Club Email

Bunker Construction Progress Update

Members who have recently played a round would've noticed the significant progress made executing the Bunker Master Plan with holes 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 completed. More importantly, holes 1, 2 and 3 now have sand in the bunkers and are all in play. The sand will continue to settle over time with regular play and maintenance, and the design of these bunkers will encourage the ball to return to the bunker base.

As previously mentioned, we are experiencing difficulty securing sand as many Sydney clubs are ordering the same sand out of the quarry in Cowra which is struggling to meet demand. We are doing everything we can to limit the disruption to play, but unfortunately, we are at the mercy of our suppliers. You may notice the sand coming in over the next couple of months is a little darker than the previous sand used. The new sand is the same profile, but a slightly darker colour, which we believe to be more fitting to our environment.

In the coming week, Klingstone will be sprayed in the greenside bunkers on the 8th hole and the bunkers and surrounds will remain GUR until sand arrives and the bunkers are playable.

Construction is moving along nicely at the 18th hole, with the bunkers short of the green removed, the area reshaped and turfed. The soil being built up between the 18th fairway and practice fairway will be used to construct an additional fairway bunker. We estimate that it will take an additional 10-12 days for the 18th hole to be completed.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work hard to improve Long Reef Golf Club for all of our Members. We will continue to provide regular updates on the progress of this project, through this newsletter and the Member's Portal.

18th Hole

3rd Hole with sand

Clubhouse Construction

Renovation in the Café Kitchen commenced this week and the presence of our contractors will increase over the coming week. The old sunroom and store room is being converted in to a cool room and dry store to improve Café Kitchen efficiencies. During this time, disruption to the Café will be minimal and the designated work areas are hoarded off from Members and the public. Please be mindful of the work taking place when moving around the car park and Clubhouse, as there will be trucks regularly delivering supplies.

Membership Renewals

The 2023-2024 Membership commenced on 1 June and I would like to thank the 92% of Members who had settled their subscriptions by the 31 May deadline. It has certainly assisted our team in the management of timesheets and following up of Membership payments.

Every Full Playing Member who paid prior to the 1 June will receive 3 x Weekday Member Guest passes on their Membership card which can be redeemed when bringing a guest to play socially Monday to Friday or in the Monday Open Competition. These vouchers are now on eligible Members cards and are redeemable at the time of registering in the Pro Shop for your round.

Ben Russell | General Manager

From your Captain

Winners

Monday 12th - David Costello OAM continues to recover from recent health issues and it was great to see him win "Score of the Day" with 42 points beating Geoff Cranfield and Greg Bush on a countback.

Sunday 11th - Mark O'Connell shot 40 points for the second Sunday running but this this week was enough to win the comp.

Saturday 10th - Jack Sloman shot "Score of the Day" (40 points) and won C Grade while Steve Prior won Scratch with level par and beat Adam Elliott for A Grade, after a countback when both had 39 points. Adam did partner with his son Will to win the 4BBB - for the second time in 3 weeks. Angus McPhee was the B Grade winner with 37 points, beating Joe O'Sullivan on a countback

Wednesday 7th - Mark Hansen won C Grade and Score of the Day with 43 points and teamed up with Rob Mander, Richard Wray and Marc Sier to win the "best 3 of 4" teams event. Brian Ferguson won B Grade with 38 points and Ross Bockman won Scratch and A Grade by beating his age (for the umpteenth time!!!)

Monday 5th - Paul Hope won the day with 41 points.

Sunday 4th - James Pysar won with a very impressive 43 points.

Saturday 3rd - The President's Cup is played in conjunction with the June Medal and the evergreen

Peter French went close to beating his age in winning the Cup and C Grade Medal with a nett 65.

The other Medal winners were Simon Couch in A Grade (69) and Ryan Bell in B Grade (67).

Jane Hagan won the Women's Medal with nett 72. Ryan Farrell won Scratch with 72.

The annual left-handers event was also played in conjunction with the Medal and the trophy this year was won by Steve Prior.

Gold "composite" course rating

Golf NSW has now rated the "composite" course which many of our older Members are eligible to play from the combination of blue and gold or red and gold tees. For the men playing from the combination of blue and gold tees the slope rating is 119 and for the women playing from the red and gold combination, the rating is 123.

To ensure your score is correctly recorded, if you intend to play the composite course, you must inform the Pro shop before commencing your round.

Please note that Members playing this course set up will not be eligible to participate in/qualify for the gross score based events - Club Championships, Grade Cups, Foursomes Championships & Eclectics.

Upcoming events

All the Medal winners over the last 12 months have been notified of their qualification to play for the Whytock Cup. This will be played in conjunction with the July Medal on Saturday 1st July. The timesheet will open as normal and all the participants will enter as normal. Good luck to all.

The Men's Foursomes Championship and Grade Cup qualifying round will be held on Saturday 8th July with the top 4 pairings in each grade progressing to play matchplay on Saturday 15th, with the finals on Saturday 22nd. Full entry details will be provided in the next Newsletter as that will come out the week before the timesheet.

