Club Email

MICK INFANTI FUNDRAISER

I would like to start the final newsletter of 2025 off by thanking everyone who contributed to our fundraiser for our Teaching Professional Michael Infanti, which was an extraordinary success. So many of you played a part in making the night what it was, and while you all know who you are, a few individuals deserve special acknowledgement. Adam Peacock steered the evening brilliantly as MC; Australian Cricketer Mitch Starc made a surprise appearance for a Q&A just days after taking ten wickets in the opening Ashes Test; and our Functions Coordinator Toni Collins who among the peak season of events delivered a seamless night thanks to her exceptional work behind the scenes.

Most importantly, it was special to have Mick join us on the night. Hearing him speak openly with Members and guests about his journey since April and the road still ahead was a reminder of why this Club steps up when it counts. The funds raised will genuinely support Mick and Chiara as he continues his recovery and rebuilds towards getting back on the teaching tee. It was a night that highlighted exactly who we are as a Club and community.

MEMBERS CHRISTMAS COCKTAIL PARTY

The festive season always begins at Long Reef with our Members Christmas Cocktail Party, held last Thursday. I hope everyone enjoyed the chance to catch up with fellow Members away from the Course, and that those who brought partners along were able to show them why you disappear for hours at a time each week. It was well supported and is certainly something that sets apart from many other Golf Clubs.

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS FOUNDATION

We have recently launched a new fundraising campaign through the Australian Sports Foundation to support the purchase of a new Paramotion vehicle. Many Members will have seen our old Paramotion in action over the past 10 years, which provided life-changing access to the game for golfers with mobility limitations. Unfortunately, that unit has now reached the end of its operational life and can no longer be used.

The new Paramotion will allow paraplegic and mobility-restricted golfers to stand, swing and enjoy the course with confidence and independence, continuing a legacy this Club has proudly supported for many years.

This initiative is being delivered in partnership with Empower Golf Australia and the Sargood Foundation, both of whom are leaders in inclusive sport.

Our goal is to raise the Club’s contribution towards the purchase of the unit, and all donations made through the Australian Sports Foundation are fully tax-deductible. We encourage Members to contribute if they are able, or to share the campaign with friends, family or businesses who may wish to support a tangible, life-changing project.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW CAMPAIGN

As we wrap up 2025, I want to give a shout out to all our staff and volunteers across the Club. It has been a demanding year, and every department has played a part in delivering the Long Reef experience our Members expect, from the Course and Golf Operations teams through to Hospitality, Events, Finance and Administration. Their effort and pride in the Club show every day, and I’m genuinely grateful for the way they represent Long Reef.

To all our Members, thank you for another incredible year. From the whole team, we wish you a very merry and safe Christmas. We hope the holiday period brings time with friends and family, plenty of golf and maybe even a few presents from the Golf Shop. Thank you for your support throughout the year, and we look forward to an exciting 2026 ahead.

Thank You & Merry Christmas

Ben Russell | General Manager

Handiskins

Congratulations to our Handiskins finalists: Soren Norgaard, Paul Bowler, Milos Kleint and Ben Varvaressos who competed on Saturday 22nd November. All 4 finalists will now be given the opportunity to attend the National Final to be held on the Gold Coast in early May.
They were competing for a prize pool of $1,200, which was distributed as follows:

Soren Norgaard – $515
Paul Bowler – $295
Milos Kleint – $235
Ben Varvaressos – $155

Hole in One

Thomas Mastroianni recorded a brilliant hole-in-one on the 10th hole during the Wednesday Competition. A fantastic strike with his driver, well done Tommy.

Top 100 Public Access Golf Courses
Long Reef Golf Club has once again been ranked among Australia’s Top 100 Public Access Golf Courses by Inside Golf magazine, placed 28th overall, a fantastic result for the Club. For the full story and list of clubs: Top 100 Public Access Courses

Upcoming Events

Christmas Dressup - Saturday 20th December is the annual Christmas Dressup Day. Dress up in your best festive attire and join us for a fun day playing a 4-person Ambrose event. There will be a prize for the best dressed!

