Chapter 4 - Playing the Game

PLAYING THE GAME
 
The provision of such a facility as this carefully planned golf course proved to be an overwhelming success, to the extent that at the conclusion of the year 1943, membership books had been filled to capacity and were consequently closed. The closure of member­ship was an unpopular decision and the increasing number of membership applications forced Council to re-open the books, but to do so with the imposition of a membership entrance fee of £2/2/0 for members and £1/1/0 for associates.
A course record of 70 was set on 9th October, 1942 by Peter Heard on the old lay­out, the par being 72. On the 12th December 1942 on the new layout. Peter again set a new course record of 67 against the par of 70.
The honour of achieving the first golfers' dream, a hole-in-one at Beverley Park went to a gentleman by the name of Mr A. South well on the 4th hole in January 1943 followed closely by H. Bate, who recorded his achievement on the 12th hole in February, just one month later.
The first Sydney Golf Association Mixed event was played at Beverley Park on 28th October, 1944. The Association was so impressed with the course layout that six months later, in 1945, the qualifying round of the Sub-district Cup was also played at Beverley Park.
In 1945, with the introduction of the Pennants, the club's name sprang to the fore with Beverley Park winning the Southern Division, only to be beaten in the Grand Final by North Ryde, with a win of three matches to two.
On 4th February, 1946 the club was registered as a Limited Liability Company, and from that date all business transactions were to be undertaken in the name of the Beverley Park Golf Club Limited.
In 1947 the Beverley Park Golf Club was recognised as a leader with the election of the Club President, Mr Jack Mostyn to the prestigious position of President of the Sydney Sub-division Golf Association. A great honour both for Mr Mostyn and for the club members as well.
 
APPOINTMENT OF NEW PROFESSIONAL
On 26th February, 1947, members at the Annual General Meeting were advised that the appointment of a new Golf Club Professional, Mr W. (Billy) McWilliam, was imminent.
Billy quickly showed his value to the club and to the community. During his first year with us he introduced and promoted an all-day Schoolbays Championship which proved to be so popular that there were more than 160 entrants of various age groups all eager to prove their prowess.
 
