Golf Vic Vol 60 No 3 2019

But Golf Victoria magazine has never been just about elite golf. In the early years, it was also a statement of record for tournaments big and small around the state, country and metropolitan pennant, and of developments at council meetings and other important industry decisions. The advent of the internet and social media has since enabled clubs around the state to take entries for their tournaments online, results are available on smartphones seconds after the winning putt has dropped, and comprehensive scores and reports are posted on websites that day. The magazine has responded by increasingly focussing on ‘the story behind the story’. And there are many of those, for every golfer has a story. Something else has changed this century – the amalgamation of the VGA and Women’s Golf Victoria (WGV) has paved the way for more gender-neutral coverage of golf. Only rarely in early years did the women’s game get any significant coverage anywhere but that has improved dramatically. We are proud that the modern magazine not only has a balanced coverage of men and women in golf but that the portrayal of women is more truly reflective of their place in the game. Along with this, there has been an increasing focus on all aspects of inclusion. That’s clearly the direction the game has to take. Because the point is that it is not only the game for life but the game for all. That’s why in recent years the magazine has produced covers featuring an octogenarian in John Green, a nine-year-old lad who lives with autism in Zac Herft and two of the primary movers in the fight for gender equality in Chyloe Kurdas and Stacey Peters. We’ve discussed the reasons why Vision 2025 is imperative, why inclusion is not a gift but a right, we’ve told the story of Donna Howard’s battle to overcome PTSD through playing golf with her assistance dog Ebony, of Judy Langford’s courageous return to the senior circuit after a near fatal car accident and the ripping pure- Aussie yarn of 100-year- old Reg Ballard, still playing three times a week at his beloved Rosanna. These are but a few snapshots of the stories that abound in the game of golf. Yes, it’s poignant that the 60th birthday issue of Golf Victoria is also its last print edition but the John Greens, Zac Herfts, Donna Howards, Judy Langfords and Reg Ballards will still have a voice in future Golf Australia communications. Because that’s how communication works. Every editor from the original volunteer F.S.B. Rickards, through Keith Brown, Don Lawrence, Gary Mansfield, Brian Meldrum and Henry Peters in association with longtime magazine manager Sue Shields has understood golf’s unique appeal as the game which challenges and engages us all. And that brings us to our own tenure as co-editors since January 2017. We have been privileged to hear and tell the stories of the golfers of Victoria and beyond. We have been honoured to dress the grand storyteller in her twilight years and present her as well as possible to her family. For a family it is. From the babes in their parents’ arms who don’t yet know they will play this great game, to the little Twinklers starting out with clubs as big as themselves, to the juniors taking it further with fun the main game, to the growing inclusion community whose courage inspires us to be better people more than better golfers, to the uber-talented club and state amateurs showing the promise of what can be, to the elite we can follow on their journey to greatness, to the seniors who have lived it and loved it all their lives – what a great community we have been fortunate to help connect through the magazine. It’s always been about the connection. About sharing your stories and telling you those of others. In that sense, Golf Victoria magazine has filled a unique place in golf literature. But modern times – changing times – call for appropriately modern strategies. Now it’s time for the matriarch of communication to take her bow and let her sons and daughters – the various forms of social media – take central stage while she is given a makeover and a new look. We hope you will welcome her in whatever form she takes in the future and remember the abiding message: your golf matters, your story is interesting, it’s always been for and about you . feature by JanelleWard DonnaHoward’s lifehasbeen turnedaround with thehelpof servicedogEbony. Donna’s Dogged Fightback 28 GolfVictoria social interaction and,perhapsmost importantly, the comradeship. Evenwhen he’sbeenunable toplay,Regdrives from hishome inMurrumbeena toRosanna, just to stay in touchwithhis golfingmates andhave abeerwith them.And they love to seehim. “Whenhewalks into the clubhouse, without fail every tablewill callout, ‘g’day Reg,hiReg’,”RosannaGolfClubpresident RodHughes said. “Everybody loveshim; aroundherewe callhim the ‘legend’.” Hughesdescribed it as remarkable that Regwas stillplaying, andplaying apretty handy game at that. “You can just about bethe’llwin theC-Grade comp at least once every twoor threemonths.” Three years ago the clubdecided tomake Reg apermanent fixture. It commissioned aportraitofhim and it comes asno surprise thaton thenight itwasunveiled, the clubhousewaspacked, aswas the case again this year at a clubdinner acknowledginghis centenary. Despitehis years,Reg stillholds the bearingof amilitaryman –deeply tanned, shouldersback, clippedmoustache – so it’s easy to envisagehimbeing among thosewhodefied themightof Erwin Rommel’sAfrikaKorps for sixmonths at Tobruk in thenorthern summerof1941. It’sharder to imaginehimwhacking, balata-covered golfballswithhickory shafted clubsaroundmakeshiftholeson apropertynearHarrow, in farwestern Victoria, in the late1920s,but right from the start thegame strucka chordwithhim. “Myparents leased a smallpropertyup thereback in the1920s, andDadbuilt a littlenine-hole course through the paddocks. Iwasonly sixor seven, and had a cut-downhickory club – I think it “When hewalks into the clubhouse, without fail every tablewill call out, ‘g’day Reg, hi Reg’. Everybody loves him; around herewe call him the ‘legend’.” Photography:DanielPockett GolfVictoria 33 @golf_vic GolfVictoria August/September2017 Volume58 -Number4 PP381 667667 0038 MONTANASTRAUSS WILLMORRELL JUDY LANGFORD BLAIRMULHOLLAND KARLVILIPS JOYCE SMITH JOHNGREEN 1.gameusing specially designed clubs tohita smallball intoa series ofholesdistributedover differentdistancesand havingnaturalorartificial obstacles,usingas few strokesaspossible. 2. an awesome sport! golf n. August/September2018 Volume59 -Number4 PP 381667 6670038 GolfVictoria @golf_vic 50 Golf Victoria