Through the Green
February 2023
In this month's edition
- The National Tournament
- Around The Club
- On Course
- Club Championships
- Course News
- From the Pro Shop
- Tip of the Month
- Coaches Corner
- Events in February
- Looking Ahead
- Junior News
The National Tournament
Corporate Sponsorship and Partnership Opportunities
Following the success of The National PGA Classic in 2022, The National Golf Club takes pleasure in announcing that it will host the season-ending tournament of the 2022-23 PGA Tour of Australasia on the Moonah Course at Cape Schanck.
The National Tournament, to be held from 30 March to 2 April 2023, marks the start of a three-year partnership between The National Golf Club and the PGA. The Club now invites you to partner with us to deliver a landmark event. This fully-sanctioned competition will play a role in determining the Order of Merit for the 2022-23 season, including exemptions for future tour play. Weekend coverage will total eight hours across each of the Foxtel, Kayo and Spark NZ platforms, with full coverage of the final group on Sunday.
The Club believes that there is an opportunity for The National to continue to develop the role that it plays on the PGA tour, with a view to establishing one of the pre-eminent events on the Australian calendar. This event presents a unique opportunity to share the magic of the Cape Schanck courses with a broader audience, as well as showcase your company or brand.
To take advantage of this partnership opportunity, please contact:
Brett Nelson Operations Manager, The National Golf Club
Email: brett.nelson@nationalgolf.com.au
Phone: +61 3 5988 2716
Mobile: +61 400 471 820
To view the various partnership opportunities, please click here.
Player Billeting Opportunities
The Club is taking expressions of interest for the purposes of billeting players participating in The National Tournament.
Many of the professional golfers participating in the event, are self-funded meaning travel and accommodation drains their financial resources.
Should you have the available space, and are willing to support a player during the tournament, please contact:
Brett Nelson Operations Manager, The National Golf Club
Email: brett.nelson@nationalgolf.com.au
Phone: +61 3 5988 2716
Mobile: +61 400 471 820
Volunteers
The Club is seeking volunteers from the membership to assist with the successful running of The National Tournament to be held on the Moonah Course, 30 March – 2 April. The first and most important step in becoming a volunteer is to apply. In return for your time and assistance, you will receive a tournament shirt, refreshments and the best seat in the house.
Expressions of interest can be sent to National member Jan Bayley - thenationalclassic@gmail.com
Gunnamatta Course Closure - 1 - 2 April
In support of The National Tournament, Gunnamatta will be closed for play during the weekends play.
The Old Course and the Long Island Course will be open for member play only during the weekend, no guest access.
Around the Club
Tom Doak - Gunnamatta Course Safety Changes
In response to the urgent need that exists for the issue involving the 17th and 18th holes on Gunnamatta, we have only recently been advised that members of the Renaissance Design team, including Tom Doak, Brian Schneider and Clyde Johnson – will be able to attend the course later this month to review proposed design changes and commence work. That visit coincides with Tournament Week, but our golf operations staff have managed to schedule around those changes with minimal impact to the events scheduled for that week.
A final design has not yet been resolved, and will still need to be confirmed once the designers are ‘on the ground’, but we can advise that it is intended that work will commence during this visit. In noting that this will all happen quickly, we will endeavour to provide the membership with timely updates once a planned solution has been formalised.
We thank members in advance for their patience with any interruptions to play – both during the works and extending into March. The Club is grateful to the Renaissance team for creating this opportunity within a tight international schedule.
Long Island Renovation Update
The Long Island project has required a significant investment of time from Club stakeholders over these past several months. As is typically the case for a project of this scale, the priorities have always had to rest with those matters which are genuinely time-critical in nature. Those include such elements as the planning submission to Council, the irrigation tender, and lead-times for ordering of materials. These are all very involved processes and each an unconditional priority, in its own right, for the project to proceed at all.
That said, the Club is obviously also empathetic to the fact that, as our members draw closer to the project, their minds will turn increasingly towards the impact that it will have at an individual level. We are planning to schedule a couple of information sessions for March, at Long Island, for members to let them know what to expect over the coming two years, and how it will impact them. In the interim, we will continue to explore what opportunities might exist by way of alternative opportunities for play.
No member welcomes these interruptions, but they are inevitably required from time to time if we wish to continually improve.
More information will follow regarding the dates of those information sessions. The scheduling of the project remains on track, including our intention to break ground on the project from September of this year.
Saturday Morning Cancellations
A number of recent changes have been introduced with the objective of seeking to ensure that the systems are in place to ensure fair access to timesheets for all members. No time of week is more significant, in this respect than Saturday morning, noting the particular demand that exists for those spots.
