The Walking Stick Trophy is a two day Ryder Cup style team showdown between top NSW and Victorian men and women senior golfers to take place on April 26 and 27. PHIL NUNN* has put together this fascinating promo of a reborn event sure to grow in stature.

THE WALKING STICK TROPHY

Men’s Senior Golf – Early History on Walking Stick Trophy

History provided by Les Browne with some information from Darryl Hearsch

For many years senior golfers (who had achieved the age of 55) had very few events to compete in. There was the Australian Senior, and each State ran a Senior Championship. All were well supported, and a high level of competition resulted.

It was in 2005 when the NSW Senior Championship was played at Howlong GC on the Murray River.

There was a full field and good contingents not only from NSW but Victoria and Queensland. At the after-game refreshments there was quite some discussion re. the lack of senior events to play in.

At one of the tables, which included Ian Read (Golf Qld), Alan Evans (Golf Vic) and Les Browne (Golf NSW), it was discussed and agreed that they go back to their relevant State and propose a number of Senior Events hosted by relevant clubs.

The proposals were taken up the following year by Vic and NSW and soon after by Qld. The other States followed as interest increased.

When Denis Dale became eligible and won the Australian Seniors in the following year, he established the AUSOOM web site which provided up to date info and was the bible for senior golfers from all over Australia.

Each State established Senior Order of Merit events and as Ian and Les were on the Golf Australia Championship Committee they were able to influence GA to also establish an Australian SOOM, from which Senior players would be selected to represent Australia in international events.

At the Howlong event, in 2005, over a drink at the bar there were a number of players staying over from Vic and NSW … why not an interstate match?… This was quickly arranged and (am not sure if it was 6 or 8) players were pitted against each other for singles scratch match play. There is no official record and only a blurred team photo, but I think Vic won.

During the matches Les, who with Alan organized the event, was asked ‘what are we playing for’? It quickly came to mind… old guys, what do they use??  A Walking Stick!!! So, Les set off to Albury to secure one. It was not easy, none of the charity stores had any… so off to the hospital. When asked who the stick was for… well Less couldn’t really say it was a golf trophy, so he said it was for one of the players who hurt his ancle. Well, the hospital attendant said, ‘he must come in and get measured up’!!! Les convinced it was not necessary and was able to take it to Howlong where it was presented to the winning team.

The Walking Stick was taken back to Golf Vic where David Greenhill’s father mounted it. It was played for a number of times, but it seems when GA moved this priceless trophy was mislaid…..

The rebirth of the Walking Stick Trophy in 2024

This iteration of the competition between Senior State Golf Teams is a mixed gender event, involving match play contests in the format of Four Ball Best Ball, Pinehurst Foursomes, and Individual Matches.

The event has come about because of the two States Senior Advisory Groups (SAGs) commitment to foster competitive golf opportunities for the best senior players.

Golf Australia organises a two-person interstate teams’ competition that is staged in conjunction with the Australian Senior Amateur Championships, and organises bi-annual matches that pits an Australian Senior Team and its New Zealand rivals, and sends a representative team annually to compete in the Australia Pacific Championship. Golf Australia also organises some State Championships.  These events are included in Australian Senior Order of Merit Awards, as are other club run events that are accredited Nationally.

Despite these opportunities the State SAGS identified a gap in the competitive golf calendar and have advocated an interstate series similar in style to that organised annually by Golf Australia for under-age and open age teams.  As GA has not yet supported the organisation of such an annual team’s event for Senior Golfers, the States’ SAGs have taken the initiative to organise a Ryder Cup style challenge between New South Wales and Victorian Senior Teams.   In keeping with GA, and the more general world adopted age criteria, membership of the teams is limited to golfers who have reached the age of 55 years by 1 January 2024.

The teams will compete for a reprised Walking Stick Trophy.   From 2005-2014 NSW, and Vic competed for the original Walking Stick Trophy, which was staged annually in conjunction with one of these States Senior Amateur Championships, Sadly, this competition went into recess, and the original trophy mislaid and is still yet to rediscovered. A trophy similar in nature has been created to preserve a semblance of the tradition surrounding this inter-state rivalry.

Organisers hope that this inaugural Ryder Cup style format will be the first of many annual clashes perhaps expanding to include slightly bigger teams from more States.

The Teams

Bobette Wilkinson (Ladies Champion at Tocumwal) has offered to act as an emergency player for the event, should any woman member of one of the teams becomes indisposed during the event.

The Courses at Club Tocumwal

Materials sourced from internet with originals by PlanetGolf, October 2014 edition of Golf Australia Magazine, and a further Golf Australia Magazine article by Brendan James in September 2017.

Designer: Club Members and Kevin Hartley (Captains Course)

Situated on the northern bank of the Murray amid the flatlands of the Riverina, Tocumwal is about 700 kilometres south-west of Sydney and nearly 260km north of Melbourne.  It is rare for such a small town – Tocumwal boasts approximately 1,900 people – to be home to a 36-hole complex of such high quality like you’ll find at ‘Toc’ (pronounced ‘Toke’).

Club Tocumwal had its origins back in the 1920s, when founding members golfed on 9-hole sand green course on the site of the current Tocumwal racecourse. Relocations and expansions followed, until the 1970s when the then 18-hole course was converted to grass greens and fairways. That course was significantly modified in the 1980s, and then split in the 1990s when a second 18 was added and the Presidents and Captains courses created.

Most of the Presidents’ course is made up of holes that were first created back in the 1950s after the land was purchased from the RAAF. During World War II, a 60-square-kilometre area, including the site of both courses today, was commissioned by the US Army Air Corps as part of its top-secret aerodrome. It was a heavy bomber base, prepared for an attempted Japanese invasion. At the height of the war, the complex was the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth, with 450 buildings and four runways.

The club’s link to this time in history is recalled with a scale replica of a B-24, mounted on a pole next to the club’s entrance.

Note that there is an extensive museum and modern coffee shop portraying the history situated at Tocumwal Airport, and the Creek Walk which starts on the edge of the golf course and winds its way toward town (2.0km) also has interesting photographic interpretative displays of information from the war era.

The first nine holes of the Presidents course were played with sand greens until they were converted to grass in 1970. Another nine holes were added four years later, while the second of the par 72 layouts, known as the Captains’ course, was completed in 1993. All the new holes were created by former Australian amateur representative and course designer, Kevin Hartley.

Hartley transformed what was grazing land next to the original 18 holes into a fine selection of Wintergreen couch fairways and 1020 Bentgrass greens. Hartley’s bunkering, while not especially deep, is more dynamic and he has utilised the native river gums and pine trees to create some truly memorable holes.   The installation of two synthetic bowling greens in 2018, led to the construction of a new Par 3 18^th hole on the Presidents course designed by Phil Ryan of Pacific Coast Design.

EXPRESSIONS of APPRECIATION

Thank you to Golf NSW who are supporting the NSW team.  Golf Australia has chosen not to support the event with any direct financial contribution. We thank the following commercial sponsors for assisting financially to stage the event.

*PHIL NUNN is a member of Golf Australia’s Victorian Senior Advisory Group (SAG) and was a key operative in the rebirth of the Walking Stick Trophy event.