parking should result in the removal of the boats, trailers and old cars that are permanently parked in Anzac avenue and provide additional spaces for users of Griffith Park including Long Reef Golf Club.

Please remember to respect our local residents when parking and ensure your car is not parked over a driveway, too close to another vehicle or in the new 'No Stopping' zones.

The Board and Management will be looking into additional measures to reduce the non-Member use of the Club's carpark.

Current shortages in suppliers and staff

Like many hospitality venues, the Club has witnessed a shortage of staff due to COVID/isolation requirements and there have also been extensive delays to supplier delivery times which have impacted the food & beverage offering at the Club.

We apologise if some menu options haven't been available or wait times have been a slightly longer than usual. Please bear with us as we expect this will begin to improve throughout February.

Genesis Hole In One Offer

Unfortunately a Long Reef Member didn't drive away in a brand new Genesis GV70 after today's competition but I did hear a few stories of excitement and misery all mixed in to one shot.

Congratulations to Ian Brown for winning the nearest the pin and collecting a Taylormade putter, courtesy of Genesis. Genesis in partnership with Your Golf Show and Playing around with Paul Gow are supporting local golf Clubs in the development of the game. If you didn't hit that perfect shot to win the car but are interested in a Genesis, contact our Club and we will put you in touch with Paul's team. For each vehicle purchased, the Long Reef Junior Development receives $500 from Genesis and the Member receives $500 credit to their Membership account.

Ben Russell | General Manager

From the Captain

The last Newsletter came out on the same day as the Australia Day Mixed competition so Tony Holley, Michael McNee and Peter Goodall have had to wait a couple of weeks to get their great scores that day recognised. All three had 42 points to win A,B and C Grades respectively but it was Peter that won "Score of the Day" after the countback. While Tony may not have won that award on the day his 5 under par off the stick did win him Scratch and is the "Score of his life" (so far!!). Rachael Loomes was the Women's winner on the day with 40 points and she also won Nearest the Pin and the Circle on the 13th.

Anthony Papandrea won the "Score of the Day" on Saturday 29th with 41 points while Barry Collins and Brian Ratcliffe teamed up for 49 points to take out the 4BBB.

Luke Edgell shot an excellent 3 under par to win Scratch while Natalie Driver was the Women's winner with 33 points, after a countback.

The shot of the day though went to Dave Farrell who holed his tee shot on the 2nd and rightly rang the bell with great pride.

The wind blew and the rain fell last Wednesday and the scoring reflected the tough conditions but the first group of the day off the first tee set the early lead and were never caught. So congratulations to Michael Dennis for an outstanding 38 points individually and he and playing partner, Richard Smith combined for 43 points to win the 4BBB.

"Letting a group through" doesn't happen as often as it should but I must commend Michael, Richard, Greg Hunter and John Dertateossian who realised that the group behind had become a 2 ball and immediately called them through so as not to, unnecessarily, slow play down for others.

The February Medal last Saturday was played in particularly tricky conditions too (although it was at least dry for the most part!) and nett 70 was the "Score of the Day". It was the score that won each grade but Robert Watson (B Grade) was the winner after a countback.

Rob Cordaiy won A Grade after a countback from Scott Haley and then there was a three shot back to 6 players on nett 73 but Mick McKerihan won that countback for third place.

Peter Watson beat Ross Hankey for second place in B Grade after a countback when both finished with nett 71.

Josh Malin beat Sascha Plate for the C Grade Medal, also after a countback, but then there was a six shot gap back to Phil Hooper (76) who took out third after a four way countback.Josh also won the Hidden Holes.

Twos were hard to come by and the only players to get them came from the same group - Jimmy Knox and Andy Regan.

Steve Prior's 76 won Scratch which further emphasises how difficult scoring was.

Jenni Brown won the Women's Medal with a nett 74, five shots ahead of her nearest challengers Emma Thurlow and Jie Cheng.

The February Medal was also the second and final leg of the Founders Cup, which is awarded to the best nett aggregate score across the January and February Medals. The winner was Ross Kocass, who finished one shot ahead of Josh Malin.