SINCE INDEPENDENCE DAY
        19th September, 1969 was a day of which the club was justifiably proud. It was the day the club secured their course from the Council.
Instead of being forced to wait for Council to sanction expenditure on everything the go-ahead club wanted to do, they could now go ahead on their own. This they promptly did by investing heavily in capital additions, its fixed assets being increased by £30,000, while at the same time offering the best to its loyal members and promoting the course to the public.
Since 1969 successive Boards of Directors have taken whatever action has been necessary to make Beverley Park the magnificent club and course it is now.
In 1972 proposals were on record to introduce fairway watering to the course, and to have extensions made to the existing club­house, however, this was subject to the availability of funds and plans to construct a staff and equipment building on the course were also under consideration, the plans for which had been submitted to Council for approval.
The clubhouse extensions were almost completed in 1973, this was indeed a commendable achievement in view of the difficult financial times experienced during the year, spiralling costs being one of the major contributing factors to the reduction in the club's trading activities. In addition to this the first stage of the course watering scheme, namely the damming of the canal and the Fabridam control, had been completed and this project together with other capital outlays were costed at more than $25,000.
At the 1973 general meeting the newly built area of the clubhouse was acknowledged as a worthy addition and a specific question, whether an area had been designated for the location of a snooker table, was put to the meeting and the comment was that it was still under consideration by the board.
The Fabridam was completed during 1974 much later than its anticipated completion date because of the lack of availability of finance and delays in obtaining vital data on the watering aspect of the scheme.
1974 was the final term of Presidential office for Mr C.T. Landon, having been on committee for 19 consecutive years, the last 10 as President. During the years he was at the helm many notable achievements had been successfully negotiated and completed, the most outstanding of which was undoubtedly the acquisition of the lease for the course from the Council in 1969.
A snooker table for members use and enjoyment was installed it in the newly built area. The table was financed through fundraising activities by interested members.
On the golfing front, 1974 was indeed a year to remember as the club won its first Group 2 Pennant. The club was elevated to Group 2 in 1964 and had only taken a short while to make its presence felt. Added to this, Warren Emmerick won the Cups at Campbelltown and North Ryde, but was beaten in a playoff at New Brighton.  The Junior Pennant side was also successful in winning the Eric Apperley Shield and Mark Holland was selected to play for NSW in the Shell Junior Foundation Tournament in Hobart.
1975 was not as successful a year as 1974, nevertheless Robert Wood won the Eastlake Cup and Mark Holland was again selected in the NSW Junior Team to play in Brisbane. Our Junior Pennants Team was successful in winning its division.
There were many discussions regarding the Fabridam and the course watering system, costs had escalated from $25,000 to a staggering $80,000 on completion. On the basis of this unjustifiable increase in expenditure the Board, in its wisdom, deferred further progress on that project.
Golfing results were more pleasing in 1976, with Robert Wood winning the Bankstown Cup, Mark Holland for the third consecutive year was selected to play for NSW in the Junior Tournament this time in Perth. Our Eric Apperley Shield side reached the finals but was unfortunately defeated as was our "C" Grade Pennant Team. Further problems were experienced with the Fabridam, and a representative from the patent holder was advised by the Board that no further expenditure was to be incurred until a satisfactory explanation as to why it did not operate in the manner that they said it would before its construction and installation began.
Our Junior golfers came to the fore again in 1977 with Robert Trisley winning the Shell Schoolboys Tournament and Nigel Jones was runner-up. Robert also won the Tuggerah Junior Masters and Nigel was selected in the NSW Shell Junior Team to play in Melbourne.
The Eric Apperley side again reached the final, however was beaten by St. Michael's, and our Senior Pennant Team won its division but lost in the quarter final.
In 1978 the club incurred a loss of $46,082 due mainly to the disastrous Fabridam project. When it was initially undertaken it was hailed as one of great benefit to the course, it had however proven to be a total failure. A special meeting was convened on the 20th December, 1978 to explain the specific problems relative to its operation and the Fabridam was removed from the course.
The 1978 golfing achievements were not as great as in the previous years, however Stephen Peters was successful in winning the Strathfield Cup and Mark Holland won the North Ryde Amateur as well as the Kogarah Cup.
During the year members saw the closure of the famous half way house commonly known to all as the 'Spike Bar' mainly because of increased costs that were being incurred to service this facility. The greens and tees' watering systems were completed and the club expressed its deepest gratitude to Council and to those specifically involved with the successful negotiation of a $20,000 grant from the Sports' and Recreation Department to assist in subsidising this $35,000 project. The air conditioning system was also installed at a cost of $25,000.
In 1979 our Junior Pennant team was victorious over Ryde Parramatta having only won this event once before, in 1960, ironically defeating the same club on that occasion.
Brian Turnbull was the only club member to win a major Open event and his success was in the Fox Hills Cup. Nigel Jones was selected to play for NSW for the third year in a row, however due to an injury had to withdraw from the team. This was the year that the club lost the services of its longstanding Professional, Mr Bill McWilliam, after a period of 32 years and we welcomed our new Professional, Mr David Honeysett.
The Junior Pennant Team was again successful in 1981, and as this was the second year in a row, it was indeed a mighty fine effort.
In 1981 the club successfully negotiated an extension of the course lease allowing the club to introduce its forward planning.
This year saw the introduction of the Senior Masters Pennant competition and for those over 50 years of age, a new challenge had emerged. Thanks to the foresight of George Young and people from other clubs this has now become very competitive. Even though our club has not done very well in the Senior Masters, it has made another significant input with its introduction to the circuit.
Gary Barter continued Beverley Park's long record of outstanding achievements by being selected in the state team to play in Brisbane. This was also the year when club stalwart Harry Liddle won his twelfth club championship - a truly magnificent achievement.
On to 1982, on the representative scene, for the first time whilst competing in Group 2, our "B" Grade Pennant Team was successful. Finances were extremely tight therefore no major projects were undertaken apart from the continual upgrading of tees, planting of trees (with a survival rate of less than 50%) and plans for a new 6th and 9th green.
In 1983 the only noteworthy item was the introduction of an Encouragement Shield competition for Juniors who had not represented at any level. This has proven very successful and even today is a good nursery for budding golfers.
The conclusion of the 1985/ 1986 year proved most successful, both a record profit which the club had generated (being $59,087) and also to the winning of the Senior Pennant at Bayview which turned the tables on Cabramatta who had won in 1985. In this successful side one player deserves special mention, this being Geoff Street, who had represented the club in the team for twenty consecutive years, an extremely mighty effort justifiably rewarded.
Further success was experienced when member Rick Bonham won the Sun Match Play event at Bonnie Doon. He was the youngest and the equal lowest handicapped player to win this prestigious event (today it is known as the Herald Match Play event).
Also member Bob Parsons made the last sixteen in this event, indeed a creditable effort. The club concluded a successful "week of golf' in conjunction with the Kogarah Municipal Council to celebrate the Council's centenary.
In 1986 Stephen Peters moved into the 'Hall of Fame' with a course record of 66 in the third round of the Club Championships, which he eventually won by a massive 15 strokes.
The passing of Mr G.H. Sharpe (affectionately known as "Mr Beverley Park") in 1986 was mourned by all, both here and in Port Macquarie. The Memorial erected in his honour is indicative of the esteem with which his memory is held. (see page 111)
During 1988 the club successfully negotiated with Council, defeating 11 other tenderers for the driving range for a period of 5 years, and the improvements made have cost about $50,000 but this will again assist in operating the club profitably and also creates another facility for members. Another new venture was the inaugural "Pro Mixed" event in August 1987 and even though the original day was a wash out, it eventually, when held, was most successful and with the involvement of members and associates can only grow bigger and better.
1988/89 was a productive year. We completed the new driving range, which was officially opened by the Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ross Green in July 1988. The club, now totally free from debt, can operate efficiently and effectively, even though there will be small hiccups relative to the weather which hinders the playing of golf and thus reduces clubhouse patronage. However, this type of hidden factor has been recognised and has been allowed for in the management plan.
Membership applications on hand exceeded 120, and to allow for admission to so many at this time would not be in the best interests of the club as this would cause more problems on current available playing times.
The annual "Pro-Mixed" continues to gain status with bigger prize money being the lure to attract more well known professionals to Beverley Park. The Calcutta, held in the clubhouse a week prior to the event proved most popular and created the atmosphere necessary to ensure this event's success.