Saturday 11th January- January Medal and the second round of the Stroke Play Cup as well as Round 1 of the Founders Cup.

Timesheet Openings - Holiday Period

Please note the following changes to upcoming timesheet opening times:

Tuesday, 30 December 2025
Timesheet will open on: Wednesday, 24 December at 5:30pm
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
Timesheet will open on: Wednesday, 31 December at 5:30pm

All other timesheets will open as normal.

2026 NSW Senior Amateur Championship Men and Women – March 10th -12th 2026

Wollongong Golf Club & The Links Shell Cove - Closing Date 15th February 2026

The NSW Senior Amateur Championship for Men & Women is open to amateur golfers aged 50 years and over with a current Australian or overseas equivalent GA handicap that does not exceed:

12.4 for Men
20.4 for Women

The entry fee is $220 per player and includes:

Three rounds of golf
A championship gift
A championship dinner

Click Here for Details

As this is the last Newsletter for 2025 I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I look forward to another great year of golf at Long Reef Golf Club in 2026. I would also like to make special mention to the following groups and staff at the Club:

Admin

Thank you to Ben, Josh, Alex and their teams who have made 2025 another successful year at Long Reef Golf Club. The front office, Bar, catering and events staff have all contributed to making this year such a success.

Golf Shop

Thank you to Jenny and her team for their wonderful support and service throughout the year. They have ensured our competitions, social play and special events have been very successful for our Members and guests.

Course

A big thank you to Kurt and his team, who work tirelessly each week to ensure we enjoy the best possible playing conditions for our club, social, and public competitions.

A special thank you to Mick Snell for his invaluable assistance in marking the course each week.

Volunteer Work Group

I would also like to acknowledge the outstanding efforts of our Course Volunteers, who dedicate their Tuesdays to improve the course by tidying gardens, removing felled trees and branches, clearing weeds, and planting new trees and shrubs. Their ongoing contribution plays a vital role in keeping our course well-maintained.

Archives

To Sandra and the archive team, thank you for your regular articles in the fortnightly newsletter. It is always interesting to read about the people and events that have made a significant contribution to the history of the Club.

Results

Wednesday 26th November – Single Stableford and a 2-ball multiplier with a field of 200.
The winner, scratch score and score of the day went to Will Elliot with a 2 under par round of 68 for 41 points. Well done Will.

Full Results

Saturday 29th November – Medley Par, 4BBB and the Hudson Shield 4th qualifying round with a field of 209.
The winner and score of the day went to Kurt Fraser with plus 2 on the countback.

Full Results

Wednesday 3rd December – Single Stableford and best 3 of 4 with a field of 223.
The winner and score of the day went to Rob Charlton with 45 points.

Full Results

Saturday 6th December - December Medal Stroke Play Cup - Round 1 with a field of 182.
The winner and score of the day went to John Crowley with a Nett 65.

The winner of the Women’s Medal was Harper Lee who had a Nett 63.

Full Results

Rob Cordaiy | Captain

Presidents v Captains

The annual President v Captain competition was a very friendly day held on 4th December 2025. The competition was drawn with 11 points per side. The final result came down to a countback between the President and the Captain who had also drawn their match with the Captain just taking the win by the smallest margin . The winners of the hams for the Captains team were Vanessa Donlan and Fats Mcconochie with 51 points and the Presidents side was Debra Trim and Meredith van Wensveen with 46 points on a countback.

The runner up for the Presidents team were Tracey Cantwell and Fiona Woolley with 46 points and the Captains team were Kim Sloane and Helenka O’Connell with 45 points. Both runner up teams won a pudding.

The Longest Day

Last week for the second year in a row Deb Kent tested her skill, strength, and stamina to raise funds for life saving cancer research by attempting to play 4 rounds of golf in one day.

This year her team managed to complete 67 holes before they ran out of daylight.