A review will be undertaken to monitor Saturday morning booking activity across the coming months with the aim of identifying booking practices which work against that goal. The review will seek to identify members who are habitually cancelling, using ‘blockers’ to hold positions, logging in under member details other than their own, and/or other similar actions, particularly later in the week. Every week, this behaviour results in loss of playing opportunities for other members who are acting faithfully and doing the right thing by other members. We aim to follow up individuals based on what the review discovers.
On a related note, but something that sits outside that planned review, we would encourage all members to contact their playing partners in relation to cancellation. It is not uncommon for a member to find themselves ‘stranded’ because their playing partners failed to advise of changed plans.
Dog-Friendly Twilight Event
Friday March 3 has been identified as the date for our inaugural dog-friendly day at The National.
This initial event will cater for up to 40 players, members only in this instance, each of whom will have the opportunity to bring a non-playing guest. The area just to the right of the Clubhouse as you look out towards the 18th green of Gunnamatta will be our social base with catering and (purchased) drinks from an hour prior to the first tee time until an hour after the (estimated) last group finishing time. After arrival at the course, members and their dogs will be afforded access to that area through the main foyer (near the administration area). All catering will be simple to consume, and not require any cutlery, in an effort to simplify proceedings.
We will have a number of stakes and/or tethering points. You should feel free to bring your dog’s favourite mat or blanket to make the experience a more comfortable and familiar one.
At all times, members will be responsible for ensuring that their dogs are on lead and under adequate control. It’s assumed that all of the dogs involved have some reasonable history of socialising with other dogs. In noting the extent to which fauna exists on the site, and our proximity to neighbouring National Park land, it follows logically that all participants in the event have a responsibility to remain in control of their dogs at all times and to manage their behaviour responsibly.
On the course, there will be a strict policy of no access to greens or bunkers for dogs. All reasonable efforts should be made to toilet dogs in the rough and players are responsible for picking up any mess. We are asking players to bring their own litter bags, but will also have a spare supply available at the course on the day. Shared water bowls will be located on all tees and at the Clubhouse area, but may also be brought for individual use.
We will be taking photos of the day for future promotion in the Club newsletter. If you have any issue with being photographed, can you please raise this with the Club prior to attending. Bookings are essential, given the logistics associated with this particular event.
The allocated course (9 holes) will be Gunnamatta, under a social event format.
The cost will be $25 for adults and $12 for children.
Bookings will follow the usual time sheet process and open Saturday 25 February at 8pm.
Disciplinary Matters – Interactions With National Staff
A recent spate of member offences that have gone before the Disciplinary Sub-Committee (DSC) and has triggered the need to remind members of the seriousness of such matters. The National has a fundamental obligation to ensure that our staff operate in a safe and supported environment. It should be noted that the DSC adopts a firm stance in relation to such matters, and such instances are simply not reconcilable with the expectations of a Club of our standing.
On a related note, one of the more difficult roles at the Club is that of Course Marshal. The nature of the task that they perform requires members to be additionally receptive to their directions on the course.
Representative Teams
The National is very active in representative interclub matchplay competitions. We have four teams competing in the 2023 GA Pennant Competitions; Men's Womens's and Youth. We also have Men’s and Women’s teams competing in GPV Pennant and a Women’s team in the Peninsula Match-Play competition. Additionally, we have Women’s teams competing in Interclub and Spring Match-Play.
Thanks to all members who volunteer their time to assist in the management and running of these teams.
Keep an eye on the website for feature articles of these teams over the coming weeks.
The National Invitational
Celebrating women in golf, The National Invitational is back again in 2023, boasting a full field of players from across the country. The event began in 2016 and has grown from strength to strength over the years and we are excited to host again from Monday 6 March to Wednesday 8 March across all three courses at Cape Schanck.
Many players are not familiar with our courses and feedback confirms that we can increase player enjoyment by having National members on the courses directing players to tees, spotting balls and generally being available to answer questions.
We are seeking volunteers, both male and female, who are willing to be at the club between Monday March 6th and Wednesday March 8th to assist on the course or in the clubhouse.
- Monday 6th March - Cape Schanck Trophy (Old Course) - 11am to 5pm
- Tuesday 7th March - National Invitational (Gunnamatta Course) - 11am to 5pm
- Wednesday 8th March - Lady Nelson Bell (Moonah Course) - 8am to 2pm
If you would like to assist, please email volunteers@nationalgolf.com.au. Any time you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
Member Photo Competition
Throughout the month of January, we were flooded by photos from our members whilst they enjoyed their rounds on our magnificent courses.