Congratulations also go out to Chun-Ta Wu who finished tied for 14th place in the recent NSW Amateur Championship which qualified him for the Matchplay, where unfortunately he was beaten in the round of 32.

Everybody loves Matchplay

COVID unfortunately caused the abandonment of the 2021 Mick Snell Cup but entries for this year's single handicap Matchplay event open this Friday (11th February) and will close on Saturday 26th. If you wish to be included in the draw, which will be published on Monday 28th February, please print your name on the entry form on the Members' Noticeboard in the Clubhouse.

Entries for the 4Ball Knockout will open and close at the same time and the entry sheet will also be on the board.

Masters Pennant

This competition is open to male and female players, 50 years or over on the date the competition starts (15th May 2022).It is a Scratch Matchplay event and this year, we have been drawn in a group with Cronulla, Cabramatta and Cromer. There are eight in a team and with 11 Members currently playing off GA handicaps of less than 4.0, we are going to be fielding a very strong squad again.If you are interested in being considered for the squad (10 players), please drop me an email to captain@lrgc.com.au or let me know in person by Saturday 19th February.

No Shows

Regrettably these seem to be on the rise again and multiple Members have been issued with warning letters and there have been two disciplinary hearings since we changed the approach to dealing with these back in October 2021.

Some instances have been because Members have come off the waitlist the evening prior to play and they have not checked their email or the timesheet first thing the following morning. Let me reiterate, if you choose to leave your name on the waitlist the night before you are looking for a game, it is your responsibility to check. It is probably safer to assume you will get a game than assume you won't. If you are not prepared to check first thing on the morning of play, I recommend that you remove your name from the waitlist the night before.

Slow play is selfish play

Your place in the field is directly behind the group in front not directly in front of the group behind.

If you are not keeping up with the group in front, you need to pick up your pace of play and make every effort to do so. If you cannot do that, you should call the group behind through so you are not holding up the remainder of the field.

We are going to recommence studying round times and identifying slow groups and warning letters will be issued to, and potential further punitive action taken against, repeat offenders.

We are also going to evaluate bag tags that include an electronic chip which picks up your location at multiple points on the course, which used in conjunction with current reporting via the MiScore app, will enable us to accurately identify those not keeping up with play.

Please do your bit to make the game enjoyable for everybody.

Enjoy your golf,

Doug Campbell | Captain

From the Women's Committee

Thank you to all the players who competed in both the Weekend and Weekday Open Days. Usually, we host light refreshments and lunch at these events to celebrate the beginning of our calendar golf season.

As the current COVID condition eases, we hope to resume our Thursday Presentations as soon as possible. We will also endeavour to host light refreshments to both our Weekday and Weekend players.

Winners Weekend Open Day;

Jane Hagan 42 points
Rosemary West 38 points
Marilyn Denner 37 point

Jane Hagan & Michelle Ackermann 50 points
Marilyn Denner & Helenka O'Connell 46 points

Winners Weekday Open Day

Gross Winners:
Catherine Devrye, Rosemary West, Lyn Ashton, Rachel Buxton 70

Net Winners:

1st: Catherine Devrye, Rosemary West, Lyn Ashton, Rachel Buxton 68

2nd: Sandra Gilles, Jeanette Nell, Emma Thurlow, Andrea Heiser 68.875

3rd: Penny Ware, Sally Hill, Helen Ayres, Valerie Wilson 69.875

4th: Fran Shay-Sedillo, Carolyn Maras, Ali Gattas, Jan Daniel 70

NTP 7th Hole Div 1: Emma Thurlow
NTP 7th Hole Div 2: Amanda Savage
NTP 13th Hole Div 1: Jenni Brown
NTP 13th Hole Div 2: Valerie Wilson
Longest Drive 17th Div 1: Gilda Severino
Longest Drive 17th Div 2: Dianne Muncke

9 Hole Winners:

Denise Van Sever, Sue Gleave, Margaret Mullins, Carol Cummins 41
Longest Drive 1st Hole: Carol Cummins

In the last 2 weeks some very good scores we need to congratulate;

Sally Hill 41 points
Tracey Cantwell 41 points
Jill Hensman. 40 points
Rachael Loomes 40 points
Di Muncke 41 points
Jenni Brown. 39 points

HOLE IN ONE

A huge congratulations must go to Janet Atchison, who scored a Hole in One on the 13th. Well done Janet!!

