In all my years playing golf in Sydney I could not believe I have never had the occasion to play a round of golf at St. Michael’s.

My good friend and back-to-back AGWA champion, Patrick McCarville has been striving for some time to get me out to the golf course located along the shores of the Pacific Ocean and just 10 kilometres from Sydney’s CBD.

However it was another colleague, Anthony Powter and editor of www.golfgrinder.com who, along with his ultra-talented 11-year old son Aiden, who helped finally get me to the tee.

And what an experience!

Sydney is not nearly as blessed as rival city Melbourne when it comes to quality golf courses however St. Michael’s and near neighbour New South Wales Golf Club can surely hold their own against the famed ‘south of the border’ Sandbelt gams.

As regards to the history of St. Michael’s hereunder is Patrick’s notes on the history of club.

St. Michael’s Golf Club might never have come into being if Ted O’Keeffe had not caught the golf bug 65 years ago. Mr O’ Keeffe, though not a young man, took the game seriously and had regular lessons from Mr Will Corry, a leading professional, whose name is now immortalized at the 15th hole- Corry’s Creek. Ted O’ Keeffe had his first lessons on the Victoria Park Racecourse, Rosebery, where a nine-hole golf course had just been opened for play. So enthusiastic did he become that he got together a number of professionals for a weekday game at Victoria Park. He provided a set of gold cuff links for the winning amateur and a similar trophy for the professionals.

At the subsequent presentation, professional Frank Eyre suggested the formation of a social golf club, several of which were already in existence and playing on public courses. Even in those days, membership of golf clubs was hard to come by, and the cost of membership was outside the reach of many

Ray Vaughan thought Eyre’s suggestion a good one and sought the assistance of the Right Reverend Monsignor James Meany, the parish priest of Drummoyne, with whom he had been closely associated in the organization of the International Eucharistic Congress held in Sydney in 1928. Father Meany gave his enthusiastic support. He was a golfer of no mean calibre – a regular player at Concord Golf Club, on a low handicap. A preliminary meeting was held and it was decided to draw up a constitution and submit it to a subsequent meeting. On December 8, 1932 the constitution was approved and thus came into being “The Niblick Club”.

Father Meany was elected President and became Honorary Secretary with Mr Clem R B Glancey Captain and Handicapper. The first event was held at Victoria Park on the first Sunday in February 1933, and more than 20 players took part. Membership increased steadily and as Victoria Park become better known, play became difficult. It was then decided to seek an area of land on which to provide a course the club could control.

It was discovered that a man named Michael Moran had a lease of an area at La Perouse on which to construct a golf course. The area was between Prince Henry Hospital and NSW Golf Club. Ray Vaughan contacted Father Meany and the next day they met Moran at the sight of the proposed golf club and did the deal for $2000. The late Mr Vaughan, in his history of St. Michael’s, which was published on the Club’s 21st anniversary, says:

“I was somewhat elated at securing the lease, and in the course of conversation suggested that as we had to give the links a name, we might call it ‘Prince Henry’, as we were adjacent to the hospital of that name. I questioned whether we would have to get assent to use a royal title.”

Mr Moran interposed: “Do you know what I was going to call it? I was going to give myself a boost and call it St. Michael’s”

“Good enough,” said Father Meany “St. Michael’s it is.”

From the white tees, as Anthony and Aiden, were keen to play St.Michael’s measures 77 yards short of 6,o00 yards.  On the yellow tees the course plays to 5,379 yards to a par 70 while for the Ladies the course plays to 5,447 yards and to a par 74.

There was no bulldozers around when St. Michael’s was constructed so tractors were used to carve out large sections of tea trees and native shrub so much so that even today you find yourself playnig many holes, particulary those over the inward nine, as though you’re enclosed and without sighting other golfers on adjoining fairways.

There’s no weak holes at St. Michael’s but on the other hand there is a number of devilish challenges.

You may need to call on divine intervention particularly at the sixth and 16th where you may need to thread your tee shot through a virtual eye in a needle.   

Overall, St. Michael’s was a wonderful experience and thanks so much Anthony Powter aound his son, Aiden ‘Rory’ Powter.  Also a big thank you to club professional Rob Curtis.  Looking forward to seeing Rob at Augusta National this year.

* Click on photos to enlarge