With the course barely playable last Saturday, we were originally planning on postponing the finals but a combination of being unable to find a suitable alternative date and the players wanting "to just get on with it", they went ahead.

The Championship match saw the number one qualifiers and defending champions take on the number two qualifying pair over 36 holes. The match was tight for the first 11 holes with Jimmy Knox and I holding a slender 1up lead over Dom Dowling and Scott Bovis. However, Jimmy and I won 6 of the next 7 holes to take, what turned out to be, an unassailable lead into the second round. Dom and Scott hung in but couldn't make inroads into the gap and eventually Jimmy and I won 7&6. 

The A Reserve match looked, on paper, like it might be a close one and it turned out that way with Glen Evans and John Carroll eventually coming out 2&1 winners over Jesse Gough and James Dean.

The father and son pairing of Ashley and Lennox Cleary were the B Grade winners overcoming Hugh Wilson and Jeremy Gruzman 3&2. At 13 years old, I doubt it's the last time we'll see Lennox's name winning major events but I don't think they'll be B Grade ones for much longer - you'll need to get to A Grade with him Ashley to continue the winning combination!

Despite the conditions, 18 holes obviously wasn't enough for Simon Thorn and Denis Watchorn and their opponent Cha Loh and Greg Hunter in the C Grade final because they couldn't be separated so went to extra holes - Simon and Denis eventually coming out on top after the third sudden death hole.

Congratulations to the beaten finalists on getting through and well done to the winners! 

Winning scores

The weather has restricted competitions and field sizes but here are a couple of results...

Anthony Papandrea won B Grade and Score of the Day on Wednesday 13th July with +4 and combined with Michael Maras to also win the 4BBB with +9.

Jamie Duff was the A Grade winner with +3 with Anthony Dignan runner-up with +2 and Mark Cruise third with 0. Richard Lloyd was runner-up to Anthony in B Grade on +3 and Paul Hughes was third with +1. Barry Young edged out Phil O'Regan after a countback for C Grade when both finished with -1 and Gino Debono was third on -2, after a countback with Frank Lorenz.

Andrew Daddo and John Steuart were the runners-up in the 4BBB with +8 while Chun-Ta Wu won Scratch with 2 under par.

Andy O'Brien had an outstanding 44 points on Saturday 16th to take out A Grade and Score of the Day by three shots

Matt Oaten returned after a long lay-off to finish runner-up in A Grade with 41 points, one ahead of Andre Prinsloo. Andre did turn the tables on Andy in the 4BBB when he partnered with Adam Philip for 49 points, one ahead of Andy and Tony Holley (who won a countback from Ashley Kerr and Craig Pecar). Ashley's 41 points did, however, win C Grade, with Michael Rogan second with 39 points and Paul Bradford third with 37 points. Neil Lucey was the B Grade winner with 41 points while Rod Willment was runner-up with 40 and Lennox Cleary was third with 39 points.

Luke Edgell won Scratch with 1 under par and Jie Cheng was the Women's winner with 31 points. 

Competition teeing area options

For the months of August, September and October, we will be making it an option for male Members to play from the white tees on Stroke rounds. The course rating and subsequent handicap adjustment will appear in the MiScore app if you advise the Pro shop on the morning of play that you wish to play from those tees. There will be a separate competition set up with prizes based on the number of entrants.

After the three month trial, the Golf Committee will review and determine how / if we proceed. 

"Rain, rain go away"

I've left it until last but it's probably at the forefront of everybody's thinking.... AGAIN!! 

Playing conditions are unfortunately back as bad as they were a few months ago but that's hardly surprising when you realise that it has rained on 19 days so far this month and that has delivered 264mm - that's just under a foot in old money - and takes our rainfall so far in 2022 to just under 2m!!!

Originally we made the decision to close the 15th and 16th yesterday and today but with further rain in the early hours of Tuesday morning, we had no real option but to close the back nine to avoid lasting damage caused by the foot traffic and buggies.

Safety and not damaging the course have been the two primary factors in determining the playability of the course but we cannot underestimate the importance of enjoyment. We want to leave the decision whether to play or not in individual Members' hands as much as possible so while the back nine may be unsuitable for play currently, we have not closed the course to allow Members access to the less wet first eight holes.

We will continue to monitor conditions on a daily basis so please keep an eye on the website and timesheets for the most up-to-date information and hopefully we can get some dry, windy weather to make playing more enjoyable. 

All the best, 

The last three years have been horrendous for all aspects of our Club's operations. Massive disruptions to M embers golf and also to public golf, our functions business and our overall food and beverage activities. All these areas are vital contributors to achieving our vision of being "The best beachside destination offering exceptional golf and hospitality experiences for our Members and community".

Not only do the community facing activities meet our council and lease expectations, they have a huge impact on our financial position which allows us to invest more in improvements to the golf course and Clubhouse.