We are extremely proud of Deb. If you would like to contribute to her fund-raising efforts for this worthy cause you can make a donation via the link below.

http://www.longestday.org.au/fundraisers/deborahkent

VETS News

Four ladies from Long Reef travelled south for the final event on the VWGA 2025 calendar, a 2-day event at Bermagui Country Club.

It was a very enjoyable and successful 2 days with Val Hindmarsh and Libby Cleary winning the Div 3 4BBB with 48 points and Sandra Haberlin and Elizabeth O’Brien coming third. On day two Libby was runner up in the individual with 43 points on a countback.

The programme of events for 2026 is now available on the VWGA website. Book early to avoid disappointment. www.vwgansw.org.au

Birdies

Congratulations to the winners of our annual birdie competition for 2025. They were announced at our Xmas dinner this week .

Weekend

Division 1 – Alyssa Starc

Division 2 – Clare John

Weekday

Division 1 – Emma Thurlow

Division 2 – Veronica Bertram

Division 3 – Lisa Jenkins

Division 4- Leanne Caristo

One tee start

From Thursday 18 December 2025 we will commence with a one tee start. The first tee time will be 6.45am

Christmas Fun Day

The Christmas Fun Day will be held tomorrow, 11 December 2025. The event will be 3 clubs and a Putter - Team Stableford with 2 scores to count on each hole. There will be prizes for the best dressed team .

Opening Day - Weekday and Weekend

The weekday Opening Day will be held on Thursday 29th January 2026 and the Weekend Opening day will be held on Sunday 1st February 2026.

Ladies Charity Day 2026

The Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter has been chosen as our charity for 2026. The charity was nominated by Val Hindmarsh who volunteers as their gardener .They provide crisis and transitional accommodation, support, safety and outreach services for homeless women across the Northern Beaches. We look forward to raising money on our charity day next March to help this worthy organisation.

Weekend Medal

Congratulations to Harper Lee( 20.8) for winning the Woman’s weekend monthly medal on Saturday Dec 6^th with a nett score of 63 . Harper is a junior scholarship player who will be playing through the week now that school has gone on summer break . She is a delightful young girl so be sure to say hello.

Up Coming Fixtures

11 December 2025 - Christmas Fun day - 3 clubs and a putter

29 January 2025 - Weekday Opening Day

· 1 February 2025 - Weekend Opening Day (open to all 6 and 7 day players)·

Liz Morton | Women's Captain

Course Update – December 2025

Despite having 340mm more rainfall in 2025 than 2024, we’ve only received 53mm since September. The lack of rain combined with dry and windy weather is taking its toll on the Course.

The dams hold 17 million litres of water and currently are at 45% capacity. For context, under normal conditions the Course would use around 1 million litres per night, meaning our capacity provides 17 day’s worth of irrigation. As we forecast these dry periods, we reduce irrigation of fairways and prioritise greens and tees. If the dam water is depleted, the greens and tees will be irrigated on town water, which is approximately $2,500 per day.

The fairways will bounce back once we get some decent rainfall. We have also been putting out knockers in high traffic areas to keep the turf alive during this drought. Once the rain returns and dams begin to refill, the Course will recover well.

Our Course Shaper is booked for 5^th January to start shaping the excavated areas on 14^th, 15^th and 16^th holes.

The shaping will blend the undulations into the existing contours and prepare the areas for turf. The timing of the turf being laid will be dependent on our water supply and rainfall in January and February.

You may have noticed some white or yellowish patches on our greens; this is a part of our couch eradication program. These lighter areas are simply the results of our selective herbicide spray, which targets couch without harming the Bent and Poa greens. This will eventually die out.

Last week we removed a large banksia tree located between 2^nd tee and 3^rd fairway. This tree was completely dead and begun to break limbs off, creating a safety hazard for players and staff. Removing the tree was necessary to maintain safety in the area. The area has been planted out again with small banksias.

On behalf of the Course Team, we would like to wish all Members a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Thank you for your support throughout the year, and look forward to a great 2026.

