Club Email

Below are notes from the Board Meeting held on 2 September 2025

BOARD ELECTIONS 2025-2027

Nominations for the 2025-2027 Election of the Board of Directors open next Wednesday 24 September at 5pm. Nominations will be open until 5pm on Wednesday 8 October 2025.

The Board will consist of the positions of President, Vice-President, Captain, Vice-Captain, Treasurer, and up to 4 Directors.

A Nomination information pack can be obtained from the General Manager by emailing ben@lrgc.com.au.

Members considering nomination for the Board of Directors are encouraged to meet with the Nominations Committee, which has been established to provide guidance and support to prospective candidates.

The Committee acts in an advisory capacity, helping Members understand the role, responsibilities, and expectations of a Director, as well as providing clarity around eligibility and the nomination process.

While participation with the Nominations Committee is optional and not a requirement for nomination, it is strongly encouraged to ensure candidates are well-informed and prepared for the responsibilities of Board service.

Click here for further information on Board Nominations

BOARDWALK REPLACEMENT UPDATE

Council’s Boardwalk project has progressed over the past two weeks despite delays due to wet weather. The contractors have crossed the Course in the evenings with machinery and carried out the site preparation at night.

The Golf Committee and Management team are assessing the works as they progress to manage the impact on the Golf Course and will communicate changes to Course set if required. Ensure you check the local rules board before teeing off.

MICK SNELL – SHORTLISTED NSW GOLF INDUSTRY VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

We are delighted to share that long-standing volunteer Mick Snell has been shortlisted as a finalist for the NSW Golf Industry Awards – Volunteer of the Year. This recognition reflects Mick’s tireless dedication, commitment, and countless hours of service to the Club and our Members. The winner will be announced at the Golf Industry Awards on Sunday 27 October 2025, and we wish Mick every success as he represents our Club on this well-deserved stage.

MEMBERSHIP INTAKE

The Board have approved the intake of 15 male applicants from the waitlist, 7 female applicants and 3 juniors under a Provisional status. Provisional status delays access to bookings on Wednesday and Saturday timesheets by 12 hours.

This is the first Membership intake from the waitlist since August 2024.

GREEN FEE PRICE INCREASE

From 4 October, the 18 hole public green fee will increase by $5 – Monday to Thursday $82 and Friday to Sunday $93. The increase considers the current demand on public play and maintaining Long Reef’s position as a premium golf course.

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.

Combined Services Day – Spots Still Available

There are still places available for our Combined Services Day on Monday.

The event will be played in an Ambrose format, with entry at:

$100 for Members
$125 for Guests
(includes breakfast, lunch, and post-golf drinks).

[Click here to register your team]

Plunge for Legacy – Ice Bath Challenge

One of our Silent Auction sponsors, RIGS Brookvale, is running a special promotion this year: the Plunge for Legacy – Ice Bath Challenge.

Saturday 20th September
10:00am – 12:00pm
Fancy Dress Theme
$35 entry – with 50% donated to Legacy

[Click here for location details]

Vince Horan Medal
Congratulations to Alan Patience, who claimed this year’s Vince Horan Medal after the event was rescheduled from August. Alan returned an excellent score of 67, winning on a countback from Daniel Harrison.

4B Knockout Final
The Final of the 4B Knockout will be played this Saturday, 20th September, with Tony Valentine and Malcom Weir taking on Michael Harding and Ross Kocass. We wish both teams the very best of luck.

Club Championships:
The two qualifying rounds for the Men's Club Championship, Grade Cups and Senior and Junior Championships will be held on Saturday 11th and Saturday 18th of October.

For those Members wishing to participate in the Championships, the timesheet for Saturday 11th October will open at 6.30 pm on Sunday 5th October (Provisional Members will have access at this time too) - instead of Monday 6th. The playing time that you select on that date will also be your playing time on Saturday 18th October. You will enter the draw process as normal on Sunday 5th and when you get into the timesheet, you will also be required to pay the $30 entry fee. If you are also entering playing partners, you will need to pay their entry fee as well. The early access to the timesheet will close at midnight on the 5th October.

Match Play Round 1- Saturday 25th October
Match Play Quarter Final - Sunday 26th October
Match Play Semi Final - Saturday 1st November
Match Play Final (36 holes) - Sunday 2nd November (Major Trophy Presentation to follow)

Encourage Shield
This year, the Club will be entering a team in the Encourage Shield, competing against Cromer, Mona Vale, Northbridge and Bayview. The opening round will be held on Sunday 12th October at Bayview.

The team: Elijah Franks, Barney Stephenson, Angus Mayoh, Tom McConochie, Jasper Lee Harper Lee, Aiden McConochie (res).

Team Manager – Tim Mayoh

We wish the team every success in their upcoming matches.