Masters Pennant

We had a disappointing 4-4 draw with Kogarah at home last Sunday and now face the difficult prospect of having to beat them at least 7-1 next week around their own course. Difficult but not impossible!!

Thank you to the Members that came out to support.

Enjoy your golf

Doug Campbell | Captain

From your Women's Committee

The Bronze Plaque Pennant team played Elanora at Warringah on Friday 2^nd June. The team of Rosemary West, Jane Hagan, Wendy Thomas, Veronica Bertram and Prue Bardsley won 3.5 - 1.5. On Friday 9^th June Long Reef hosted the Bronze Plaque teams.

Thank you to Sue Kruse, Julie Preston, Michelle Milsted, Prue Bardsley and Jeanie Reitzer for helping out on the day. The visiting teams were complimentary about the course and how we are managing the changes in relation to the bunkers and they thoroughly enjoyed the lunch. On Friday 16^th June the team of Jeanie Reitzer, Wendy Thomas, Prue Bardsley, Karman Whitford, Lyndall Bacon and reserve Veronica Bertram play at Wakehurst versus Bayview.

Bronze III start their games on Friday 16^th June at Bayview versus Monash. Good luck to Clare John (FC), Di Muncke, Aki Lee, Mandy Biffin, Tracey Cantwell and reserve Julie Campbell.

The Women's Presidents trophy semi - finals were played on Tuesday 6^th June, with Cath Piper winning on the 19^th hole versus Sally Hill, and Linda Sinclair winning 3/2 versus Jenny Watts. The final was on Thursday 8^th June. The game between Cath Piper and Linda Sinclair was played in great spirit with Linda getting to 5 up and keeping ahead for the whole match. Linda played steady golf all the way and won 4 & 3. Thank you to Gilda Severino for referring and Michelle Milsted for assisting.

Linda Sinclair winner of Women's President Trophy with Gilda Severino (pictured right).

Saturday 4^th June saw Jane Hagan (22) win the Stroke - Club & GNSW medal with a nett 72.

Over the last couple of weeks there have been some great scores, Karen Smith (15) 38 pts, Julia Mahn (34) 41 pts, Sue Dewell (39) 40 pts, Robyn Carson (39) 39 pts, Deb Kent (37) 38 pts, Karen Pethybridge (40) 39 pts, Paulette Bailey (12) 39pts, Chez Hickman (34) 38 pts, Janet Atchison (15) 38 pts, Tracey Martin (32) 38 pts, Julie Simpson (35) 40pts, Lisa Mackenzie (36) 38 pts and 9 holes - Judy Hore (39) 20 pts, Andy McKenzie (49) 21 pts.

We sadly say goodbye to Louise Millward, the Women's Secretary who with her husband David have moved North. We thank Louise for her contribution over the last couple of years and we wish them both every success with their new life. In the interim until the next Women's AGM in November 2023, the Women's Committee will take on the secretary's role.

Upcoming Fixtures

Thursday 22^nd June Stroke - Club & GNSW medal and gold tee Stableford.

Sunday 25^th June is the Women's Weekend Foursomes for 6 and 7 day members. Please enter your names on the sheet up in the locker room.

Thursday July 6^th Par event mixed divisions. Please enter your name on the sheet in the locker room.

Wendy Thomas | Women's Captain

Master Pennant Update

After a couple of convincing wins against Penrith we played the undefeated team of Kogarah at Long Reef last Sunday. A win was essential for our aspirations to get to the semi finals for the 6 year in a row.

Most of the matches were tight at the turn although Jimmy Little, Adam Lynn and Tony Holly all looked in control of their matches. Jimmy Knox was only one down at the turn but having lost confidence in his chipping proceeded to lose 10, 12, 14 and 15 to lose badly 5/3. Doug Campbell looked like he was going to over come his deliberate opponent but ended up losing 15, 16 and 17 to lose 3/1. After a good couple of wins this season Ross Bockman was unable to hold of his man and went down 4/2.

Mick McKerihan was down most of the day but made a valiant comeback only to lose his match on the last.

Ian Brown kept the pressure on his opponent and with hard fought par on 17 finished off his Kogarah opponent 2/1.

The match ended in a 4-4 draw which wasn't the desired result for Long Reef.

We now go to Kogarah this Sunday needing to win either 7-1 or 8-0 to be sectional winners and proceed to the semi finals. Not an easy task but not impossible.

Thanks to all those who came out and cheered us on the team really appreciates your support.

Jimmy Knox lost 5/3
Jimmy Little won 4/3
Doug Campbell lost 3/1
Ian Brown won 2/1
Ross Bockman lost 4/2
Tony Holly won 3/2
Adam Lynn won 5/4
Mick McKerihan lost 1 down

Jimmy Knox | Master Pennant Captain

Aishling Cohen | Front of House Staff

What are you studying at University?
I am in my fourth and final year on Interior Architecture at UTS.

What are your future aspirations?
To work for an Architectural Firm overseas which specialises in sustainability and to continue travelling around the globe.

