July 2026

Jul 25

2026 Victorian Hickory Shaft Championships – 12 & 13th September

By Kim Hastie Home News, Events, 2026

VHSC Event report – September 2026

We had a terrific weekend at Queenscliff GC and Barwon Heads GC

Plenty of good golf, wonderful company and a reminder of what makes these two Bellarine courses so special.

The third Victorian Hickory Shaft Championships attracted 45 entries across the weekend from Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, with Sunday’s 40 available places fully booked. The Golf Society of Australia brought the weekend together with the support of both host clubs and a great deal of work from our organising volunteers.

Victoria’s Lex Johnstone, from Axedale Golf Club, won the men’s championship with 77, three shots ahead of John Kelly. Suzanne Brown, from Manly Golf Club in New South Wales, won the women’s championship with 89, ahead of Barwon Heads’ Anna Jamieson on 93.

Saturday began with a Historians Forum at Queenscliff, hosted by Doug Turek. Club president Brad Teal shared Queenscliff’s story, Barry Leithhead spoke about the value of golf history, and Andrew Baker contributed his research into the game’s early beginnings in Queenscliff. Then it was out onto the course for Canadian foursomes, putting a little of that history into practice.

Queenscliff and hickory golf belong together. The Swan Island course is unpretentious, shaped by its coastal setting, with Swan Bay alongside and plenty of opportunities to play imaginative shots. Barwon Heads offered a wonderful championship counterpart, with its coastal contours, bunkering and historic clubhouse. Both reward the ability to read the ground and work with the conditions—an excellent fit for wooden-shafted clubs and a game built around touch and judgement.

Canadian Foursomes results:

Gross winners: Metropolitan GC pairing of John Kelly & Kim Hastie 85 c/b from Justin Ryan & Pete Shaw
Nett winners: John Trevorrow & Toby Cumming
Runners up: Anna Jamieson and Emma Duma

The other principal Sunday prize results were:

Men’s nett: Christian Lale-Demoz, 62; runner-up Peter Whittall, 64.
Women’s nett: Kim Hastie, 75; runner-up Ruth Nguyen, 80.
Al Howard Trophy: the New South Wales team representing the Australian Golf Heritage Society won back the trophy

There’s more to look forward to: next year the Society will host the 2027 Australian Hickory Shaft Championships on Melbourne’s Sandbelt, with Metropolitan, Woodlands and Commonwealth on the programme.

The championship leaderboards and other weekend information are on our event website.

For more event detail, results & photos Click the link below

https://golfsocietyaust.com/event/2026-vhsc/

Anyone interested in the Society or trying hickory golf is very welcome to email me at hickory@golfsocietyaust.com, or join our GSA Facebook community.

Weekends like this bring that purpose to life, introducing people to courses—and friends—they might otherwise never have discovered.

Our two day was covered by the local press Click link below

Hickory golfers turn back the clock on the Bellarine

Tim Taylor
Organiser
Victorian Hickory Shaft Championships E: hickory@golfsocietyaust.com

REMEMBER … SAVE THESE DATES FOR 2027 – AUSTRALIAN HICKORY SHAFT CHAMPIONSHIPS ON THE SANDBELT in MELBOURNE 4TH-6TH OCTOBER

Lex Johnstone & Suz Brown our Champions

2026-09-13 - Barwon Heads - New South Wales team with the Al Howard Trophy

Lucie,Suz & Ruth

Bruno Pase

a swinging les Browne

Our Champs with Nett winner Christian and Pete Whitall R/up

the very dapper Tony Blakeley

Lucie V & Ruth Ngyuen

Ross Baker with the Perpetual Shield named in his honour

Ross Baker with the women leading the field out

Thanks John T & Tim Taylor.. super organisers

Emma Dumas

2026-09-12 - Queenscliff - Lex Johnstone swinging beside Swan Bay

2026-09-12 - Queenscliff - Saturday group beside Swan Bay

2026-09-12 - Queenscliff - Kim Hastie and Peter Whittall in period dress

Players at Barwon Heads GC

Suz & Lex with Ross Baker

Jul 30

Presidents Trophy – Monday 31 August – Commonwealth GC

By Kim Hastie Home News, Events, 2026

Kim Hastie wins the 2026 President’s Trophy

Congratulations to Golf Society President Kim Hastie, winner of the 2026 President’s Trophy at Commonwealth Golf Club on Monday 31 August.

Twenty-six members took part in one of the Society’s most distinctive competitions: nine holes of handicap stroke play with just seven clubs, followed by sudden-death match play for the top four nett qualifiers.

The four top Nett qualifiers were Jenny Picking, Kim Hastie, Andy Bassett and Hiromi Bum.

Fourth qualifier Hiromi Bum won the 1^st Hole first match over top qualifier Jenny Picking and Kim up against Andy won their 1^ST Hole

With good gallery following the finalists then continued on to the Par 5 2^ND where Kim prevailed over Hiromi

For late winter, the course presentation was excellent, the greens rolled beautifully and, with glorious weather making it feel like a spring day, conditions could hardly have been better.

First played at Royal Melbourne in 1998, this mixed event is the legacy of former Society President Daryl Cox, who donated the trophy. Its unusual format continues to call on a few long-forgotten golfing skills and remains a wonderful example of the history, fellowship and enjoyment at the heart of the Society.

Thank you to Marty Maguire for coordinating the day, to Commonwealth Golf Club for hosting us, and to everyone who played, followed the finals or joined us for lunch.

The President’s Trophy is one of the Society’s members-only playing opportunities.

If you share our interest in the history and traditions of Australian golf and would like to learn more about membership, contact info@golfsocietyaust.com.

Marty Maguire

Jul 18

Golf Historians Forum – Portsea Golf Club – Monday 3 August 2026

By Kim Hastie Events, 2026

The second forum for the year will be held at

Portsea Golf Club Monday, 3 August 2026

This forum is to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Portsea Golf Club Est. 1926

Following lunch and a presentation at 11.00 am there will be an opportunity to play 14 holes of golf, either hickory or modern.

Please follow the link below to register for this event.

https://golfsocietyaust.com/event/golf-historians-forum-portsea-golf-club/

The President and committee hope to see you at Portsea on Monday, 3 August 2026.

Regards
Doug Turek
Forums Convenor
E: forums@golfsocietyaust.com
M: 0412 487 303

Jul 18

Annual Hickory Day – Sunday 16th August – Frankston GC

By Kim Hastie Events, 2026

A TERRIFIC DAY FOR HICKORY GOLF at Frankston Golf Club ⛳️

First played in 1983, the Society’s Annual Hickory Golf Day is one of the oldest events on the Society’s calendar.

On Sunday 16 August, a full field of members and guests embraced the spirit of the occasion, with some excellent golf played:

🏆 Doug Turek won the Frank Shepherd Trophy with 42 Stableford points, just one ahead of Adrian Lindgren on 41.

🏆 Kim Hastie claimed the Burtta Cheney Trophy with 30 points, with Heather Brodie runner-up on 28.

Guest Christian Lale-Demoz matched the day’s best score with 42 points to take guest honours.

Defending champion Andrew Thomson mounted a fine defense with 38 points, but the Frank Shepherd Trophy changed hands this year.

The scores tell only part of the story. The real pleasure was seeing a full field enter into the spirit of the day, old clubs back in play, newcomers made welcome and plenty of laughter shared along the way.

This is history, heritage and hickory at its best

We give thanks to John Trevorrow and Tim Taylor who helped bring together such an enjoyable occasion.

Join the GSA for more opportunities to put golf history back into play.