Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

War hero and Rosanna Golf Club legend Reg Ballard celebrated his 100th birthday in April, nine days before Anzac Day. This remarkable character tells BRIAN MELDRUM of his love for the game he says keeps him young. Reg Ballard has played golf in a way that most of us have only read about. He’s also seen things that most of us have only read about. Why, you might ask? Three reasons. He’s a passionate golfer, is one of the last remaining Rats of Tobruk, and in April this year celebrated his 100th birthday. His age puts him among the very few golfers living who have played the game competitively with equipment little removed from that used by the likes of Old Tom Morris and Harry Vardon, and also with today’s state-of-the-art technology. His war experiences have, by circumstance, linked his name with one of Australia’s most unique and legendary fighting forces, which inflicted the first World War Two defeat on the all- conquering Germans. And today he can lay claim to being one of the very oldest of golfers still teeing it up, yet his enthusiasm for the game has not diminished one jot. “I live for it,” Reg said. Unfortunately, a bout with skin cancer lately has put a limit on Reg’s golf – “I’ll be back playing in a couple of weeks” – but it’s not so long ago he was playing upwards of 200 rounds a year. That’s right, 200 – at Rosanna, where he’s been a member for over 50 years. Not only that, but he insisted on walking and pulling his buggy because, he said, golf is as much about walking as playing, and it’s pretty hard to argue with him. That he’s had to use a golf cart – one provided by the club – while being treated for the cancer is a source of disappointment but when he’s able, he still plays up to three times a week. Reg, now a 30-marker, is happy to admit to being a middle-of-the-road golfer. “I got down to a handicap of 16 at one point – I’m not a bad putter – but it wasn’t for long. I was never the best golfer, but I love the game.” Not just the game, it seems, but everything that golf stands for – the benefit to one’s health, the overall ANDTHE REG ANZAC Spirit Rosanna legend … Reg Ballard at home. Left: The portrait of Reg commissioned by Rosanna Golf Club. game for life by Brian Meldrum 32 Golf Victoria