Pennant Success

The National has twelve representative teams that play throughout the year in a range of competitions both locally on the Peninsula (Golf Peninsula Victoria) and within the Metropolitan region (Golf Australia). Our first group of teams to play in 2023 include the Men's, Women's and Youth's Metropolitan Pennant Teams as well as the Men’s & Women’s GPV Pennant Team.

Thank you to everyone involved from team managers, players, caddies to spectators.

Sunday Women's Metropolitan - Division 1

The Sunday Women's Metropolitan team are Champions for 2023. It is the first time The National has tasted success in Division 1, with our Women's team clinching victory over a strong Commonwealth team 4-3. If you look closely, you will see that the trophy below dates all the way back to 1910!

Read a full report including the full season statistics by following this link

Sunday Men's Metropolitan - Division 2

Our Division 2 Men's team started slower than they would've hoped in 2023, but rallied late in the season including a stellar victory over the eventual champions and clear number one team in Peninsula Kingswood. They managed three wins for the season and retain their place in Division 2 for 2024

Read a full report including the full season statistics by following this link

Friday Women's Metropolitan - Division 1

The Friday Women's team entered the 2023 season as the defending champions, after tasting victory as the Division 1 Champions in 2022 and the Division 2 Champions in 2021. Whilst they got close to making the final, they finished the season in 3rd position and look forward to going further in 2024.

Read a full report including the full season statistics by following this link

Sunday Youth's Metropolitan - Division 3

Our second metropolitan champions for the 2023 season were the Division 3 Youth team. Featuring our brightest young stars the team cruised through the season undefeated and won convincingly in the final 4-1. They will move up to Division 2 in 2024, where they look forward to the challenge (and venues a little closer to home!)

Read a full report including the full season statistics by following this link

GPV Mens Pennant - Division 1

In their inaugural season, the GPV Men's team are champions for 2023. In what was a tight season, they took on an undefeated Moonah Links team in the final at Sorrento, waltzing away to a 4.5 - 2.5 victory to seal the win.

Read a full report including the full season statistics by following this link

Around the Club

Long Island - Member Presentation

On Wednesday 26 April we held a member information session regarding the Long Island development and its impact on members. Approximately 100 people attended this positive and constructive meeting. Please click on the links to access the video and the Q&A’s from the session.

We are looking at a number of initiatives to support impacted members during the period of disruption and remind members that, throughout the renovation, nine holes are anticipated to remain in play for all but a few weeks of the project, with the Cape Schanck courses providing a ready alternative for many. Playing opportunities at alternate courses are also being organised for impacted members.

National Senior Masters

The National hosts the National Senior Masters annually where players from around Australia compete for the title and order of merit points. Ken Brewer (Newcastle GC) is the 2023 National Senior Masters Champion.

Brewer started strongly in the first round, carding a six-under 66 on the Moonah Course to lead after day one. Day two saw them head up to take on The Old. Whilst the hot streak didn’t continue for Brewer, his 77 was still solid enough to take the lead into the final days play.

On the final day, the leading players in the draw faced the Gunnamatta course in what were spectacular conditions. Brewer found the same form he had on the first day to cruise to an eight-shot victory, ahead of Greg Wilson +3 (Keysborough GC) and David Pateyjohns +6 (Willunga GC).

Across the three rounds, Brewer, who finished at five under par, had an impressive 16 birdies and 25 pars. He finished the event in style by eagling the 18th of Gunnamatta and earning himself the coveted green jacket.

The National Senior Masters is a favourite of Brewer's - he also tasted victory back in 2019 and after a two-year hiatus, finished two shots off the pace last year. Ken was extremely complimentary of the work put in by the staff and volunteers, stating that it is the ‘most professionally run event on the Senior Tour’.

The Club would like to acknowledge the brilliant work from all involved, including the ground staff for presenting the courses in such spectacular condition, the restaurant staff for once again providing exceptional service and Golf Operations for their organisation and professionalism throughout. Finally, a sincere thank you to Tony Vaughan and his team for their dedication to making this such a wonderful event on not only the Club's, but the Senior's calendar.

