Vale Burtta Cheney MBE Page 2 from the President Page 3 Claytons’ Corner Page 4 ‘The Cradle of Golf’ Page 5-6 Presidents Trophy at Royal Melbourne
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The Long Game Newsletter of the Golf Society of Australia S G A No 42, OCTOBER 2012 Inside This Issue Page 1-2 Vale Burtta Cheney MBE Page 2 From the President Page 3 Claytons’ Corner Page 4 ‘The Cradle of Golf’ Page 5-6 Presidents Trophy at Royal Melbourne Burtta Cheney with Keith Wood & Ian Rennick Page 7 Dinner at Royal Melbourne Golf Club Vale Burtta Cheney MBE Page 8 (The following is based, in part, on the eulogy at Burttas’ recent Book Review: funeral by her nephew David Cheney. Ed) David Graham: From Ridicule To Acclaim by Russell James Burtta Cheney was born on 10th October 1916 in Rose Park, a suburb of National Hickory Challenge Adelaide, the youngest of four children of an early motor car entrepreneur. at Croydon Golf Club The family moved to Melbourne in 1920 and were variously residents in 1st November 2012 Canterbury, Brighton, Glenferrie, Croydon during the 1930s recession, Upper Beaconsfield during the war, Canterbury again, then Mitcham in For The Diary the early 1950s, Beaumaris and finally three different streets in Toorak. Home wise her real love was ‘Carousel’ in Anglesea which she designed 29th October and had built in 1952. Not long before the 1983 bush fires, that consumed Dinner at Victoria Golf Club ‘Carousel’, she moved to Hitchcock Avenue in Barwon Heads. Burtta attended Firbank Anglican Girls Grammar School, PLC in East Melbourne 1st November and finally, at age 12, Toorak College which, at the time was moving from Toorak National Hickory Challenge to Mt Eliza. at Croydon Yering Meadows Named for her maternal grandmother, who had been born in the Kingdom of Fife, it was perhaps inevitable that she would have a life in golf. This inevitability was nudged along by her parents joining Eastern Golf Club in the late 1920s and 26th November Burttas’ mother inviting her to attend the final round of the 1930 Australian Ladies AGM & Doug Bachli Trophy Championship being held at Commonwealth Golf Club. Burtta was hooked. at Victoria Golf Club continued on page 2 >> The Long Game | OCTOBER 2012 1 Vale Burtta Cheney MBE continued from page 1 The influence of Miss Cheney, Four decades it has lasted. ‘When I was a girl’ in my memory, Still so clearly plastered. Learn a swing, etiquette and The basic rules today. Have a career, a family, come back And you’ll know how to play. For her contribution to women’s golf Burtta was awarded the inaugural “Lifetime Achievement Award” by Women’s Golf Victoria and was one of the first six members of Victoria’s Golfing Hall of Fame together with Doug Bachli and Peter Thomson. From the Burtta Cheney was devoted to two things, golf and her family; she lived with and took care of her parents for President The second world war interrupted the last twenty years of her life and was her golfing life and she joined the a wonderful role model to her nieces A most enjoyable dinner was held Red Cross in Melbourne ferrying and nephews of three generations. at Royal Melbourne Golf Club early wounded servicemen from hospitals in August with Richard Forsyth to rehab but when peace broke out In 1981 Burtta was one of the GSA she returned to the fairways. founding members and a member outlining the challenges of course of the inaugral committee. In 1986 management for the Presidents Cup After a stellar career as an amateur Burtta succeeded Doug Bachli as and the Masters in Augusta. golfer, at domestic and international GSA President for two years, and level, Burtta decided to put was then elected a Life Member. Our next dinner will be at Victoria something back, starting up the Golf Club on Monday 29th October, girls’ golf camp at Anglesea, still An ardent supporter of the aims and we are privileged to have Frances going 45 years later. of our Society from its inception, Crampton AM as our guest speaker. through participation in events, Frances is well known in golfing From these camps emerged functions and activities to promote circles and we look forward to champion women golfers such as golf and preserve its history in hearing of her sporting experiences. Sandra McCaw, Jane Lock, Louise Australia, Burtta Cheney MBE will Briers, Penny Pulz and Sandra be sadly missed. The golfing year is drawing to McKenzie and a host of women a close, and we look forward to golfers to help run the distaff side of the National Hickory Challenge club golf. being held at Croydon Golf Club on November 1st, and the AGM The following lines from The meeting and Doug Bachli Trophy, Anglesea Tradition, a poem written by