Upcoming Events

Stroke - Club & NSW Medal Round 1. This is also the qualifying round for both Singles Knockout and Long Markers Knockout.

Dates are: 22nd and 24th February and 1st and 3rd March.

The sheet for this event is now up on the Ladies noticeboard. If unable to place your name on the sheet please advise us via email by Thursday 10th February.

Barrenjoey Week of Golf - w/c 7th February 2022

Good luck to all our Long Reef ladies who are participating.

Charity Day Thursday 24th March 2022

This event has been postponed to a later date. Will advise as soon as the revised date is finalised.

Stay safe and happy golfing.

Gilda Severino | Women's President

Welfare Notes

It was with much sadness that Members learned of the recent death of Reg Ryan at the age of 73.

Reg took up golf seriously when he joined Long Reef Golf Club on 1st December 1996 and was an enthusiastic and competent (single figures for a time) golfer at the Club for more than twenty years.

Prior to this, Reg was a very good all round sportsman having played Cricket and Rugby League for Manly and Rugby for Manly and Warringah at high levels in the Sydney grade competitions.

Reg is fondly remembered by those within the Club who knew him and we extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Jimmy Moore was noticed out on the course recently testing himself over a few holes. Obviously, Jimmy is keen to get back to competition golf when health permits and I am aware that he has lost none of his touch, particularly on and around the greens so we do hope to see him back soon.

There are a number of other Members with health issues at the moment and we wish them a speedy recovery.

Brian Cummins | Welfare Coordinator

Push Notifications

MiClub have commenced the implementation of this with the latest MiScore App update introducing support for notifications.

Members will see this message (image beside) appear on the update. Please 'allow' notifications which will come into use as a feature from MiClub Golf product in subsequent updates. We'll keep you posted on this.

Push notifications (automated messages from MiClub) will be used in some upcoming features in the product and to keep Members updated.

Rules With George | Question

Question: Jim and Terry were playing together in the same group of a Singles Stroke Event. On the 18th hole Jim was on the green for two strokes, with a putt about five metres. Terry was tending the flag with Jim's permission. As the ball approached the hole, Terry removed the flag from the hole and watched the ball wend its way to the hole, only to stop overhanging the hole. Jim reached the hole and was waiting to see if the ball would drop into the hole. He said "It is still moving". After six seconds Terry said I will give you that and knocked the ball away.

Which is correct?

A) Jim has holed out for a score of three.

B) Jim must replace his ball on the lip of the hole. His ball is then at rest and must be putted to complete the hole, for a score of four strokes..

2021 Australian Hickory Shaft Open Championships

With the COVID on again and off again lockdowns in 2021 the event was postponed a number of times and we eventually settled on the end of January 2022. It was considered having the event in the following year OK, taking the lead from the Olympics. With the uncertain travel restrictions and health concerns, it was not a surprise that the field size was less than would be expected in normal circumstances.

Day one saw the Foursomes hosted by Warringah Golf Club, a beautifully manicured course with very tight fairways and small quick greens, an ideal venue for hickories. One player claimed he considered changing to the small ball to negotiate the narrow fairways!!!!

Foursomes golf is as much about team unity as it is about ball striking which was evident with the winning combination of local Professionals Phil Baird from Manly GC and Dave Saunders from Pittwater Golf Centre who shot a fine five over 75 to take the title. Runners up where Alan Grieve, who traveled down from Brisbane, and young Manly pennant player Jack Roach with 78. Handicap honors went to South Coast duo Greg and David Thomsen.

Foursomes Champion Phil Baird with
Handicap winner Darron Watt and Al Grieve

Day two had an early shotgun start at the picturesque and highly-rated Long Reef Links. The event was scheduled to be in line with their Centenary where hickories would have been used when the club was formed. It was a hot day and surprisingly little wind with the Thomson/Perritt redesigned course set up for hickory play and in great condition.

Although not mandatory many of the players dressed in period costumes and it was great to have a number of Women competing.