Rounds Played and Age Distribution

The statisticians within our membership may be interested in the following extracts from a recent presentation by the Captain to the Golf Leaders Network.

The first is a summary of rounds played by tee marker. It will be interesting to see how a changing mindset around encouraging players to experiment with tee marker selection may change these distributions over time. We’ll continue to keep a watching brief.

The summary of membership by age demonstrates the prominent weighting of players in the age group from 46-75. Notwithstanding these reported figures, we’re noticing quite an influx of younger members in recent intakes. Once again, a dynamic view of these figures over time will paint a picture of how our membership is continuing to evolve.

Long Island Greens - Contour Survey

The OCM team have completed survey information of the greens at Long Island prior to the redevelopment.

The survey information allows the OCM team to replicate the original slopes on many of the classic greens at Long Island. It also provides accurate information on greens such as the 7th and 8th greens where the slope can be slightly modified to make them more playable and provide additional pin positions.

Fog and Lightning Policy

The presence of fog and lightning proves a safety issue to all golfers, as well as a potential headache for the Golf Operations staff who work diligently to maximise the playing opportunity for members throughout the day. Inevitably, there will be times where the Golf Operations team are required to make decisions which impact member play, ranging from delay to cancellations. We remind members to be respectful of staff as this is for player safety.

Please familiarise yourself with the policy by following this link

Bunker Etiquette

Members and their guests are reminded of the importance of bunker care as a key aspect of consideration for other members. The image on the left speaks for itself, whilst the image on the right shows an example of an incorrectly placed rake. Rakes should be placed in the centre, on the low/flat area of the bunker, facing in the direction of play. Failure to do so, can lead to a following player having an impeded swing, no shot at all or even forced to drop outside of the bunker for a two-shot penalty.

We encourage you to do the right thing for your fellow members and improve playability for all.

K9 & Dine

After the success of our inaugural K9 & Dine earlier in the year, we are pleased to announce that your furry little friend will once again be invited to our next K9 & Dine event.

Dates and further details will be provided over the coming weeks via the website and the members Instagram page.

Men's Muster

Entries for the Men's Muster on Sunday 28 May are now open.

The Men's Muster dates back to when the Captain at the time, Peter Mitchell, informally organised a number of members to randomly be drawn with each other and play as a group.

Featuring a number of fantastic prizes, we encourage you to get involved in this fun event, which includes a great day of golf followed by lunch and presentations for only $65.

Full details can be found by clicking here

Please enter as a single or a pair via the May 28 timesheet. Entries close Friday 26 May or when the field reaches capacity

Bump & Run

Member Code of Conduct

An updated version of By-Laws will soon be loaded onto the website. Members should note the provisions of By-Law No 9 which outlines the Club’s Code of Conduct.

We encourage all members to take time to read through and absorb this By-Law so that they are familiar with these expectations.

Holes With Different Pars - Matchplay

Where the par for a hole differs for Men and Women, the result in Matchplay is determined by the net score against the respective par.

For example, a net birdie beats a net par, and net bogeys for both players results in a halved hole.

Osteoarthritis Sufferers Swing Their Way to Better Health

Golf is acknowledged as a sport allowing players to blow off steam and enjoy the outdoors, but a new study led by the University of South Australia shows it may have serious benefits for people with chronic disease osteoarthritis.

Read more

Get Social!!!

Don't forget to tag @ngcmembers when out on course, so that we can share what's happening around the Club.

If you haven't done so already, members are encouraged to follow the member-exclusive Instagram page.

Search @ngcmembers or click on this link to follow.

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

The Journal

Telling stories from the The National Golf Club that elevate the experience for members and guests, The National Journal digs a little deeper into what makes our club so special.

With a new story delivered every two months, each new article will add a piece to the puzzle of our fascinating history.

