Golf Vic Vol 60 No 3 2019

Much has changed since the then Victorian Golf magazine was published as a 12- page mono journal in June 1959. But as we celebrate the 60th birthday of Australia’s oldest golf magazine, one thing hasn’t changed. Then, as now, its primary responsibility was communication with golfers about the game they play and love. In a front page welcome message, the President of the then Victorian Golf Association, D.S. (David) Martin, expressed the hope that the journal will “not only have a long life but that, as time passes, it will increase in stature and become the authentic source of golf news, guidance and information.” We think it gets a big tick on all of that. The journal was introduced because the administrators of golf back then had minimal means of communicating their message and felt there was a misunderstanding of what they did and why. They were also disappointed, even then, in the way the newspapers of the day had begun to reduce their coverage of amateur golf. What would they think today? Their solution in 1959 – producing their own publication – was not really that much different to the way Golf Victoria and Golf Australia have combatted today’s near-total lack of amateur golf coverage in mainstream media by distributing their own news via Twitter, Facebook, podcast, Instagram and YouTube. As society and the means of communication changed down the years, the Victorian Golf journal grew and changed with the times. Crucially, it had the support of the clubs. And with television in its infancy and national newsstand golf magazines still years from being introduced, it also had solid advertising support. In the first edition, the Holepoof ‘Millionaire’ cotton- knit shirt, endorsed by the then four -time British Open champion Peter Thomson, was advertised for two pounds and five shillings in short sleeves and an extra four and a half shillings in long sleeves. The big new thing for the liquor trade was the invention of the beer can. Carlton & United Breweries advertised its products with the slogan: ‘When it’s a two-glass occasion, cans save you money’. By the early 1960s, the VGA was even selling its front cover to advertisers, although editorial integrity did return as the full colour product took pride in its extensive coverage of professional and elite amateur golf. Every big name of the last half century has had a turn on the front cover, some appearing as fresh-faced teenage amateurs and returning to feature years later holding big international trophies. 60 YEARS OF STORYTELLING gallery by Karen Harding and Mark Harding Cartoon: Paul Harvey Golf Victoria 49