All posts by Alan McDonald

History

History Nugget Answers Vol 1 No 1

Answers to recent questions posed by our History Sub-Committee provide some interesting history of the game and rules of golf.

The last question has particular relevance to the most recent US Open staged at Chambers Bay where the USGA found it necessary to clearly mark the perimeter of the greens.

Question #1. How many Opens (British) did Peter Thomson win

Five: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965

Question #2. How many Opens (British) did Norman von Nida win

None, though he was often in contention. His best performance was tied third in 1948.

Question #3. At the Australian Open in 1951 what was the area of the 18th putting green at Metropolitan?

A good and an acceptable answer is 1256.64 square yards (or 1050.71 square metres) that includes the area occupied by the hole, 18.06 square inches (or 27.42 square centimetres). In fact the other seventeen putting greens at Metropolitan had the same area, as indeed did every putting green in Australia.

In 1951 the putting green was defined as the area within 20 yards of the hole. (Area of a circle = πr2, for those who remember their school geometry, 20 yards being the radius). This was a left over from the club rules of the R&A in 1875, when the area around the hole was generally indistinguishable from the fairway. In 1952 the definition was changed to one we would recognise today, namely an area especially prepared for putting.

The point of asking this question was to remind golfers that many of the rules in golf have changed radically over the years. For the pedants even that wonderfully precise figure of 1256.64 square yards is not good enough for two reasons. First, humps and hollow on the green add more area of grass than would be if the green were flat. Second, in 1951 water hazards and bunkers within twenty yards of the hole, wherever it may have been cut, were not considered part of the putting green.

The history of the Rules of Golf can be explored on www.ruleshistory.com , which has transcriptions of the Rules from the earliest, 1744, to the present.

Relevance to the latest US Open at Chambers Bay

During the time when all greens were declared by way of radius from the hole, golf course maintenance equipment was also far less precise than it is today. Playing surfaces were often maintained by grazing animals. In many climates, there was no difference in grass variety between that grown on the fairway and that grown within 20 yards of the hole.

Chambers Bay Golf Course is an example of how many courses today are cultivated with similar grass varieties and with only a subtle change in blend of grass from fairway to green in order to achieve an acceptable putting surface.

And so they are left with great difficulty in recognising an area especially prepared for putting. The USGA was forced to mark the perimeter of the greens to accommodate the current rules of golf. That is, the area of the green needed to be recognisable so players could mark, clean and replace their balls on the green.

Hickory Results

Bobby Locke Trophy

Held – Tuesday 25 August at Cabramatta Golf Club

Again, like at Rosnay in July, the weather outlook was not good for the day, but the Hickory Golf weather God smiled on our group and the day stayed fine albeit windy. The field comprised 11 players intent on staking their position in the field of eight for the match play to follow the qualifying round and most of us found the layout challenging with the hickories playing off the white markers.

The field included Andrew Wilson who was escaping the rain down south at Kiama and Neville Rider who subsequently joined the AGHS as a member post the game, welcome Neville and we hope to see your smiling face at many more games.

Because of the recent rain many bunkers had considerable casual water lying in them, it was determined bunkers be regarded as GUR and the local rule on the day was 30cm preferred lie on the fairways.

That said, no player was able to record a nine with a score on each hole, perhaps indicative of the conditions encountered on the day.

The clubhouse leader was established from the first group home & he was never headed. The scores on the day ranged from 24 down to 12 in total with a number of players having considerable difference on their score card on each nine some varied by as much as 6 points.

As the tallying of the scores progressed 3 players indicated they were not wishing to participate in the subsequent match play rounds, so the field was effectively reduced to 8 in the event.

The players who qualified were in descending order of scores :-

Tom Moore, David Brydson, Des Froneman, Curley Keane, Andrew Wilson, Dennis Sundin, Ross Howard and Arthur Penton. So now the match play starts off handicap with 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6 & 4 v 5.

Round 1 round 2 final
Tom Moore – 1
Vs
Arthur Penton – 8
David Brydson – 2
Vs
Ross Howard – 7
Des Froneman – 3
Vs
Dennis Sundin – 6
Curley Keane – 4
Vs
Andrew Wilson – 5

Oral History

Margery McWilliam Interview

Interview 1:

Interview 2:

Patron Australian Golf Heritage Society since 2012
Member of Bonnie Doon Golf Club since 15th February, 1950
Life Member Bonnie Doon Golf Club 2000
Lady President of Bonnie Doon GC: 1963 – 1965 and 2001 – 2004
Lady Captain of Bonnie Doon GC: 1960 – 1962 and 1971 – 1975
NSWLGU Council member 1963-1979, 1987-1991, 1993-1996
NSWLGU Match Committee member 1968-1979, 1987-1996 (Chair – from Jan 1975-Aug 1979, 1989-1996)
NSWLGU Junior Golf Committee member 1965-1967
NSWLGU Finance Committee member 1976-1977, 1990-1991
NSWLGU Scratch Score (Course Rating) Committee member 1965-1967-1974, 1993-1994
NSWLGU Vice President 1973, 1975-1977, 1980, 1990-1991
NSW Delegate to ALGU 1974-1978
Elected NSWLGU Counsellor in 1996
Awarded Distinguished Service NSW Sports Federation Award in 2006
Lived in Malaysia from late 1979, for 7 years. Death of husband Bill McWilliam (golfer) 2008.
Ladies Australian Hickory Shaft Champion in 1999 & 2000.