What are your travel plans?
I lived and worked for a year in England when i was 18 during my gap year and travelled throughout Europe during that year. I love travelling and can't wait to continue after completing Uni.

What is your favourite part about working at LRGC?
Chatting with all the Members, the view and starting to play golf.

Kelly Knowles | Cafe Manager

How long have you worked at LRGC?
Over 7 years!

What are your travel plans?
I've worked in hospitality in varied management roles for 30 years in establishments including fine dining restaurants, hotels, clubs and cafes.

What do you do on your days off?
As a proud single Mum, my weekends are spent with my 9 year old daughter Ava. She plays for Manly United FC, so there is lots of soccer to watch and travelling around Sydney.

Where did you grow up?
I am originally from Tweed Heads. I have lived in Sydney for 24 years. I do enjoy going back to see my Mum and friends.

Rules with George | Question

Question: Cyril was playing the 5^th hole during the course reconstruction, in a Stableford event. He found his ball in a very large area marked as GUR very close to the green.

He selected as his reference point, a point on the green as the nearest point of full relief. He marked his relief area within one club length of the reference point no closer to the hole. He placed his ball within this relief area, on the green, and putted.

Cyril acted correctly? A) True B) False

From the Pro Shop

Long Reef Logo Shirts & Beanies Now in stock + New 4DX Nickent Drivers Now in stock

From your Welfare Coordinator

It is with great sadness I report the passing of Sally Woods. Sally had been a past Women's President and Captain who had achieved a high golfing standard. She won many major trophies and represented the Club.

We extend our deepest sympathy and thoughts to her family during this difficult time.

Lindsay Bates is recovering from a fall from a ladder. He is nursing two breaks in one arm and broken ribs. He hopes to be home from rehab and hospital today. Today's lesson is that we must all realise what our limitations are - not to climb ladders once we are getting older should be on top of our list.

Roger Poignand is still recovering from his health issues and we wish him a speedy recovery.

Great to see David Costello winning Monday's golf competition with 42 points. Dave's journey has been truly inspirational.

Stephen Twigg | Welfare Coordinator

From the Archives | Medals from the 1920s

The Archives can boast a wide collection of club medals from the 1930s to the present. Along the way the men and associates/women have chosen different articles to act as medals, although they do have the small pin, worn on the lapel or hat, in common. It has been realised recently that the three small wooden shields that we have to display were in fact early medals.

In February 1927 the Associates committee had asked the Club committee if silver spoons engraved with the club's initials could be used alongside medals. The first club logo (pictured below)

The spoons were made of silver. A year later at a club committee meeting in 1928 it was decided to buy twelve wooden shields to be used "in lieu" of medals for the men. This was at a time when only one was presented across all grades so they would have lasted the year. They are also engraved with LRGC with the date on the tiny silver shield at the top. The winners name is on the banner below the swinging golfer in his plus-fours. One medal gives the score for the day. They stand about 10cms high.

The three on display (pictured left) are inscribed. Two were won by Mr R.M. Ellis and one by Mr K. Withers (We will look at Mr. Ellis more closely next time).

The Women's favourite was the silver brooch pin, seen below in the framed selection.. They were definitely being used in the 50s, but Lilith Gollan once said that she remembers when they had risen to cost $25 each in the 70s and were much too expensive so other articles were tried instead. The women would be presented with a letter-opener or a cake fork or the small medal similar to that used for years by the men in a blue and gold coloured metal. By the late 80s if the women won a medal they had the choice of a pin or a spoon. They were metal plated and certainly not silver. The shape of that favourite brooch was copied and used later as the pattern for name badges.

Badge belonging to Addie Browne. Donated by Les Browne (pictured right)

The more recent 21^st century medals presented in a blue box have a very classy look.

The men have also worked through a collection of items to go alongside that very small metal medal. They were mainly glass or metal tankards, we even have a silver chaffing dish stand in the collection. (A chaffing dish stand is placed under a hot vessel before it is placed on a dining table!)

Many golfers take the winning of a medal very seriously and take pride in making a collection of them. Good luck to all with that quest!

Medals pictured above: A spoon, letter opener, cake fork (with the first Club logo), 40s-70s pin, and hat badge. Small metal medal 40s onwards. Recent medal design engraved individually for all uses e.g. Monthly, Grade etc

There is a display of a variety of medals in the Pro-Shop cabinet at the moment

Sandra Mellowes | Archives Committee

Rules with George | Answer

Answer: B is correct. Cyril's ball was originally in the General Area of the course with interference by a very large area of abnormal course condition, the GUR. Cyril knew relief was compulsory.

Because the ball was in the General Area the following apply:

The Reference Point must be in the General Area.
The Relief Area must be in the General Area and must not be closer to the hole than the Reference Point.
There must be complete relief from the interference by the abnormal course condition.

RULE 16.1b applies. Cyril played from the Wrong Place.

Penalty for Playing Ball from a Wrong Place in Breach of Rule 16.1 : General Penalty Under Rule 14.7a.

As a result of his action, in Stableford, Cyril got 2 Penalty Strokes on hole 5.

Member Update