The Club has endured Clubhouse closures and/or trade restrictions for extended periods of time. Despite this, the Club has managed to continue to grow food & beverage revenue through the Café and Bar.

In the 2022 financial year, the Bar was only operational from 11 October to 30 June yet generated more in Member and public sales than the last full financial year prior to COVID (2019). The Café followed a similar trend.

Though in part due to a restructure of the House Membership, credit is due to Ben, Alex and their team with an improved operation, a wider range of beverages, slicker service and more varied menu items. This all in the context of a fundamentally constrained kitchen design and layout. I have spent 20 years of my life working in restaurants and can attest to the difficulty our team have to contend with.

The rule in the restaurant game is that people vote with their feet so the increased patronage by our Golf Members showcasing their Club to family and friends and our community support is testament.

Below is a slide that is the latest GBAS benchmarking of our Club's like for like 2021 F&B performance vs all Golf Clubs in metro NSW of similar size. (Please note this excludes components of our functions business which are not comparable).

"So what" some people have said when I have explained this. Others have said "if the Club is so profitable, why did my subscriptions go up". The simple truth is that profit is a poor measure of long-term sustainability. To achieve our vision of being "The best beachside destination offering exceptional golf and hospitality experiences for our Members and community" we have to think long-term. Personally I want our club to strive for our vision for another 100 years and more.

This requires capital (cash). We need to contemporise our Golf Course. We have around 70 bunkers many/most with poor drainage (as we have seen this year). Modern golf courses typically have around 40. Bunkers demand the greatest maintenance cost per square metre of any part of the golf course. We are developing a Bunker Master Plan with top course designers and yes, you guessed it, this costs money. Lots of it.

Our Clubhouse generates significant profit and cash through the F&B and Functions operations. Yet it was built many years ago and no longer serves the changed needs of the business. In fact, it is incurring massive maintenance costs to hold it together. We are losing functions because the functions areas are showing their age.

We are in the process of auditing what needs to be done to the current structure but the cost will be significant. Among other things we have 5 persistent roof leaks, we have rusted support beams, we have doors that don't meet requirements, we have broken tiles all over. Located so close to the ocean creates never ending challenge. Much of this needs to be done BEFORE we can do any form of Clubhouse redevelopment (commencement is some years away). Again, this requires money.

Finally, any redevelopment (even if simply maintaining the existing structure knocking out internal walls etc) is going to cost money. But it has to be done.

I hope this helps build understanding. I firmly believe that "the more you know, the more you care".

Please feel free to get in touch with Ben or myself with your comments or questions. 

Keith Warren | President

The weather was wet, windy and cold for our Annual Day versus Cromer Golf Club on Tuesday 19^th July. Congratulations to everyone who played. Long Reef won the day 7-5 and well done to Wendy Millson and Rosemary West who had the best Long Reef score of 34 pts

Bronze 111 Pennant team's last two matches were cancelled due to the wet weather. Thank you to Prue Bardsley the convenor and all players who played and those who were available to play even though sadly didn't get to actually play. Clare John F/C, Rowena Robinson, Aki Lee, Lyn Ashton, Michelle Ackerman, Julie Campbell, Debra Trim, Catherine Wiggett and Lynne Parsons. The team finished mid table which was a fantastic effort.

Bronze IV Pennant team's (Fiona Woolley, Angela Brown, Nan Crump F/C, Tracey Cantwell, Danielle Susan and reserve Jill Hensman) match at Roseville on Friday 22^nd July was cancelled. The team of Fiona Woolley, Angela Brown, Nan Crump, Tracey Cantwell, Danielle Seisun and reserve Tanya Gadiel play their final game at Elanora versus Bayview on Friday 29^th July. 

Results

Upcoming Fixtures

An air compressor has been installed at the southern end of the buggy storage area below the pro shop. This is for Members and guests to hose off grass and mud from their buggies and shoes before putting them in storage or in their car.

Please use with care and do not apply air pressure directly to your skin as this may cause injury.  

Vale | Eric (Ric) Larkins

Ric, who was 87 years of age, joined the Club on 31^st August 2004 and was a regular player in competitions and social golf with a group of his friends, including the late Brian King. He was very proud of his hole in one on the 13^th.

Ric commenced his golfing career by enjoying a time as a Member of Manly Golf Club but then switched to Long Reef where he settled in very quickly.

After leaving school in Melbourne, Ric commenced his working life by obtaining a job as a jackeroo in the country but then returned to Melbourne where he joined GTV9 in the very infancy period of television in Australia.

Ric commenced as a Camera Operator but later held positions of Director and Producer in various productions, including the Graham Kennedy Show. After spending a couple of years in London, Ric spent about two years in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) where he worked as Director or Producer in the local Television Industry.

Ric is survived by his Wife, Daughter, Son-in-Law and two Grandchildren, the Club extends sincere condolences to them at this sad time.

