The Vicars Shield was a professional team

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

competition between the states of Australia. It was first played in 1930 and continued as an interstate event until 1956. It was the professional equivalent of the amateur

Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches The Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches were an amateur team golf competition for men between the states and territories of Australia. The event started in 1904 when New South Wales played Victoria. Until World War II the event was played a ...

, which had been held since 1904. The trophy was donated by Sir William Vicars. In 1957 and 1958, the event was replaced with a "north" against "south" match before being abandoned. The shield was later reused for the interstate club professionals' competition, as part of the Australian Club Professional Championship.

History

The first event was held at the

Metropolitan Golf Club The Metropolitan Golf Club is one of the renowned sandbelt courses of Melbourne and is widely recognised as one of the finest championship courses in Australia. It is located in Oakleigh South, in the city's south-eastern suburbs, approximately ...

in 1930 between South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. It was played as a triangular match with teams of eight playing singles in the morning and foursomes in the afternoon. Half of the team played each of the other two states. Matches were played over the full 18 holes, the result being decided by the sum of holes ahead in matches won. South Australia won with a total of 20 holes, with Victoria on 14 and New South Wales on 11. In 1931 at

The Australian Golf Club The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 20 Australian Open ...

the shield was played as a stroke-play event with teams of five, all five scores counting. New South Wales had three teams while Queensland and Tasmania playing as a combined team. South Australia won with a score of 373, 10 ahead of the combined Queensland and Tasmania team. The New South Wales teams came third, fourth and fifth with Victoria sixth. South Australian Willie Harvey had a round of 69, three better than anyone else. The format was revised in 1932 to be the same as the amateur event, teams of seven playing singles match-play. It was played at Royal Adelaide, three teams competing. Victoria beat New South Wales and then beat South Australia in the final. In 1933, the team size was reduced to five, a format that was retained until the interstate event was dropped in 1956. New South Wales won the shield for the first time, beating Victoria 5–0 in the final. Although it was usually held the same day as the amateur interstate match, in 1934 it was held the day before. Queensland entered as a separate team for the first time and beat Victoria before losing 3–2 to New South Wales in the final. Queenslander

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won both his matches. The 1935 event was played at Royal Adelaide and South Australia beat both New South Wales and Victoria 3–2 to regain the shield. Fergus McMahon beat both Billy Bolger and Ted Naismith. New South Wales regained the shield in 1936 but only after beating Victoria 3–2 in a close final. Four of the five matches went to the final hole, New South Wales winning two of these after extra holes. Billy Bolger won both of his matches after extra holes, with Bill Holder also twice on the day. In 1937 four teams entered including Queensland and South Australia. These two teams didn't have enough player for a team and added players from other states, Queensland including a New South Wales player, while South Australia added two Tasmanians, the two teams playing each other in a morning match. However after the match was finished it was decided that the match involving these other players would not count. South Australia won two of the three matches, while Queensland, with four players to South Australia's three, were given another match to leave the match tied at two each. South Australia won a playoff but, with only three players, had little change in the final against New South Wales. They lost 4–1,

Rufus Stewart William Rufus Clyde Stewart (27 September 1893 – 23 April 1964) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the 1927 Australian Open and the 1929 Australian Professional Championship. In 1928 he travelled to Britain and America, playing in ...

having their only success. Royal Adelaide was the host course in 1938 but South Australia were unable to repeat their success of 1935, losing to New South Wales in the morning match. New South Wales beat Victoria 4–1 in the final to retain the shield. There were four team again in 1939, Western Australia entering for the first time, replacing Queensland. New South Wales met Victoria in the final and, although

Norman Von Nida Norman Guy Von Nida (14 February 1914 – 20 May 2007) was an Australian professional golfer. Von Nida was born in Strathfield and grew up in Brisbane. He turned professional in 1933, after attracting attention by winning the 1932 Queensland ...

and

Eric Cremin Eric James Cremin (15 June 1914 – 29 December 1973) was an Australian professional golfer who, later in his career, was instrumental in the establishment of the Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit. Cremin was born in Mascot ...

won the top two matches for New South Wales, Victoria won the last three to win the shield for the first time since 1932. The organisation of Australian golf was changed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with the open and amateur championships being separated, although they were often played in the same city at about the same time. The amateur interstate matches became a preliminary to the

Australian Amateur The Australian Amateur is the national amateur golf championship of Australia. It has been played annually since 1894, except for the war years, and is organised by Golf Australia. Having traditionally been a match play event, from 2021 it has b ...

while the Vicars Shield was a preliminary to the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

. Five entered in 1946, meaning that the event spread over two days for the first time. Victoria beat South Australia and then Queensland to reach the final, but then lost 5–0 to New South Wales. There were only three teams at Royal Queensland in 1947 and one of those, Victoria, only had four players. A player short, Victoria beat Queensland in the morning but lost 4–1 to New South Wales in the afternoon,

Ossie Pickworth Horace Henry Alfred "Ossie" Pickworth (17 January 1918 – 23 September 1969) was a leading Australian professional golfer of the 1940s and 1950s, winner of three successive Australian Open titles from 1946 to 1948, the last of which came in ...