an 18 hole Stableford event for both Lois Marriott (Rimmington) in 2004 men and women at Victoria Golf sum up well Burtta’s contribution to Club, on Monday 26 November. women’s golf in Australia. Members are reminded that nominations are welcome for Have you missed a dinner but would positions on the Committee; as existing members retire, we are keen like to hear the speech? for members to become involved on In most cases, when the speaker agrees, we record the the GSA Committee. Our Secretary after-dinner speeches at Golf Society functions. Paul Burgess and I welcome any enquiries from members. If you have missed a dinner and would like to hear any of the presentations, they can be made available on cd Geoff Vincent AM for playing on computer or cd player. President Contact: The Secretary 2 The Long Game | OCTOBER 2012 Clayton’s Corner with Michael Clayton Golf is a game where the surface Rod Tatt at Woodlands is It seems there are wildly varying it is played off, on and over is experimenting with oversown fescue qualities of poa greens, with the both critical and varied. So much on the second fairway, and the next good ones being tremendous and the ten to twenty years may see the poor ones soft, bumpy and generally is dependent on the climate, and completion of what was started in miserable to putt on. Ben Crenshaw what greenkeepers can reasonably 1977, a return to great winter golf to was once asked what were the best grow, and maintain. perfectly compliment our brilliant greens he had ever putted on and he Perhaps the ideal surface for golf is summer conditions. cited Royal Melbourne’s bent and the poa greens at Oakmont and Crystal fescue. There are several variations In America the golf is played on a Downs in northern Michigan. of fescue but it is fine cool season variety of surfaces and the choices are grass and it works perfectly on British so dependent on the climate. Florida On the other side of the American links. It is without grain which golf courses, with a climate reminiscent continent, the best courses in the makes it ideal to hit full iron shots as of Queensland , uses ‘bermuda’ (their north-east use a mix of bent-grass, rye well as the little chips, pitches, and term for couch) as the dominant and bluegrass. The obvious difference bump and run around the greens. grass. It is also the grass used in the between the finest collection of In Australia the Moonah Course at warmer parts of the south and west. In courses in the world and ours is that The National and 13th Beach are Arizona, and similarly hot states, they they are under snow for four or five predominantly couch-based courses, over-sow it with Rye in the winter to months a year. oversown with fescue. keep the courses green. Rye is an odd, Claude Crockford perhaps best sticky surface almost unknown on our Barnbougle Dunes and Lost Farm summed up the difference between courses but the winter is golf season are pure fescue courses and here in the two continents when he said to in the south states and America has a Melbourne, Royal Melbourne has Ben Crenshaw, on one of the master greater reverence for green than we do used it exclusively in the surrounds. putters visits to Royal Melbourne, in Australia. In Melbourne, a grassing revolution ‘In America you are always trying began in the last 1970s when At Riviera, the brilliant George to make the grass grow. Here we are Graeme Grant rid Kingswood of Thomas course in Los Angeles, the always trying to stop it growing’. the traditional two-grass regime, fairways are all kikuyu. This kikuyu employing couch in the summer and is, however, a finer and significantly poa-annua in the winter. Since every better version (mainly a result of sandbelt course followed suit, their improved chemicals) than the junk- golf is now played on vibrant couch grass that we grew up playing over in grass in summer, and dormant couch other parts of Australia, particularly in the winter. New South Wales. Chipping off dormant, and often It is a perfect surface to hit irons from grainy, couch grass is a miserable and whilst it makes it harder to run proposition and so many golfers the ball onto the greens it works very have to resort to simply putting from well at The Lakes in Sydney. around the greens – something that Five minutes from Riviera is the Los is difficult, if not impossible, off the Angeles CC. It is another Thomas softer poa-annua surfaces. masterpiece and it is all couch that Chipping off the fescue at Royal looks similar to the legend couch used Melbourne is such a pleasure, and a at Royal Melbourne, Commonwealth, huge improvement on both couch Ranfurlie and The Ocean Course at and poa surrounds because of the The National.