Tim Taylor reports from Melbourne, Australia:
A full field of 33 players gathered at Frankston Golf Club on Sunday, Aug. 16, for the Golf Society of Australia’s 2026 Annual Hickory Day.
The field brought together experienced hickory golfers, Society members and guests from clubs across Victoria, including several players enjoying their first experience with hickory-shafted clubs. Many embraced the occasion with plus-fours, ties, flat caps and other period attire.
The Annual Hickory Day is one of the oldest events on the Golf Society’s calendar. It was first played in February 1983, only 15 months after the group that established the Society first came together, and helped launch the Society’s program of social and playing activities.
Frankston is an especially fitting venue. Its secluded nine-hole course was laid out in 1912–13 by Victorian golf professional and course designer Dick Banks. The course remains little changed and provides an ideal setting for playing the game with traditional equipment.
The 2026 competition was played over 18 holes with players competing in a Stableford format.
Doug Turek won the Frank Shepherd Trophy for the leading man, while Golf Society president Kim Hastie won the Burtta Cheney Trophy for the leading woman.
The trophies honour two important figures in the Society’s history and remain an enduring connection between the Society’s heritage work and the enjoyment of playing golf as earlier generations experienced it.
The Golf Society is grateful to Frankston Golf Club for once again allowing members and guests to enjoy its distinctive course and clubhouse.
The next major event on the Society’s Hickory calendar is the third Victorian Hickory Shaft Championships, to be played at Queenscliff Golf Club on Saturday, September 12, and Barwon Heads Golf Club on Sunday, Sept. 13.