winning their only point after beating

in the top match. There were five teams at Kingston Heath in 1948, although Queensland and Western Australia were a player short. New South Wales again beat Victoria in the final. Cremin reversed the result of the previous year against Pickworth,

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being the only Victorian winner. New South Wales won again in 1949, this time without losing a match, beating both Victoria and South Australia 5–0. The 1950 semi-final match between New South Wales and Victoria was very close. New South Wales won 3–2 with

Jim Moran James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington ...

beating Martin Smith at the 19th hole. New South Wales went on to beat South Australia 5–0 in the final. Victoria won in 1951, their first success since 1939, and won again in 1952 and 1953. They met New South Wales in all three finals, winning them all in close matches, 3–2. In 1951

beat

by 2 holes in the top match, with

defeating Sid Cowling at the 19th hole. The 1952 event at Lake Karrinyup saw the top three Victorians,

Peter Thomson Peter Thomson may refer to: * Peter Thomson (golfer) (1929–2018), Australian golfer * Peter Thomson (diplomat) (born 1948), Fiji's Permanent Representative to the United Nations * Peter Thomson (footballer) (born 1977), English footballer * Peter ...

, Pickworth and

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, all winning their matches. In 1953,

Kel Nagle Kelvin David George Nagle AM (21 December 1920 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975. Biography Nagle was bor ...

beat Thomson in the top match but Pickworth, Harris and Denis Denehey won their matches. New South Wales regained the shield in 1954 with a narrow 3–2 win over Victoria.

beat

but

and Jim McInnes won their matches. The 1955 event was held at Gailes in Queensland. Victoria had a narrow win over Queensland in the semi-final and met New South Wales in the final. Pickworth again beat Von Nida but wins by Nagle, Cremin and Len Woodward ensured that New South Wales retained the shield. Les Wilson and Len Boorer were still level after 20 holes but abandoned their match with the result decided. 1956 was the last time the shield was contested as an interstate contest. South Australia only had four players and didn't enter, leaving just two teams. Von Nida, Nagle, Cremin withdrew from the New South Wales team and, as a result, Pickworth and Harris withdrew from the Victorian team. New South Wales won the match 5–0. In 1957 the shield was contested as a north versus south match at

Kingston Heath Golf Club Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia, located in Cheltenham, Victoria. The course is situated on the sandbelt region in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne famed for its golf courses, with Kingston Heath consis ...

. The north consisted of New South Wales and Queensland with the south being the remaining states. There were teams of 10 playing singles and foursomes. As in 1956, some of the leading players decided not to play. In 1958 the shield was used for a match for young professionals. After a number of years the shield was reused for the interstate club professionals' competition, as part of the Australian Club Professional Championship.

Results

Source:

Teams

New South Wales

*1930: Billy Bolger,

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, Arthur Downes, Frank Eyre, Tom Howard, Sandy Robertson, Don Spence *1931 Team 1: Billy Bolger, Walter Clark, Frank Eyre, Charlie Gray, Tom Howard *1931 Team 2:

, William Mackenzie,

Fred Popplewell Frederick Popplewell (12 June 1887 – 5 July 1966) was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Australian Open twice, in 1925 and 1928. Early life Popplewell became as assistant at Royal Sydney Golf Club in about 1903. He was briefly em ...

, Sam Richardson, Don Spence *1931 Team 3:

, Arthur Downes, Arthur East, Vic James, Jim Petterson *1932: Bill Campbell,

, Frank Eyre, Vic James, William Mackenzie, Sam Richardson, Don Spence *1933: Billy Bolger, Frank Eyre, Charlie Gray, Sam Richardson, Tom Heard *1934: Billy Bolger,

Joe Cohen Joe Cohen (born June 6, 1984) is an American former player of American and Canadian football who was a defensive tackle. Cohen played college football for the University of Florida, and was a member of a BCS National Championship team. He w ...

, Charlie Gray, Lou Kelly, Sam Richardson *1935: Billy Bolger,

, Charlie Gray, Lou Kelly, Sam Richardson *1936: Billy Bolger,

Charlie Booth Charlie Booth (1 October 1903 – 20 May 2008)Vale Charlie Booth 1903–2008

, Bill Holder, Sam Richardson, Don Spence *1937: Billy Bolger,

, Lou Kelly, Sam Richardson,

*1938:

, William Mackenzie, Jim Petterson, Sam Richardson,

*1939: Billy Bolger,

, Sam Richardson, Don Spence,

*1946: Billy Bolger,

, Lou Kelly,

, Sam Richardson *1947: Billy Bolger, Fred Bolger,

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Dan Cullen Daniel James Cullen (born 10 April 1984) is a former Australian first-class cricketer who played for South Australia and Somerset in a career that lasted from 2004 to 2009. He was a right-arm off break bowler who appeared six times for Austr ...

