Judy Manning has a storied history of playing golf in Melbourne’s North. Judy’s family first became golfers after her father Stan Williams came home from World War II looking for a sport he could play with one arm. The whole family first played at Royal Park golf course, with Judy taking up the sport at age ten. Moving to Glenroy’s Northern Golf Club in 1953, she was runner-up in the Victorian Junior Championship in 1957 and 1958. She was crowned winner of the 1976 club championship, and in 1999, after six decades of contributions, was made a life member. In 1986 Victorian Equal Opportunity law changes saw women able to be admitted as full members of the club and Judy and Peg Ramsey became the first women to be elected to Northern’s main committee. The following is an abridged conversation that took place with Judy in August 2015.
How did you first get started playing golf?
Well, I was the last one, I was the youngest one in my family, so it was intended that Judy play too.
And that was at Royal Park, right? When did you guys move into the Glenroy area?
Well we used to live in Pascoe Vale and we used to catch the tram with our clubs down and then walk up from the tram stop at the zoo and walk up to Royal Park. Dad started fairly soon after he came home, probably 1941 or 1942, and he probably started looking at golf in the next year or two. And then my mother would have started, my brother was five years older than me, so then he would have started. I remember my thirteenth birthday or at Christmas I was given a half set of golf clubs.
Would you see other people catching the tram with their clubs as well?
Probably, and you wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Actually when I said thirteen, I used to have a five iron. And on a Sunday morning the Bell Street bus didn’t run until midday. So we used to walk through from PV down by the baths, to Melville road and catch the tram on the Sunday. So we’d already had our exercise by the time we got on the tram.
When did you join Northern golf club?
In 1953.
Were there heaps more men than ladies playing?
Oh yeah, in most golf clubs you’ll find that. I think even in the first Essendon one, there was quite a large component, but I think there was probably thirty odd ladies out of a component of 100. So that was probably a pretty good lady component at the golf club. We moved [to Northern] because Royal Park was on council land and there was some talk about the council going to take it over. So quite a few started leaving and coming to other courses, and we chose Northern because we lived near.
What do you remember about when you were learning to play golf?
I really didn’t take to it straight off. But in the sixth grade I fell off my bike and that was about the only thing the doctor would let me play because I hurt my left knee. So basically other than swimming, which I used to do for school… I played golf as a sport, but you could never do it for school because there weren’t enough people silly enough to play golf.
When did you fall in love with the game?
I don’t know, I suppose when I started playing well enough to win something or be noticed I guess. I played in a schoolgirls’ championship, but only in it must have been my last year at school and I think I played three or four junior championships and I was able to qualify in those.
You won the 1976 club championship at Northern – tell me about that day.
It was good… I can’t even remember where I qualified, but I don’t think I was really meant to beat any of the ones that I beat. I was obviously playing well at the time and confident. I had beaten the previous champion on the second to last day, and on the last day I was playing a girl called Ellie Barclay and a few weeks before we’d decided to play together in the foursomes championship. I can remember coming up after I’d driven in and I said, ‘who’d have thought when we worked that out that one of us was going to be playing with the champion’. And as it turns out it was lucky enough to be me. We played 18 in the morning, came in for lunch, then we played the second 18 in the afternoon and I won on the 14th in the afternoon. And the 14th was a very tricky par three in those days and I obviously must have played it well, it was a while ago. I managed to get to the final again, but only once, although I usually most times qualified but it was probably towards the bottom and I’d get put out in the first or second round. But nah it was a lovely day.
You and Peg Ramsey were the first women to serve on Northern’s main committee. What was the reaction when that happened?
Well I just felt that we were suffragettes. Well we’d probably never really thought of it because it had only ever been men, because it was a men’s club. When you joined Northern you knew it was a men’s club. And we were associates. I must admit I thought associates were ‘women golfers’, not the true meaning of the word associates, which didn’t strike me for many years. But in the end when it was projected and we decided to do it, I got quite a kick out of it actually, because I quite like being on committees and trying to perhaps better things for people or trying to nut things out in a way that might be easier or better… I suppose Michael [Church, club president] told you why we had to do it?
Because of the Equal Opportunity legislation?
Yeah and we were one of the first clubs to have it because it was at that time connected with your licensing… but there was another club, and we were the first two that their liquor licence was up for renewal. It was funny because when it was starting to come in the VLGU [Victorian Ladies’ Golf Union] said “we don’t want equal, equal rights, we’re happy, and let it evolve”. And that’s how most golf clubs in Melbourne thought.
Why was that?
Well you knew it was going to be more expensive, you knew there would be a lot of ironing out of things to do. But most women golfers of the time were quite happy, because you could play any day of the week, you could play on a Sunday. You’ve gotta do your housework. You could really play quite a few days if you wanted. But the powers that be of the time decided no, that was it, everyone had to do it.
Do you remember there being much resistance to it?
Oh men, yes, there was resistance. At Northern in the old days, because it was a men’s course they had right of way except on our playing days. So if men came up behind you, even if there only one there, you had to stand aside and let them through. And there were men that were known to run while they were behind you, they’d go through [ahead of you], and then they would take their time. You learned golf under some funny circumstances at times.
Do you still play?
Yes, I’ve not been playing much over the last couple of years. I now have a ride-on. I could walk the course, I could play the course, but I couldn’t do both. So I got a doctor’s certificate which you have to get to use a ride-on in competition, and then I started getting a few other things wrong with me, I had trouble with blood pressure and I would fall, so until that got fixed up I didn’t play very much. And my husband’s been sick so I’ve not played very much again. My friend that I play with on a Tuesday has just come back from holiday so we started playing a few weeks ago, but so far because I’ve been off for so long I’m only playing nine, I’ve not got to play 18 yet, but hopefully in the next few weeks.
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