Vale | Raymond John Mathieson

Ray was 77 years of age at the time of his death. He joined the Club on 1st November 2001 and was a regular playing Member in midweek competitions.

Ray had a long career with The Bank of NSW (subsequently Westpac) and after leaving he took up the position of General Manager at Balgowlah Golf Club for a short period to assist the Club at a time when it was experiencing operational difficulties.

Being a community minded person, Ray was heavily involved in local issues in the Manly area. He was Co Chairperson of the Manly Community Forum, a voluntary organisation formed after the establishment of Northern Beaches Council to, amongst other things, establish a liaison network with Councillors and Council Staff and keep locals informed about issues of public importance within the Manly area.

Golf was not the only sporting activity in which Ray was involved, for he was a very keen boating enthusiast involved in motor boat and skiff activities at Manly.

Ray is survived by his wife, two daughters and five grandchildren and we extend our sincere condolences to them also at this difficult time.

Brian Cummins | Welfare Coordinator

Having enjoyed the tradition and play of the 150^th British Open last week from  St Andrews  we are reminded of what must be, Scotland's greatest export, the game of golf. It was largely Scottish golfing professionals and enthusiastic that spread the word world wide! 

There is no doubt that Dan Soutar and his Scottish born golf professional contemporaries who arrived from Scotland at the turn of the last century, with their stoic work ethic, influenced the growth of golf in Australia. Dan was 12 when he left school and then completed a cabinet making apprenticeship. He was 20 when he left Scotland in 1903 and he joined his good friends Carnegie Clark and Jas Scott in Sydney. He turned professional in 1905 and became the Chairman of the first NSW PGA meeting in 1911.

Thanks to the Australian Golf Heritage Society I recently had the pleasure of reading two bound volumes of letters written by Dan Soutar to his wife Annis when he was away from home between 1907 - 1921. The hope was that more facts would be discovered about the creation of Long Reef Golf Club but of course a lot of the detail was personal and not about 'work'. It has certainly led to an admiration of how hard he worked to make a living from golf, the income expected and how far he travelled to design a new course, advice on problems, take orders for clubs and equipment he would make, teach, play in exhibition matches, write a book or an article and compete in the major Championships.

Dan had won his first tournament as a 13 year old in his village at the same time as being a caddie at Carnoustie, the club he was later to join. His love of seaside links courses was to dominate his course design style and he was sure that a golf club in a community would add to that community's popularity and development. This had happened in Leura. His influence on the Northern Beaches was great as he designed new courses or made changes to them and others later on. As the Professional at Manly for ten years from 1911-21 he was to train the young men who were to become the stars of the new Long Reef Club. By 1922 Dan had moved to Moore Park, although the family home was in Manly and he remained very much a part of Long Reef, playing an exhibition match at the official opening in 1923, designing the 9-hole extension which was open in 1931 and supporting his wife and three children as they became Members at Long Reef from the early 30's. Sadly they were to soon be on their own when he died suddenly in 1937 of complications from an appendicitis. His wife Annis remained a Member until her death in 1965. (Annis had become the Club's first female Life Member in 1956 following 16 years as Associates President.) 

As he travelled extensively by train and boat the list of courses that he designed or changed in some way were miles and states apart, indeed even countries. His name is linked to over 100 courses. For example  he is remembered for Shirley in New Zealand, and the Auckland Club on the North Island, Kingston Heath in the sand belt courses of Victoria and Bonnie Doon and NSW in Sydney. The creation of the Leura Club was his first major Professional position.  As a short sample of his influence, there were visits to Adelaide to create Royal Adelaide, Scone, Ballarat, Lithgow, Wagga, Bowral, Temora, Orange and Glen Innes. Locally there were the Bayview, Avalon and Elanora Country Club designs, he helped at the young Balgowlah Club where his wife was the first Associate's President and he reshaped some holes at Manly which had  been opened in 1903. He also had to travel to Victoria a great deal for the Championships. He speaks of finding golf in Ballarat so cold that on one occasion he played two rounds wearing his overcoat in ankle deep mud!

It was a sign of the times when you read of his frustration of not being able to find a vacant desk in a hotel's Reading/Writing room because they were all taken by commercial travellers! What is impressive is a very efficient next day postal system. He would also wire home his golf results  round by round to Annis. What was a little surprising, that in all the letters written between 1914-20 there was no mention of WW1 or the Spanish flu.

Below we can see an example of his letterhead. It reads like a CV and would have been written in about 1913. His career as a Professional golfer spanned just thirty-two years, he was 'famous" in his own lifetime and so many  golf clubs and golfers could claim to have known him.                                                           

Sources: Pittwater online news - Dan Soutar's influence on local courses. The letters were on loan from the Australian Golf Heritage Society.

Sandra Mellowes | Archives Committee