Suzanne Brown with
Women's Champion Isabelle Mansfield

We had a contingent from Hickory Golfers Queensland, driving down from Brisbane playing a number of courses on the way. Also in the field was Rob Chadwick, Captain elect of the British Golf Collectors Society.

Rob Chadwick driving his first ball in Aus

At the presentation luncheon Steve Twigg, Long Reef President, gave a short and entertaining talk on the Centenary and his passion for the Club. Also in attendance was Tom Moore, AGHS Patron and a key figure in establishing the tournament in 1995

With a one over par 72 Tim Sayers, a master club maker, claimed the 2021 Championship. This was his second big win in recent times also winning the Remote Section of the US National Hickory Championship.

2021 Champion Tim Sayers

Dave Saunders followed his win in the Foursomes with a 74 to be runner up. Other good scores were Alex Sutherland 77, Warwick Stanwell and Greg Thomsen 79 with David Mansfield, Andrew Daddo and Warren Smith on 80. The Women's Champion with a credible 94, playing off the same tees as the men, was Isabelle Mansfield. Handicap Winner was Darron Watt from Wagga Wagga on count back from Dave Mansfield and Warwick Stanwell.

The 2022 Championship will be in Brisbane mid-September.

The Australian Hickory Championships and other hickory events are run by The Australian Golf Heritage Society, Information on hickory golf can be found here or contact Les Browne AGHS Captain lesnkate@bigpond.net.au

Les Browne | AGHS Captain

(Image below: Players at Warringah GC waiting to hit off in the Foursomes)

From the Archives | Ledgers

The Club has over 50 old ledgers and books to refer to. Two of these are now over 100 years old. We can thank our first Secretary Alfred Lambert for creating the first Membership book with alphabetical indexes. Copper-plate hand-writing was eventually replaced by typed notes which were glued in. The information in words and numbers inside them are fascinating to read.

The first books were adapted from Cash Books but by the 40s a specialised leather-bound ledger was available. By the 60s we see all the extra leather tags that were added when the book was bound, so the full list of categories could be separated. These categories also included the shorter lists of Bowling Members, Country, Absent, and Non-Playing Associates for example. In 1977 all membership information was transferred to an individual index card system, stored in large ugly metal 'books'. (It is enjoyable to find ones own membership details in this ledger if you joined the club before 1987.) Then came the computer age but names of golfing Members can still be found in the Programme books for easy everyday reference.

The heaviest, in both weight and content are the Membership books. Some almost too heavy for a frail archivist to lift! The Results books were filled in every time by the Professional of the day and they give us an idea of the numbers in the field, handicaps, who were the stars or runners up of the time and the cost of green fees. The Minute books give us an outline of our history using clear heading by subjects in margins. By far the biggest collection of ledgers is the Cash Books where we can learn about bar takings, petty cash, wages, and the cost of feeding the horse!

Words like 'expunged' are found against members names sometimes and we know where they lived and what their occupation was. In the 40s we had an abundance of Clerks and Travelling Salesman. The Graziers could have gathered with the Wool Merchants and Tanners. The Radio technicians could not have imagined the change in communication technology to come. The women's occupations of the 40s were as limited in choice as you might expect - there are pages of those on Home Duties, or working as Typists, Stenographers or Milliners. There are often odd lists in the back of the ledgers. Very yellowed newspaper cuttings from the 60's can be found this way, showing all the men's pennant teams and results from this era 60 years ago.

The 1940-49 Membership book is very interesting. (See opened above.) It tells the WW2 story. Codes and the use of red lines show the members who stayed and held the Club together, others that had to leave for some years and those who never returned. This book also lists the first Junior Members from 1948. There is some confusion created in this Membership ledger as in 1939 the Club became a limited company and everyone had to fill in a form and re -apply to join the Club. So, in some cases a joining date is listed as 1939 against a Member's name not the original date they joined some years before.

It has been suggested that we repeat the 100^th Birthday celebration display of memorabilia every ten years, but we really don't have to wait that long if you would like to see this important part of our Archives. When the COVID smoke settles perhaps we can bring out the ledgers on a set date, or even do a private showing on request. The ledgers are all too interesting to spend their lives in a cupboard! We will provide the white gloves!