Building The Old Course

Acclaimed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones II takes us back to the early days of The National. In this exclusive interview, 'Bobby' offers insights into his design inspirations for the project as well as his overall approach and how it applies to one of Australia’s most beloved golf courses.

Read more

Tom Doak on Gunnamatta

Now two years since the first divots were taken on the Gunnamatta course, Tom Doak offers The National Journal some intriguing insights into his design process, what makes Australian golf unique, and a hint at what's next for an architect at the peak of his powers.

Read more

Golf Ops

New Apparel Drops

As the cooler months set in, our retail team have been busy moving in a new range of the latest and greatest gear for you to wear out on course.

Items that have just dropped include.

MEN'S

• J.Lindeberg
• Greyson
• Donald Ross
• Footjoy
  

WOMEN'S

• Footjoy
• Donald Ross
• J Lindeberg

On Course

David Launder Final

Congratulations to Denzil Whitfield & Leigh Bird for securing victory in the 2023 David Launder Final. Denzil and Leigh defeated Tim Neales & Kevin O’Sullivan 2 UP in a closely fought contest in near-perfect conditions on the Old course.

The David Launder Trophy is a Four Ball aggregate Stableford qualifying round over 18 holes on the Old Course with 8 pairs to qualify for 4BBB Knockout (with the 2nd Ball to count if the 1st ball scores are tied).

The event is named in honour of David Launder, a founding member and Deputy Chairman of the Club who worked tirelessly in the pioneer years promoting share sales and other initiatives to establish a sound financial base for the Club.

54 Hole Challenge

The 54 Hole Challenge - a unique event to The National, consisting of members playing all three courses in the same day, was played recently with a strong field of 94 players.

Well done to all those who participated in the event - our overall winner, with an impressive 116 points, was Ken Morgan.

Welcome Cup

The 2nd Welcome Cup was played on the Gunnamatta Course on Sunday April 16. The Welcome Cup was initiated by the membership sub-committee as an additional way for new members to mix and provide an enhanced welcome to the Club.

The format of the event is fourball stableford round aggregate. The three best stableford scores per hole go on the scorecard.

The winners of the event were Adele Alexander, Jodi Micari, Monique Richardson and special guest Matthew Corby (Club CEO) with an excellent score of 112 points.

Thank you to all new members who participated in the event. We look forward to seeing you at the Club in the future.

LG Curtis Corporate Cup

The prestigious 2023 LG Curtis Corporate Cup was held on the Old Course on Friday, April 28th.

Maclaw No. 2 consisting of Connor Merigan (33), Dick Merigan (38), Ian Arnold (28) & Keith Wooster (22) won this year’s Corporate Cup, which is the highest three aggregate scores from a team of four, with a total score of 99 points.

Dick Merigan, who scored 38 points, won the gold putter on countback for the best individual score.

A.W Lester 4 Ball

On Saturday the 29th of April, Long Island hosted the A.W Lester Fourball.

This board event is an 18 hole aggregate in teams of two. Congratulations to Terry Carroll & Geoffrey Pidgeon who won the day with a combined score of 74, winning on a countback to Chris Chio & Ty Ty Lim.

Holes-in-One

We celebrate the following members for achieving an Ace over the past month

• Alan Jager
  
• Marcus Toovey
• Constantine Christopoulos
• Wayne Aigner
• Judy Dean
• Bill Beckwith

From the Kitchen

Almond & Hazlenut Financier

Mix all ingredients together

Place in Silicon Moulds with Blueberries or

Raspberries

Bake at 135c for approximately 35 mins

This is the chefs recipe, so makes a big batch of 120.

To make a smaller batch, simply reduce the ratio of ingredients

Course News

Monterey Cypress - The Old Course (14th Hole)

Members will notice that the dead cypress tree on the 14th hole of The Old Course has now been removed.

That had been the plan for some time, but the Club had wanted to allow time for the replacement tree, planted from the seed of the removed tree in our nursery at Cape Schanck, to reach a point of reasonable maturity. The removed tree was not serving as a habitat for any course fauna.