Congratulations to Dana Schulenburg and Shane Andrewartha for their winning photos. Below are some of the images we received from a number of our members.
Guess the Hole Challenge
If you haven't already done so, we encourage you to follow the member-exclusive Instagram page.
Throughout February, we will be having a 'Guess the Hole' challenge through this page with random prize giveaways throughout.
As a warm-up - can you guess the hole to the right??
a) Gunnamatta 4th
b) Gunnamatta 6th
c) Gunnamatta 12th
d) Gunnamatta 14th
Search @ngcmembers or this click on this link to follow.
Bump & Run
Introducing Melinda Cannington
Gimmies
Members are reminded that the practice of “Gimmies” in competition play other than match-play is in breach of the rules of golf.
Lost Property
Over time we accumulate a large amount of lost property. Please note that any lost property handed in, will be available for collection at the Cart Barn or in Golf Operations
Hole-in-One Insurance
If you are skilful (or lucky) enough to have had a hole-in-one, you will know it’s an incredible feeling.
Well, for National members it’s about to get even better. As part of the personal equipment and accident insurance program at the National, there is an added benefit of “Hole in One” coverage. This means any player, from this point forward, who records a hole-in-one during a competition round can make a claim and receive a $300 payment.
So, if you have an Ace be sure to visit the golf shop to receive a high-5 and a claim form for $300 to be paid straight into your bank account.
Our members may have noticed that they have started receiving correspondence from Melinda Cannington, who has recently joined our Golf Operations Team.
Melinda brings with her a wealth of experience and joins us from the corporate and education industries, following a career focused around executive support, operations and planning development.
Having supported executives as a C-suite Executive Assistant recently, Melinda is a results-driven professional, with a passion for identifying opportunities for organisations, to find efficiencies with their processes and systems.
Melinda’s experience has been working closely with executive and leadership teams, boards and committees of key stakeholders by implementing best practice business models, helping drive business success, refining administration and operations facets of an organisation, leading teams with project initiatives and training and developing staff.
Rounds Played
Over the month of January, we had a whopping 17,281 rounds of golf played on our magnificent courses. We would like to acknowledge the hard work of all staff for their efforts during this time to keep our courses in spectacular condition and providing excellent service across the board.
New Club Website
Over the coming weeks, the Club will be launching a new website. Please keep your eye on the current website for updates on when we will be launching the new and improved site.
Little Nash
The six hole Little Nash was a resounding success and we would like to thank everyone for their participation over the Summer break. Over the four days, we had almost 200 individuals take part, across all ages, including scratch golfers to those who had never picked up a club before - it really catered for all!
We look forward to continuing to make this experience bigger and better for all in the future with plans afoot to continue over Easter and school holidays.
On Course
As we know, January is an incredibly busy time of year at The National and the 2023 version was no exception. Despite the traffic, the courses have remained in spectacular condition and kudos must go to the course staff for maintaining such magnificent playing surfaces year-round.
Hangover Cup
Sandra McCaw Trophy Playoff
The Hangover Cup is a 4BBB stableford mixed pairs club event played on New Years Day. The event had 56 players who took to the Gunnamatta Course in hot & testing conditions with many sore heads in sight.
Congratulations to winners Ian MacCallum and Narelle McGarry who scored a total of 49 points.
On the first Wednesday of every month the Sandra McCaw Trophy has a qualifier event. The 12 winners then playoff in January for the prestigious Board Event.
The winner, with a great score in difficult conditions was Christine Hughes. Christine had a Nett 73 (-1) to win by one shot from Jackie Tracy.
Bill Brittain Playoff
Congratulations to Tony Mann on winning the playoff for the Bill Britten Trophy. Tony with a score of 38 points was good enough to win over runner up Pietro Zappone. Tony qualified by winning the August qualifying round with 40 points.
Michael Hamson Chairman’s Trophy
The Michael Hamson Chairman’s Trophy was played on Saturday 14 January on the Gunnamatta Course in very warm conditions. The event is named in honour of Life Patron Michael Hamson, who was a founding member of the Club, Company Chairman for 10 years and instrumental in the Club’s expansion to a 54 hole complex.
The winners of monthly medals from the previous calendar year are invited to compete in a medal of medallists competition, with the format as stroke played from the Black and Red tees.
Congratulations to Jenny Rabl on winning the Women’s section of the Trophy, scoring an excellent 75 (Gross) -6 (Nett).
Congratulations to Lachlan Enno for winning the Men’s section of the Trophy with his great 88 (Gross) -7 (Nett).