Lennox Cleary
Lennox had his best round ever at the Club on Saturday 13th September when he had a 5 under par round of 66 and 42 points. Congratulations Lennox.

Golf Connect - Update
From 2 October 2025, when Golf Australia’s new digital platform goes live, your GA Handicap will be calculated using updated Australian Rules of Handicapping in line with the World Handicap System. These updates will make handicaps fairer, more consistent, and more reflective of actual playing conditions.

The four key changes are:

1. A new “Consistency Factor” for Daily Handicap calculations, supporting fairer competition and equity for female players.

2. A revised formula for 9-hole rounds, making shorter formats more accurate.

3. Adjusted expected scores for holes not played, using statistical modelling.

4. A refined ’Daily Difficulty’ calculation (PCC), back-calculated to 1 January 2023.

Most golfers will see a small change to their GA Handicap on 2 October, projected to be less than 0.5 strokes on average, although some players may see a bigger adjustment based on their unique scoring history. The system applies the changes automatically, so golfers don’t need to do anything.

Results

Wednesday 3^rd September - Single Stableford & Irish Team Stableford with a field of 187.

The winner and score of the day went to Colin Thomas with a score of 47 points!

Colin had 28 points on the front nine including 2 birdies and 19 the back. Well done Colin, a round to remember.

Saturday 6^th September – Monthly Medal with a field of 202.

The Winner of the Medal and score of the day went to Alan Patience with a Nett 67.

The winner of the Women’s Medal was Jie Cheng with a Nett 71.

Full results

Wednesday 10^th September -Course Closed

Saturday 13^th September – Irish 4BBB team with a field of 176

The winner and score of the day went to Jane Hagan with a score of 46 points.

This is Jane’s best round and score at Long Reef. Well done, Jane.

Full Results

Rob Cordaiy | Captain

Last Medal Round for Grade C and Weekend

Jie Cheng won the weekend medal round played on 6^th September with a nett score of 71 ahead of Janet Atchison on 72.

May Yeng won the final round of the Div 3 Medal with a nett score of 75 just ahead of Jennifer Vasseleu on 76.

Adriana Bowyer was the gross winner on the day with 112 .

Golf NSW Medals

The Women’s Medal Competition is six stroke rounds, played in three divisions and must be played between January and September. The winner of the Medal is the player who has paid their Golf NSW fees and has returned the lowest nett aggregate of three scores at the end of the six rounds.

Congratulations to the following winners below for 2025 who have been invited to compete in the Golf NSW Metropolitan Play-offs which will be held at Carnarvon Golf club on November 7th

Division 1 – Alyssa Starc Score 225
Division 2 – Rowena Robinson Score 233
Division 3 – Toni Wilson Score 221
Weekend competition – Janet Atchison Score 223

SUPERVETS

Unfortunately, due to multiple rounds being washed out this year, the Supervets Trophy will not be able to be presented in 2025

We appreciate your understanding and thank you for your support during what has been a very disrupted season.

Rememberance Day Trophies

The 18-hole Scherrie Hughes Plate and the 9-hole Forget-me-not Trophy will be played in conjunction with the final par round on Thursday 25th September . The booking will be done through the website or the Long Reef Golf Club App which opens on the Saturday as per a regular Thursday round. We ask that you consider playing with someone from a different grade to yourself or a player you have not had a round with lately.

The McNicol Trophy is normally the best 4 Par rounds of 6 but due to washed out rounds this year we will make the event as the best 3 of 5 rounds instead.

Long Reef Women's Forum Event

We will be holding a Women’s Forum night on Thursday 9th October, commencing at 5:30pm.

For further information or to RSVP or to put forward ideas for discussion you can view the notice here

Upcoming Fixtures

18 September – Visitor Day

21 September – Weekend Premiership Rnd 2

25 September – last Par round in conjunction with the Remembrance Day Trophies

26 September – VWGA Metropolitan Championships 7:30 am shotgun start

Women's Committee

As of the 16^th of September, The Course has received a total of 1555.2mm of rain so far this year, with 158.2mm falling in just the last fortnight. Last Wednesday and Thursday, we received 115mm of rain in just 24hours. The heavy downpour caused flash flooding across the Course and washouts on bunker faces. My team on Friday worked hard to repair all the bunkers, clean up the debris from the floods, blow off debris from the tees and mow all the greens. Thanks to their efforts, the Course was fully prepared and ready for play heading into the weekend.

Last week Craig Parry visited the Course to remark all the fairways. Over time many had narrowed in, so with his guidance, we’ve begun reshaping and extending them back out using our mowers, including onto some mounds. You may have notice the changes.

The greens have shown strong recovery following the renovations completed over a couple of weeks ago. They have returned to their standard mowing height and will be in great condition for the club championship in a couple of weeks.