(Above image: Feb 2022 on display in the Pro Shop - the 20s, the 40s & the 70-80s Membership books.)

Sandra Mellowes | Archive Committee

Changes to Upcoming Fixtures / Dates

Attention Members | The following changes will apply to upcoming Fixtures / Dates:

Friday 18^th February 2022 - Manly United FC Golf Day - Friday Club and Social Play from 1.00pm.
Friday 25^th February 2022 - Special Olympics Golf Day - Friday Club and Social Play from 1.00pm.

Thank you for your understanding,

From the Pro Shop

New Mizuno Sta Dri Bags in Store

New Logo shirts Now available

Selected Clothing 35% Off

Mizuno Fitting Day | March 25

Be quick and book in the Pro Shop

2022 Special Olympics Judy Buckley Memorial Golf Day & Luncheon

Entry Form | Click Here

Islands in the stream

Islands in the stream
That is what we are
No one in between
How can we be wrong?

Sounds familiar? Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers were, of course, deciding whether or not to go out to play golf with rain tumbling down and water flowing all over the greens and fairways. Sensibly, they went into their Clubhouse and had buns and beverages and then went home.

Last Friday, our marvelous cohort of Friday Clubbers adopted the same approach, but then in a moment of hairy-chested bravado, some of our blue-clad warriors decided to wade out onto the course and try to play golf.

It was blowing a gale and rain (quaintly described as "showers" by the BOM) was tumbling down.

The result was a rather small, but very determined field, and some rather impressive results.

David Brown used his size and strength to defy the wind and the elements and returned a very heroic 37 points to win the day.

Meanwhile Steven Hill, used his stature to play under the wind and his fitness to overcome the soggy conditions and was runner-up with a most commendable 35 (on a countback).

We played an 11-hole comp for those of us not game to take on the 18-hole challenge and Michael Maras finished with a big cheesy grin (doesn't he always?) and 21 points to claim the honours.

In all, 39 players presented themselves to the starter .... A remarkable effort.

Dolly and Kenny would have been proud.

Back on Track

The French call it "the greatest motorsport event in the world".

It's the 24 Heures du Mans, sometimes referred to as the Le Mans Grand Prix, and it's a hectic event where drivers used to show off their skill and athletic prowess by sprinting to their vehicles (it was stopped some years ago by the HR department).

Friday Club golf can be a bit like that sometimes, as witnessed by the events of two weeks ago, our opening day of competition in 2022.

There might not have been a lot of sprinting, but our golfers took to the course with vigor and enthusiasm and put their finely-tuned bodies through their paces for 18 rather strenuous holes. It was hot and very humid and although some of us ended up looking like a wrung out Spanish tennis player after a tough night in Melbourne, the scores were impressively high.

Bill Inglis, an occasional visitor to the Friday Club timesheet in recent times, has decided Friday's is his favourite day after racing to a scorching 45 points to take division three by the length of the straight. Valerie Wilson, one of the star players of last year, had a very respectable 38 but couldn't get out of Bill's slipstream and had to be content with second place.

In division one, where they take their golf seriously, good players talk in whispers so as not to lose their concentration. However, some players have such powers of concentration they can defy this trend and still play brilliant golf. One such player is Club stalwart Brian Ratcliffe.

As a child playing hide and seek, Brian would always give himself away by giggling inappropriately at the wrong time. He still does it on the golf course, but last Friday Brian had the last laugh. He shot a faultless 42 points (no wipes and birdies on holes 3 and 5) to hold off the redoubtable Michael Harding by a point.

In division two, seasoned veterans, Graham Carlton and Jim Ridding, battled it out for line honours. Graham, continuing his consistent form of late last year, just got the better of Jim, 42 to 41.

As if our golf wasn't entertaining enough, a visitor to the club provided an extra frisson of frivolity by toppling into the water while trying to extricate his ball from the side of the dam on the sixth hole. That would have made even the serious golfers in div one crack a smile! (The visitor played on stoically and completed his round, so bravo to him).

Finally a huge congratulations to Steve Holdstock who's been appointed Long Reef Golf Club treasurer by the Board. We know Steve will do a great job.

Perry Yeldham | Friday Club President

REEF BREEZES