*1948: Billy Bolger,

, Bill Holder, Lou Kelly,

*1949:

, Bill Holder,

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*1950: Sid Cowling,

*1951: Norman Berwick, Sid Cowling,

*1952:

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, John Collins,

*1953:

, Bill Holder,

, Les Wilson, Len Woodward *1954:

, Jim McInnes,

, Frank Phillips,

*1955:

, Les Wilson, Len Woodward *1956: Sid Cowling,

Bruce Crampton Bruce Crampton (born 28 September 1935) is an Australian professional golfer. Early life Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953 he reached final of the New South Wales ...

, Frank Phillips, Les Wilson, Len Woodward New South Wales had three teams in 1931.

Queensland

*1931:

(Q), Alex Denholm (Q), Les McManus (T), Jock Robertson (T),

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(Q) *1934:

, Alex Denholm, Arthur Gazzard, Arch McArthur, Ossie Walker *1937:

, Arthur Gazzard, Arch McArthur, Ossie Walker *1938: Eddie Anderson, Doug Katterns, Ossie Stanley, Ossie Walker, Reg Want *1946: Arthur Gazzard, Joe Heath, Jim McInnes, Ossie Walker, Reg Want *1947: Eddie Anderson, Ken Jones, Jim McInnes, Ossie Walker, Reg Want *1948: Ken Jones, Jim McInnes, Ossie Walker, Reg Want *1955: Jack Brown, Doug Katterns, Ossie Walker, Reg Want, Darrell Welch Queensland and Tasmania had a combined team in 1931.

South Australia

*1930: Alex Denholm (Q), Willie Harvey,

Jimmy McLachlan James McLachlan (1870 – ''unknown'') was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Derby County and Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The te ...

, Fergus McMahon, Les McManus (T), Jock Robertson (T),

(Q),

*1931: Ernie Bissett, Willie Harvey,

, Fergus McMahon,

*1932: Eric Alberts, Willie Harvey,

, Fergus McMahon,

, Fred Thompson, Alf Toogood *1933: Willie Harvey,

, Fergus McMahon,

, Fred Thompson *1935: Willie Harvey,

, Fergus McMahon,

, Alf Toogood *1936: Bruce Auld, Willie Harvey,

, Fergus McMahon,

*1937: Willie Harvey, Bill Robertson,

*1938: Bruce Auld, Willie Harvey, Fergus McMahon, Bill Robertson,

*1939: Bruce Auld, Willie Harvey, Bill Kenyon, Bill Robertson,

*1946: Bruce Auld, Alex Bullock, Willie Harvey, Angus Polson,

*1948: Bruce Auld, Denis Denehey, Willie Harvey, Jim Mills, Gordon Westthorp *1949: Bruce Auld, Alex Bullock, Denis Denehey, Jim Mills, Gordon Westthorp *1950: Bruce Auld, Murray Crafter, Willie Harvey, Fred Thompson, Gordon Westthorp *1951: Bruce Auld, Angus Polson, Fred Thompson, Gordon Westthorp *1952: Bruce Auld, Brian Crafter, Angus Polson, Fred Thompson, Gordon Westthorp *1953: George Cussell, Bob James, Jim Mills, Fred Thompson *1954: Bruce Auld, George Cussell, Jim Mills, Fred Thompson, Gordon Westthorp The South Australian team included two players from Queensland and two from Tasmania in 1930.

Victoria

*1930: Reg Jupp, Arthur Le Fevre, George Naismith, Ted Naismith, Arthur Spence, Don Thomson, Ernie Wood, Jock Young *1931: Charlie Conners, Bill Fowler, George Naismith, Arthur Spence, Jock Young *1932: Bill Fowler, George Jordan, Reg Jupp, George Naismith, Ted Naismith, Billy Smith, Ernie Wood *1933: Horace Boorer, Charlie Conners, Reg Jupp, George Naismith, Ted Naismith *1934: Horace Boorer, Charlie Conners, George Naismith, Ted Naismith, Ernie Wood *1935: Horace Boorer, George Naismith, Ted Naismith,

, Ernie Wood *1936: Ron Harris, George Naismith, Ted Naismith,

, Ernie Wood *1937: Horace Boorer, Charlie Conners, Ron Harris, George Naismith, Ted Naismith *1938: Ron Harris, George Naismith, Ted Naismith, Billy Smith,

*1939: George Naismith, Ted Naismith,

, Arthur Spence, Ernie Wood *1946: Horace Boorer, Bert Ferguson, Bill Fowler, George Naismith, Ted Naismith, Billy Smith,

*1947: Len Boorer, Ted Naismith,

*1948: Bill Clifford,

, Ted Naismith,

*1949: George Naismith, Ted Naismith,

, Al Whykes,

Ray Wright Horace Raymond Wright (6 September 1918 – August 1987) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as an inside forward. He started his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers, making eight ...

*1950: Len Boorer,

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, George Naismith, Ted Naismith,

*1951: Denis Denehey,

, Ted Naismith,

*1952: Denis Denehey,

, George Naismith,

*1953: Jack Boorer, Denis Denehey,

*1954:

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, Denis Denehey,

, Ted Naismith,

*1955: Len Boorer,

, Ken Loy, Ted Naismith,

*1956:

, Brian Huxtable, Ken Loy, John Sullivan, Brian Twite