The Australian team won the second annual International Hickory Golf Test Match against Australia’s traditional sporting rival, England, reversing the result of the inaugural match last year.
The Australia vs England Hickory Golf Test Match was organised by Dr Ian Monks, a member of the Eastern Golf Club in Yering.
Dr Monks said, before 1929, golf was played with hickory-shafted clubs, and many people are still enthusiastic about continuing to use those clubs.
“We decided we would have a test match between England and Australia but using hickory sticks,” he said.
“Along with the hickory clubs, there’s also traditional dress, and a lot of players dressed in sort of traditional 1920s clothing.
“We also fly both the Australian flag and the Union Jack at the course on the day, which also adds to the atmosphere.”
The 2025 International Hickory Golf Test Match was hosted at the Frankston Golf Club for the Australian team on 22 May and at the Royal North Devon Golf Club at Westward Ho in the south-west of England for the England team on the following day.
Dr Monks said a World Course Rating System and a World Handicapping System enabled two teams to compete at two different locations.
“The World Course Rating System and the World Handicap System mean that you can basically play anywhere in the world on any course to have a competition. So I could play here in Melbourne, someone could play in Brisbane, Japan, Auckland or England, and we can compare their scores because of the way that handicapping and course rating systems work,” he said.
“The World Course Rating System and the World Handicapping System create a level playing field. So the only variable, then, is the course condition.
“And that’s why we chose the end of May because it provides some equitable course conditions, coming at the end of the Australian autumn and the end of the English spring.”
The best 10 scores from the Australian team’s cards totalled 305 stableford points while the England team’s totalled 274 stableford points.
Warburton Golf Club’s Paul Kennedy played for the Australian team.
Ancel Greenwood represented the Eastern Golf Club as an emergency along with Dr Monks, the match organiser and non-playing captain.
The Frankston Golf Club is little changed since it was laid out in 1913, and is a wonderful venue for hickory golf.
The Royal North Devon is the oldest golf course in England and was designed by old Tom Morris in 1864.
It is on seaside common land, and the golfers share the links with walkers and grazing sheep and ponies.