Project Name: Australian Golf Heritage Society Oral History Project
For further information and a project brief, please contact: Curator/Collection Manager
Australian Golf Heritage Society: 9637 4720      museum@australiangolfheritage.org.au
Interview Length 57:34 – archival WAV (948MB)
Interview 1
53:45 – edited MP3 (49.2MB)
25:02 – Archival WAV (412MB)
Interview 2
22:53 – edited MP3 (20.9 MB)
Interview Number No.6 of series
Timed log X
Name of interviewee/ narrator Margery McWilliam.
Sometimes referred to as Marge but known correctly as Margery.
Date of Birth 26/6/1926
Date of Interview 7/6/2015 (Interview 1) and 29/6/2015 (Interview 2)
Place of Interview Margery McWilliam home in Stella Maris Nursing Home, Cronulla, NSW Australia

Technical Data – Sound Files

Brand and Model of Digital Recorder Zoom H4N
Brand and type of microphone Zoom H4N inbuilt with sock
Sound Storage Medium used – USB, CD/DVD – client History Herstory has back-up copies
Location of Back-up Home – various and Dropbox, AGHS Museum
Digital Recording Rate     Uncompressed WAV 24 bit 48 kHz  archivalCD (WAV – 44.1/16) and MP3 – edited
Sound Field Stereo

 Technical Data – Photographs/Images

Full Title of each item Margery McWilliam portrait scanned from narrator photograph
Place/location where photograph was taken Cruise ship
Creator Unknown
Source Access/Restrictions/Copyright Nil restrictions
Model of Digital Camera Unknown
File Format (eg JPEG, TIFF, RAW) JPG
Pixel dimension 1878 X 1350
No. of images 1
Additional documentation, images and artefacts Information about Margery is available online.

 Documentation

Signed Conditions of Interview Use Form X
Signed release form for photos provided by interviewee X