Council’s Boardwalk Replacement Project has commenced, with excavation of the path leading up to the existing boardwalk to allow access for machinery. The excess fill is being relocated along the left side of the 17th boundary towards the green, increasing mounding around the public walkway. The out-of-bounds marker has been relocated to define the work areas as out of bounds.

There is also astroturf across the access route on the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd fairways to reduce damage from machinery access. These areas have been marked GUR.

Insta Invitation

We would like to invite you to follow ‘lrgc.greens’ on Instagram. Our team are very passionate about our work and our great Course, so ‘lrgc.greens’ provides insight into what it takes to prepare the Golf Course week in and week out.

Kurt Schulenburg | Course Superintendent

School Holiday Camp

Kids looking for something to do these school holidays? Book them in to our golf camp!

When - Thursday 2nd & Thursday 9th October
Time - 9am - 3pm

PING Fitting Day

Join us on Thursday 9th October for our PING Fitting Day! Test the full range with Ping's expert fitters and find your perfect setup!

Time - 8am - 12pm

BOOK THE PING FITTING DAY

BOOK THE KIDS HOLIDAY CAMP

Question: Jack and Fred were playing in a group at Long Reef on a very windy day. They were both on the fifteenth green for 3 strokes, both approximately three metres from the hole. Fred marked and lifted his ball which was close to Jack’s line of putt. After Jack had putted, Fred replaced his ball and removed his marker. While he was lining up his putt, a strong gust of wind moved his ball. It ran down the front of the green, finishing about 8 metres off the front of the apron.

Which is correct?

A. His ball was moved by natural forces, Fred must therefore play his 4th stroke from where his ball came to rest in front of the green.

B. Fred must replace his ball on its original spot on the green where he had marked and replaced his ball, and play his 4th stroke from that spot.

Kurt Schulenberg - Course Superintendent

Recently Archive Committee member Mick Snell had a chat with Kurt Schulenberg.

There is much discussion about who the most important person is in any golf club. Is it the President, the Captain, the General Manager - the Professional perhaps or the Head Bar Steward? Given that the only reason any golf club exists is that a greatly varied group of people get together because they love the game of golf, the claim can be made that the most important person in the organisation must be the Course Superintendent! Without a good “Super”, the course would be no good and the club would fail.

At Long Reef we have been blessed with many talented and hard-working Supers and Greenkeepers. It is estimated that there have been 12 ‘Supers’ since 1921. Our lucky number 13 is no exception.

Kurt Schulenberg was born in Manly Hospital in 1972 and grew up in Elanora Heights next door to Elanora Country Club. He was educated at Narrabeen High School where he played Rugby League and began surfing. He left school after year 10 in 1987 and began working at Elanora Country Club as an apprentice greenkeeper the next year. He enrolled in Green Keeping at Ryde TAFE a year later. The course consisted of 3 years of classroom study with one year practical. He remained at Elanora for 11 years reaching the level of 3^rd in charge (3IC) or known as foreman.

The greenkeeping career is one that involves moving from one job to another, from golf club to golf club, working your way up through the ranks. At each step you gain more knowledge, more experience and hopefully more pay.

In 1999 Kurt took up the position of Assistant Super at The Springs at Peats Ridge. Wishing to get back to the beaches he moved to Terry Hills Golf and Country Club in 2002 as Irrigation Technician/Senior Greenkeeper. During his time at Terry Hills he was involved in the course preparation for the 2003 Australian Women’s Open.

In 2003 Kurt made his debut at Long Reef as 3IC but continuing the search for a career, he moved to Bayview Golf Club as Assistant Super in 2005 where he remained for two years.

He returned to Long Reef in 2007 and was promoted to Assistant Super in 2010. During that year he also studied for and received a Diploma of Turf Management. In July 2024 the Club’s long serving Super, Peter Donkers, retired and Kurt was promoted to his position.

In 2020 as Assistant Super, he received the N.S.W. Golf Course Superintendents Association award for Outstanding Performance and Dedication. This year 2025, the 59Club, an independent organisation that rates golf courses on quality and presentation named Kurt the Superintendent of the Year, a tribute to his professional attitude and team building skills.

The 59Club is a world-wide organisation and together with Anthony Mills of the Lakes Golf Club is one of the two nominations for the Global Superintendent of the year award.

Kurt lives in Bayview with wife Jenny, a P.G.A. member and our current Director of Golf (more of Jenny later) and their two sons Sam 16 and Riley 12, who are both keen surfers, golfers and musicians.

Kurt views Long Reef as a great challenge because of its true links style golf course surrounded by sea on three sides, presenting a list of natural environmental and weather challenges. It is also a very busy course all year round.

He is very happy in his role at Long Reef and is looking forward to a long tenure. He sees a large part of his role in training his staff up to a high standard so that the course will continue to prosper in the future.

Mick Snell | Archives Committee