Kurt Schulenburg | Course Superintendent

Couch dying off on the 14th green

GOULBURN V LONG REEF
AT GOULBURN NOVEMBER 9, 2025

Fourteen Long Reef players made the trip to Goulburn this year, it was a tight contest with Long Reef coming out on top to win the coveted winners trophy 9 to 7 thanks to extra Goulburn players winning a match for Long Reef to swing the balance.

Thanks to the Goulburn golf club and staff for making yet another memorable event and to Long Reef for supplying golf shirts for half the prizes.

Everyone is looking forward to the return match at Long Reef on Sunday 26^th July.

Other winners.

Mick McGuigan Memorial Shield (Best Four Ball score) Dave O'Sullivan + Grant Easterby (Long Reef)

Best Goulburn score. Phillip Sykes and John Blewitt

Best Long Reef score. Mark Pitt and David Murrell

NTP John Blewitt

Long Reef v Goulburn

Click on the image above to view our Christmas Catalogue!

From all the staff on the Golf Shop - Danny, Lee, Wayne, Oli, Dave, Billy and myself - we wish you a wonderful Christmas with your families and a very Happy New Year!

Thank you for your support throughout 2025. We look forward to continuing to assist with all your golfing needs in 2026!

Jenny Sculenburg | Director of Golf

Question: Terry had hit his third shot to the 8th green. His ball had finished on the green. When he reached his ball, he found a good deal of sand and loose soil on the green and in particular, on his line to the hole.

He looked at Definitions and determined that sand and loose soil are not loose impediments on the putting green.

Which is correct?

Terry may not move the sand and loose soil, so he must make the best of it.
Terry may move his ball to give himself a straight line to the hole.
Terry may move the sand and soil without penalty, even though they are not loose impediments.

It is with great sadness I report the unexpected passing of Alan Morisset. Alan had been a Member of the Club for 17 years and a regular golfer on Wednesdays & Saturdays.

Whenever Al walked into a room it became a happier place, there would always be a lot of laughter. He will be sadly missed by all his golfing mates. Personally, I will miss the many texts of how he was going on the punt & updates on his trips to the races.

We extend our deepest sympathy and thoughts to Alan’s brother Gavin and their family during this difficult time.

At this time, we do not have details of the funeral arrangements but will pass onto Members once we are aware of the details.

Christmas is generally a time of great happiness, however for some amongst us it will be an extremely difficult time learning to live without a close friend or relative. We can all take the time to contact someone who is in this grieving process and let them know that you are there for them during this difficult time. A phone call or text can be a powerful message of support.

To all our Member’s and their families I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, wishing Santa brings you the presents you hope for and have a safe holiday season and prosperous new year.

Stephen Twigg | Welfare Coordinator

The Australian Sporting and Dramatic News 1929

In the Club’s Archives you will find a very fragile copy of a 1929 magazine called ‘The Australian Sporting and Dramatic News.’ The centre-fold, drawn by cartoonist Cumberworth shows the characters of the day and the first Club House which had opened in 1923.

Sadly just like the magazine, some of the current Archive Committee are feeling equally fragile and faded around the edges! It was created 14 years ago!

Hopefully in the new clubhouse there will be space to celebrate the Club’s history properly, in the meantime we are hoping that a new band of volunteers with an interest in the Club’s history will help us keep the collected stories and memorabilia safe, and help record the present for the future.
Thanks go to all the members of the Archive committee for their contribution throughout the year. Thanks too to those members who have kindly donated memorabilia, told us their stories and read the articles in the newsletters. (343 articles to date!)

Please contact Reception or Sandra Mellowes if you can help in anyway.

Currently articles and photos live in one of four cupboards in the Member’s Bar; or in two lockers, on the locker rooms walls or underneath the Pro-shop.

Sandra Mellowes | Archives Committee

· 1 February 2025 - Weekend Opening Day (open to all 6 and 7 day players)·

GOULBURN V LONG REEFAT GOULBURN NOVEMBER 9, 2025

The Australian Sporting and Dramatic News 1929

Please contact Reception or Sandra Mellowes if you can help in anyway.

GOULBURN V LONG REEF
AT GOULBURN NOVEMBER 9, 2025