 TIMED INTERVIEW SUMMARY

Time Subjects Additional Information
0:00 -0:99  Project introduction AGHS –Australian Golf Heritage Society.
1:00 – Standard Genealogical information: DOB: Born in 26/6/1926 (date provided by daughter). Aged, 89 (provided by daughter). Born in Bathurst, NSW. Her father was with the Department of Agriculture. Moved from Bathurst to Wyong then Goulburn because of her father’s job. Had a rural upbringing. Met her husband in Goulburn when he was in the army. Margery married 7/2/1948 Goulburn.  Margery didn’t play golf as a child, started playing in her 20s. Attended school in Wyong. When she got married her husband was the golf professional at Goulburn Golf Course. He later took up the position at Beverley Park in NSW. Her brother and father were both golf champions and her father had helped design the course at Wyong. Her mother played golf at Goulburn at Tully Park Golf Club, Goulburn, named after someone on the council. Margery had a sister who died from Cancer and her brother, the club champion at Goulburn Golf Club. Goulburn Golf Club was a good club to play at but the club didn’t encourage young people to join as a danger on the course was that a train line ran through the course so players had to stop and wait for trains travelling through. Her husband ensured the course was cared for, fertilised appropriately – response given when asked about Goulburn being in a drought area. Margery Grace McWilliam, sometimes called Marge, but more correctly and commonly Margery is used.  38 Chantry Street, Goulburn NSW – Tully Park Golf Club. Margery comes from a golfing family.  Blackshaw Rd Goulburn, NSW – Goulburn Golf Club.))NSW 2580Margery’s husband is Golf Professional, Bill McWilliam (deceased).
11:45 Work additional to homemaker, mother and work for golf: worked for a solicitor at the courthouse in Goulburn during the war. Her father was in charge of providing steel posts and wood to people on the land during the war years.  
14:19 Margery had three children. She used to do the books and accounts for her husband as the Golf Professional at Beverley Park. Margery used to play at the golf club and also played in the competitions. She made good friends, thinks she’s outlived most of them. Beverley Park Golf Club in St George district, Southern Sydney, NSW.
18:30 Margery was in the NSW State Hockey Team. After being injured with a black eye in a hockey match her father encouraged Margery to take up golf instead of hockey. Funny retelling of having a black eye. Overall, Margery’s family was very ‘sporty’.
21:00 Descriptions of team golf outfits – matching skirt and sweater. Ladies clubs compared to the clubs used by men. Margery has noticed that Golf, like any sport, has made great improvements in its equipment. Her favourite golf brand was whatever let her hit the ball best! She didn’t use a golf caddy. She only had her bag pulled for her on grade days. In ‘those’ days you had someone who was in the team caddy for you on a special occasion. Female players had female caddies.  
24:55 Played in Malaysia at Royal Selangor Golf Club and did well in competitions, won the Foursomes, received many trophies over the years. She and Bill lived in Malaysia with Bill as the Golf Professional for seven years. Living in Malaysia was very enjoyable. This was when her children were older and grown-up from approximately 1979. Margery also did the books for the club office; she was very busy with club life and business. Kuala Lumpur Malaysia – Royal Selangor Golf Club.
27:27  Margery’s assistance was for female Golf players. She was on a committee at Bonnie Doon. Margery explained that at most clubs the male and female committees were separate apart from organisation for mixed play. The atmosphere between male and female organisers was always very friendly.  
29:28 Major honours: NSW Sports Federation Distinguished Long Service Award, New South Wales Sports Awards, 2006 and Australia Day 2008 Order of Australia medal. Margery was always thrilled for what she was doing for the clubs. Margery referred to the lessons given by Golf Professionals such as her husband. He was very patient. Bill also taught children at Beverley Park for free. Margery did not teach golf. Bill tied to help Margery with her game. Bill was especially patient with new players. Interviewer mistakenly gives wrong year for the NSW Sports Awards. Bill McWilliam was also awarded an Order of Australia medal. Probably they are a very unusual couple to both receive the prestigious honour.
34:18 Margery thinks Australia is good for golf as well as all sorts of sports because of the space and the climate. Margery thinks Karrie Webb is an excellent Australian player and also considers Sarah Kemp is excellent. Karrie Webb and Sarah Kemp are two major Australian female golfers.
36:25 Thinks players who earn millions of dollars to play golf are “jolly lucky”.  
37:00 International influences on Australian golf – everyone helped each other for the games. American golf influenced Australian players; Americans were leaders. Australian female players were “able to hold their own”. American golf helped improve the game. Mentions Sarah Kemp was taught by her husband, Bill. Interruption of knock and comment from Stella Maris employee removed at this point. Comments about her family’s connections to golf.
40:20 Green keepers today take pride in their work; they do the best they can.  
41:20 Margery loves watching golf on television and delights in being an armchair critic. She loves watching golf and stays up late to watch it on television.  
42:28 What is meant by the expression ‘Golf is a funny game’. Margery made a joke about counting the shots. Margery, instead of referring to golf as a ‘funny’ game made comments about the complexity and challenges of the game.  
43:46 Margery’s advice to up and coming players. Margery suggests players test themselves against amateurs before trying professional competition.  
44:43 Life on a committee: no troubles or arguments people are there to do a job. Sometimes a committee member would have a different point of view. Everyone was interested in doing the best for the clubs; for the competitions and the players.  
45:50 Australian selector – doing her best for the clubs and the players. Margery didn’t have trouble with the teams. She did her best to help players. Margery always kept track of their scores Australian selector:1977-1979 In Perth for one selection period.
47:20 Professional Golf Australia and Golf Australia (Amateur Golf Association) – was involved with both.  
48:38 Rules of Golf: Margery had a very thorough knowledge of the rules. No longer has a rule book. Knew the rules for the sake of the players. People sought her advice about the rules often, generally after matches. Jeanette Miller (daughter) is aware that her mother was considered a rules expert
50:46 Conclusion and final comments. Not everyone can be a champion but golf is a good game for people to play.  
     
   Interview 2: 29/6/2015  
0:00 – 0:38 Interview Identification information  
0:38 Bill McWilliam taught golf to the King of Malaysia. He was picked up by the king’s plane and flown to the palace for lessons. He had to follow protocol and be aware of time constraints. Lessons were held at Royal Selangor Golf course. The king’s daughter also played golf and had lessons with Bill. Both Margery and Bill were invited to a family wedding.  
6:05 The NSW Golf Course at La Peruse. The bunkers were very deep and it was hard to get the ball out. It was also hard for women to physically get out. The bunkers were adjusted for better access. Otherwise it was a very pleasant golf course to play at and caddies were provided for players.  
9:51 Bill once won a fridge in a ‘nearest to the pin’ competition. They were both thrilled because it was much better than the one they owned. Margery said the purses were good and players were happy with what they won in competitions.  
12:08 Measuring the holes for the NSW Golf Union. They used a type of tape. They did this to get a rating, a handicap for the people playing.  
13:53 Preparing the balls for the Beverley Park Night Range: Margery’s and Bill’s backyard was covered in wire mesh that allowed golf balls to rest and dry on the wire without falling out completely. Margery used to roll the balls in good white paint between the palms of her hands in such a manner the paint stayed put. And then the balls were turned over to dry. A red dash was put on all the balls to show they belonged to Bill’s night range. This was done to thousands of balls.  
18:31 Margery’s thoughts about the sometimes very short skirts worn by golfers such as Jan Stephenson. Jan was once asked to wear a longer skirt.  
21:00 Some holes had tees forward to help women players. Comments about the difficulty of the NSW Golf Course. Course designers have learned about courses that are too hard and adjust them. Comments about Australian Golf Club being an excellent, difficult but fair course. Australian Golf Club – Rosebery, Sydney, NSW