Bruce Charlton, the chief designer for Robert Trent Jones II, identified the location of the replacement tree within a previous course review.

Gunnamatta 16th - Removal of rear bunker

During the recent visit by Tom Doak, Tom undertook a review of the Gunnamatta Course to look at improved playability throughout the 18 holes.

One area of concern raised by Tom related to the rear bunker on the 16th hole. As a result of the strong coastal winds that we experience at Cape Schanck, over time the bunker has suffered severe erosion which has led to a deepening of the bunker, often leading to an unfair lie for those who end up in it.

This bunker will be replaced by a grass valley, which will still capture those errant long shots, but without the unfair lie that is often associated with ending in this particular bunker.

It is expected that the works will take place in the coming weeks, with a local temporary rule in place whilst the turf settles in place.

Overseeding Fescue Fairways on Moonah

The weaker sections on the fairways have been overseeded with a new variety of fescue on the Moonah Course.

This will lead to an increase in fescue and less poa annua, which as many of you may know, can cause significant headaches for the ground staff.

Disease - Moonah Fairways

A turf disease known as leptosphaerulina leaf blight has appeared in some of the valleys that are dominated by poa annua around the Moonah Course. Fescue grass, which is found on Moonah is susceptible this disease, particularly in areas where there is less drainage and the soil is heavier.

The course maintenance team is addressing this by spraying a fungicide and expects these areas to improve over time.

4th Hole of The Old - Restoration of Bank

When Robert Trent Jones Jr attended Cape Schanck to review The Old Course in 2018, he looked into the deterioration of the wall of the lake bank on the 4th hole and other issues associated with the front portion of the green. In addition to recommending the removal and management of grasses on the bank of the lake to reduce their impact on play, he suggested the need for the bank of the dam to be reinforced with soil to stop the current erosion. It was also agreed that the slope of the bank on the left hand side of the green should be made less severe to reduce the frequency of balls rolling off into the water.

The water level will be reduced to allow the bank to be restored, remove the rush which is starting to overtake sections of the lake, control sections of long grass and weed, and trim back tree branches. It is important to note that he amount of water remaining in the lake will be sufficient enough for the fish to survive.

The 19th hole will come into play during the period of the works.

The National Prints

We’re pleased to offer members and guests the opportunity to purchase these limited edition framed photography prints from our four wonderful courses at The National. Produced in collaboration with Will Watt from Contours Golf Travel (formally CaddieMag) this exclusive collection is available for free delivery Australia-wide.

These stunning large format prints allow your to bring a slice of your favourite course into your home, office or commercial space - it feels like you are looking through a window out onto the course. To purchase, please visit www.contours.store

Tip of the Month

with Nick O'Hern

We are back again with a fantastic tip from former European and PGA Tour player Nick O'Hern.

Nick has put together a really simple, yet effective putting drill that can be used by players of all standards.

Next time you are having a practice putt, give this one a go!

Events in June

Monthly Medal

Saturday 3 June

Levy Bash

David Inglis Captain's Trophy

Sunday 4 June - Quarter Final (play on or before)

Sunday 11 June - Semi Final (play on or before)

Sunday 18 June - Final - 36 holes

Black Witch

Sunday 4 June

Sandra McCaw Qualifier

Wednesday 7 June

Bill Britten Qualifying

Thursday 8 June

Winter Cup 4BBB

Saturday 17 June - Qualifying Round

Sunday 25 June - Quarter Final (play on or before)

Silver Spoon

Wednesday 21 June - Round 4

O'Shea Brothers 4 Ball Par

Saturday 24 June - Qualifying

To view the 2023 Programme - please click here

The Longy Challenge

Open to all members under the age of 25, the Longy Challenge features great prizes throughout the round as well as for the winner and runner up.

Sign up now via the 'Longy Challenge' entry sheet on May 21.

Returns in the June/July school holidays

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