Australian Championship adds Asia/Pacific competition for international flavor

Report by Les Browne

The 28th Australian Hickory Shaft Championship was recently played on Melbourne’s world renowned sand belt courses. The courses were set up for hickory play and although the clubs are 100+ years old the winning scores were surprisingly low.

Hickory players from around Australia, as well as, for the first time, contingents from New Zealand and Japan, competed for the Championship and handicap trophies. The key focus was on the Australian Championships, but the organizers, in conjunction with the SoHG, added a new wrinkle – a championship designated the Asia/Pacific Hickory Championship. More on this below.

The new Sandy Links course hosted the Foursomes on Day 1. The weather was superb and the course was in great condition. There were some fine scores and with an excellent 72, New Zealanders Catherine Palmer and Mark Lawson took home the trophy. Runners up were Mike Clayton/Terry Thornton on 76. Darryn Watt/ Andrew Baker won the handicap section with Net 70.6.

The main Championship event is played over 36 holes with round one at Woodlands GC and the final round at Kingston Heath GC. The hickory clubs used in the event would have been similar to the clubs used by the founding fathers of both courses, which were established in the mid 1920s.

Woodlands presented the course in its usual immaculate condition, however, the weather was not kind with wind and some rain. This did not deter the players who braved the conditions, some recording excellent scores. The after-golf highlight were our delightful guest speakers. Gavin Kirkman, Australian PGA CEO, covered some of the history of the organization and his recent experiences with and future development of the PGA. Bruce Green, PGA Life Member and long term professional at Royal Melbourne, followed and had the group in stitches as he took us through his colorful career.

The early start for the final round at Kingston Heath was bleak, cold, and wet, but as one player noted “these are the conditions they play in all the time in Scotland!!” Nothing could deter playing on one of the world’s best courses.

A superb second round of 74 by Richard Macafee under those trying conditions gave him a record low of 148, which secured the Men’s Championship Trophy over NSW’s Tim Sayers on 162.

Richard, a long-time member of Kingston Heath, has a fast-growing passion for hickory golf. “I finally got my own hickories, and to play with my own set was unbelievable… I’ll be doing it a lot more now,” he said.

In the Women’s Championship, the first day at Woodlands was New Zealand’s Catherine Palmer’s first full round with hickory clubs, but she didn’t let that stop her from taking the title with an impressive score of 169. “Back home in Christchurch, I’d just been playing nine holes,” she said, “and these fast and firm courses made it a lot more challenging.”

The handicap section was a close contest with Justin Ryan on 154 edging out Mango Maguire on 155.

The inaugural Asia/Pacific Hickory Championship, presented by the U.S.’s Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), was played in conjunction with the Australian event. Thus, Richard and Catherine are now also the Asia/Pacific Hickory Champions. Australia won the Teams Event.

The SoHG’s President Joe Hollerbach sent a congratulatory message and his wish “may your hickory golf journeys be filled with continued joy, camaraderie and excellence” really summed up the occasion.

Most of the internationals struggled a little with the close-cut fairways and firm, fast greens, but all had terrific experiences. Off course they visited Australia’s best shop for hickories at Ormond hosted by the owner, Ross Baker, the most knowledgeable person in Australia on hickories. The enthusiastic Japanese contingent were overjoyed at the sight of original clubs and most bought a couple of sets; seems they can’t get originals in Japan, only replicas. The Kiwi’s secured some Australian clubs – they claim they were returning them home as, like many things, they originated in New Zealand… a standing joke!!

The week marked another successful event organised by Australian Golf Heritage Society and the Golf Society of Australia, alongside the Society of Hickory Golfers, who continue to celebrate golf’s origins and rich tradition.

Click on a photo in the gallery to bring up full-size images.