Australia Day Trophy
The Gunnamatta Course and Old Course hosted the playing field of 213 players in the annual Australia Day Trophy today. The format for the event is a 6 person elimination ambrose, where the last player who played a shot must not take part in the next shot. The only exception for this is off the first tee.
The winning score from the Gunnamatta Course were Jeff Miciulis, Jeff Mackevicius, Pauline Miciulis, Ross McAllister, Lynette Cole, Lisa Mackevicus with a great net score of 52.583
The winning score from the Old Course was a nett score of 49.417 from Craig Stewart, Con Panias, Reg Weine, Andrew Wallis, Douglas Li, and David Dorning. As this was the lowest score of the two courses, this team is also the winner of the Australia Day Trophy.
Holes-in-One
It appears January was the month to have a hole-in-one. Congratulations to the following for achieving an ace during the month of January
Club Championships
Finals
This coming weekend our Club Championships will draw to a close after some incredibly competitive qualifying and finals rounds.
We wish the following players the very best in their respective matches.
Men's Club Championship
Andrew Davis v Daniel Cann
Women's Club Championship
Sue Wooster v Lauren Sanft
Men's A Grade
Brendan Pihan v Jonathan Gan
Women's B Grade
Jan Bayley v Fiona Law
Men's B Grade
Nicholas Stravrakis v Dee Gjedsted
Women's C Grade
Mardi Scott v Amy Schulenberg
Men's C Grade
Jim Petrou v David Patching
Father-Son Champions
The Limon name is synonymous with The National and adorns the honour boards. Becoming a Club Champion is a feat that many won't achieve - it is increasingly rare for a father and son combo to taste that victory, particularly so close together. Mark Limon won recently in 2021, whilst his son Tom is a two-time champion, winning in 2009 as a teenager and again in 2012.
Mark and Tom sat down to chat about their memories of their victories and what they love about this great Club.
Course News
Changes to the 17th Green - Moonah
Bob Harrison has provided plans (right) to change the 17th green on the Moonah Course.
Whilst commencement and completion dates are still yet to be confirmed, it is likely that it will occur during winter with opening of the green to occur before the Long Island redevelopment begins.
Long Island Practice Fairway
Last winter highlighted a few areas that require drainage to be installed on the landing area of the practice fairway at Long Island. For this to occur the range will be closed midweek for one week . At the same time the fence at the rear of the range will be extended out to the left to contain golf balls.
Pre-Spraying of Rough
Areas with Kikuyu or Parramatta grass growing in the rough at Long Island have been sprayed to eradicate these undesirable grasses before stage one of the refurbishment begins.
Further spraying of Kikuyu around the greens will occur in mid-Autumn. It's important we spray these grasses while it's warm because they go into dormancy during the colder months.
Bird Damage to the Gunnamatta Fescue Rough
Numerous fescue roughs on the Gunnamatta Course have been damaged by Orange Headed Cockchafer grubs.
The grubs eat the roots of the plant and then the birds tear the grass apart to search for an easy feed of Cockchafers.
As a result many of the effected roughs will need to be reseeded after Easter.
New Fence - 6th Gunnamatta
Members may have noticed the new fence that has been installed adjacent to the fairway on the 6th hole of the Gunnamatta Course. We thank the members for their patience during the installation process. I think we can all agree it adds a great touch!
Care for Course - Bunkers
Whether we like it or not, bunkers are a part of our wonderful game, and despite doing our best to avoid them, it is inevitable that we will all end up in them from time to time.
To assist in maintaining the best possible conditions within our bunkers, players are reminded to:
- Enter/Exit from the appropriate area of the bunker.
- Properly rake bunkers and where possible, smooth the face of the bunker if you have disturbed this with your shot or whilst entering/exiting.
- Leave the rake in the bunker in the correct position (in the middle of the bunker with the handle parallel to the direction of play).
It is the responsibility of all players to care for the courses. Members are responsible to ensure guests comply with course care requirements.
Thank you for your assistance in taking care of our wonderful courses.
The irrigation design has been finalised for Long Island and will go out to tender in the next couple of weeks
The design has two separate pumping stations, one for the greens and one for the couch surfaces . This will allow us to irrigate the greens with either potable water or bore water . The fairways irrigation is a hard edge design, this means no water will be applied to the roughs . This will provide definition and avoid water wastage
A copy of the plans can be found here
From the Pro-Shop
Demo and Fitting Days
The Club has a number of upcoming demo and fitting days running throughout February.
