Written by Sam Halliday (Grandson)

Many members will be familiar with my grandfather Bill Halliday. A man who was universally
respected for his modest, friendly and gentlemanly manner. It is with sadness I write to
inform you that Bill passed away peacefully on Sunday 12 May 2024 at the age of 93. The
below account is provided as a tribute to one of life’s finest gentlemen.

Brief account of early life and how he got into golf

Many will know Bill was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1930 and this is why he, and the
rest of the Halliday boys, support the West Coast Eagles. He attended Hale School and was
awarded a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Western Australia. As a
young man he was a stand-out Olympic standard swimmer, and rode an ex-WW11 Harley
Davidson when he was courting my grandmother in the early fifties. They married and
together they raised three boys – Steve, Jeff and Greg (deceased). The family moved to
Hobart in the early seventies for Bill’s work in the finance industry and this was where he
was introduced as a member at KBGC.

Golfing highlights, reflections and legacy

Bill had been a member of KBGC for nearly 50 years. During this period, he had served as a
general committee member and President for many years across the late sixties, seventies
and eighties. He occasionally reflected that this contribution was simply part of being a
committed club member.

Bill identified representing KBGC playing and winning pennant as a significant highlight of
his time in the game. He held fond memories of the battles against traditional rivals Royal
Hobart, Tasmania and Claremont. His lowest handicap was high single-figures and he often
lamented on picking up the game in middle-age, attributing this factor to the golfer’s difficult
and eternal quest for consistently lower scores. Another important highlight was his long-
lasting friendship with Nobby Clarke and Ray Westwood. They had been playing together on
Wednesdays for approximately 25 years.

As young boys interested in any ball sport, my younger brother Lewis and I were drawn to
Bill’s Saturday excursions to the sacred turf of KBGC where war was seemingly waged
between man, club and dimpled-ball. Eventually he relented to our badgering and allowed
me to caddy for him in a Holden Scramble in the early nineties. I was around 9 years old and
hooked. Soon my brother and I would become permanent junior fixtures, following the
competition field with Bill on Saturday afternoons after our football games. Bill would spend
hours on the course and range teaching us the fundamentals of both the golf swing, course
etiquette, and, when necessary, life. Unsurprisingly, spending this time with us has been his
greatest golfing highlight. My two children, Daisy (10) and George (8), have now started to
pick up clubs and this had been a further source of satisfaction for Bill.

Whilst we were unaware at the time, the fundamental lessons of the game and life he
passed on such as: learning new skills; facing adversity; persevering; treating others
respectfully; playing it (golf and life) as it lies; and to always maintain a sense of humour and
perspective have been altogether applicable to living a meaningful life and this has been his
greatest golfing legacy.

Bill is survived by his wife, Val, sons Jeff and Steve, 8 grandchildren and 8 great-
grandchildren. We are sure he is now wandering the fairways above, making birdies and
sharing many laughs with friends. A life well lived for a man well-loved. 

Sam Halliday

Written by Brad Bone

The format:       

18 holes stroke and players are only allowed to carry a maximum of 5 clubs, one of which must be a putter.

The man:            

As a young boy, like so many others in the area, L. K (Lance) Baynton began his golfing journey as a caddy on the Kingston Beach Golf Links 9-hole course.

He would also work on the course in the school holidays. As to pull the
mower, one of his tasks was to fetch the horse from the “Horse Paddock”, which is now the dam to the left of the 1^st green.

Lance had the honour of caddying for Mr Robert Nettlefold and later recalled how Mr Nettlefold told him that he was no longer required as a caddy. Lance was concerned that he had done something to upset Mr Nettlefold until he received a call from the man himself, inviting Lance to become a junior member of the
club.

A valued member of the dominant KBGC Pennant Team of the era, the biggest thrill for Lance was winning the 1952 Tasmanian Open. Held at KBGC, Lance won a 3-way playoff, eventually defeating John Toogood on the 6^th hole.

From his playing days until his passing, Lance was easy to spot on the course and around the clubhouse. It would be unthinkable to see the left-hander playing without his Flat-Cap on and his sweater tucked into his trousers. Around the clubhouse, the cap was ever present, also, a double-breasted sports coat, silk cravat and a highly polished Brogue shoe.

The event:         

Lance believed that a good player should be able to shoot a par round with only 5 clubs. And if nothing else, a player would learn to hit a variety of shots with the same club.

The memories:

As a young boy himself, our own Tony Lorkin remembers caddying for Lance. Tony recalls being on the 3^rd hole and Lance asking a young Tony to fetch him a new ball from his bag. Tony retrieved the new ball and proceeded to unwrap the tissue paper from a brand new Penfold ball. Tony remembers thinking to himself at the time “I hope that I will be wealthy enough one day to do that”.

As for me, I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with Lance, albeit, in the later years of his life. Lance approached me, perhaps because we shared the same dexterity, to talk about my swing and golf in general. I would listen intently to his stories and his theories on golf and the swing, many of which I have shared with other players over the years.

What followed was a friendship that I still cherish to this day.

Lance and I may have been a few generations apart in age, however, we both shared the same love for the game. There was no tiptoeing with Lance, and he would give advice when and where he thought it was needed. I was always happy to listen and implement his suggestions but never shy to dispute his instructions if I didn’t agree, something that I think he respected.

Even at his older age, Lance still had a sharp eye when it came to the golf swing. When I was practicing, he would often be sitting on the bench outside the clubhouse. He would slowly make his way out to the practice fairway, shooting stick in hand, and ask me why I had changed a certain part of my swing or mention something “different” that I was doing since the last time we spoke.

Lance was a wonderful man, golfer and friend and will continue to be sorely missed.

The advice:        

If you can match or beat your regular score with only 5 clubs, I suggest that you suppress that information from your significant other. If you go home bragging about it, you will undoubtedly be asked “why do you have to spend all that money on a bag of clubs when 5 will do the same job”. Before you know it, you will lose the majority of your pocket money.

Good luck to you all, choose your clubs wisely, play well and enjoy the event.