- Friday 10 February - Titleist - Cape Schanck
- Thursday 16 February - TaylorMade - Cape Schanck
- Tuesday 21 February - Callaway - Long Island
Bookings can be made via the website or by contacting the Golf Operations team.
Leather Products
These beautiful leather bags have recently arrived in the Pro-Shop.
Perfect for use on a weekend getaway or perhaps to store a change of clothes whilst you're out on course, these bags are made from high quality leather, so you know they will stand the test of time.
Leather Zip Bag
RRP - $209.00 Member Price $199.00
Leather Duffle Bag
RRP - $690.00 Member Price $655.00
New National-Branded Caps
Get your hands on our exclusive National-branded range of caps.
Featuring 100% washed cotton and available in a variety of colours, these 38-degree South caps are now available from the Pro-Shop.
This Month's Tip
with Nick O'Hern
We are back again with a fantastic tip from former European and PGA Tour player Nick O'Hern.
This months tip focuses on the 3-wood Bump 'n' Run.
Add this one to your short game!
Coaches Corner
Coaching Availability
With more than 20 years of coaching experience each, our PGA Professional Coaching Staff are ready to help you improve your game.
Tim Stone and Andrew Kloprogge, equipped with some of golf’s latest technology, are available at both Cape Schanck and Long Island.
Whether you are looking for some advice on clubs, wanting to learn a new or particular shot, or simply want to work on your golf swing, come and spend some time with Tim or Andrew.
To check availability or book coaching sessions, visit the Club website, or contact Tim at tim.stone@nationalgolf.com.au or Andrew at andrew.kloprogge@nationalgolf.com.au
Golf Simulator
We are excited to announce that we are close to completing the final stages of a golf simulator at Long Island.
Available for use in your next lesson or club-fitting, it is yet another example of top-of-the-range opportunities and access for our members.
Keep an eye on the website for further details and launch dates.
Events in February
Club Championships Final
Sunday 12 February
Nine & Dine
Friday 10 February
9 hole competition
Followed by dinner
Women's Summer Teams Event
Wednesday 15 February
Irish Team Stableford
8.30am shotgun start
$40pp including lunch
Summer Cup
Sunday 19 February - Final
Trent Jones Trophy
Saturday 25 February - Round 1
Sunday 26 February - Round 2
Individual 36-hole Stableford aggregate event
Club Dinner
Members are invited to the Club Dinner on Friday 24 February. Celebrating the Board Event winners since November as well as Monthly Medallists and those who achieved a hole-in-one - the night is sure to be one to mark in your diary.
Bookings will be available shortly, with further information on the website next week.
To view the 2023 Programme - please click here
Looking Ahead
Silver Spoon
Wednesday 1 March - Round 1 - Long Island
Saturday 4 March - Round 1 - Cape Schanck
Sandra McCaw Qualifier
Wednesday 1 March
Monthly Medal
Saturday 4 March
Tony Limon Putting Competition
Saturday 4 March - Qualifying
Saturday 11 March - Final
David Launder
Sunday 5 March - Qualifying Round
Quarter Finals and Semi Finals are play on or before dates
Sunday 26 March - Final
The National Invitational
Monday 6 - Wednesday 8 March
The National Anniversary Event
Sunday 12 March
Doris Chambers Foursomes
Wednesday 15 March
LA Browne
Thursday 16 March - Dinner
Saturday 18 March - Foursomes Event
Monthly Medal (April)
Saturday 25 March
Junior News
Junior Classic
The Junior Classic was held on Wednesday 18 January at our Long Island course.
Boasting a capacity field, juniors from across the state competed in less-than-desirable conditions to battle it out for the Cec Wilson Trophy.
A big thank you to Simon Page and his team for presenting the course in spectacular condition, Sahil and George from Golf Operations for their work both prior to and on the day, and of course our fantastic volunteers and parents for their support in running the event.
Junior Clinics
The National Golf Club is pleased to offer junior golf clinics for children aged 6+ years throughout Term 1.
Beginning on Sunday 12 February, these clinics will be delivered by PGA Professionals Tim Stone and Andrew Kloprogge at Long Island and offer three different levels to cater for all juniors.
BEGINNERS - Our beginner's program is for juniors who are brand new to the game of golf. All sessions will include engaging and fun games (that’s what makes learning fun)
INTERMEDIATE - Our intermediate program is for juniors who have had some experience but are still not ready to play full 18 holes or get a handicap.
ADVANCED - Our advanced program is for juniors who have had experience playing golf and are ready to gain, or already have a handicap.
Spaces only remain in the advanced program. If you miss out and would like to be placed on a waiting list, please contact Ben Hall - ben.hall@nationalgolf.com.au
