By Michael Davis
THE superb piece on Jan Dunlop by IG’s Queensland correspondent, Peter Owen, sparked some animated chatter among the women members at Rosebud Country Club.
Especially those who remembered the late, Betty Hebb, and her wonderful golf history which is kept on permanent display at the club with a range of trophies and notable memorabilia. Like Jan, Betty was a regional golfer who snared the Victorian Women’s Champion of Champions title beating a number of higher profile golfers who played in the city.
RCC president Sue McMillan said Betty Hebb won the title in 1958, when she was a member at Yallourn, in eastern regional Victoria.
McMillan said Hebb joined RCC later in her life and can take a lot of credit for the fact that today more than 20 per cent of members are female and play alongside the men every day of the week except Wednesdays.
“We certainly cherish the legacy of Betty Hebb and many members still recall their personal contact with her very fondly,” she said.
“A showcase women’s competition event and the opening event for our year at Rosebud Country Club is affectionately known as ‘The Betty Hebb’ and attracts a large number of our women members every year.”
Betty Hebb’s story began in Scotland where she lived beside a golf course as the only girl in her family among five brothers. Her father made golf sticks for Betty and two of the boys and she started hitting a golf ball when she was just four years old.
The children added to their pocket money by selling back to the players any balls that were hit out-of-bounds and landed on their property.
When the golfers noticed how well the children were hitting the golf balls, they gave each of them a golf stick. Betty and her brothers were keen golfers and all eventually reduced their handicaps to scratch.
Playing off scratch at the age of 19, Betty won the McLellen and Lord Inverclyde cups – two prestigious amateur titles in Scotland.
She eventually married her fiancé, Bill, in 1940 and the newlyweds travelled to Australia on the last ship to get through the Suez Canal before Italy entered the World War II.
The couple settled in Gippsland, in regional eastern Victoria and some years later, Betty, joined Yallourn Golf Club, where she continued to play off scratch for many years. She even taught many of the ladies at Yallourn how to play golf up until the time the club was able to employ a full-time teaching professional.
In 1965, her golf swing was described by the local newspaper as the ‘sweetest swing in Victoria’.
While a member at Yallourn, Betty was a 15-time champion of West Gippsland; Yallourn Associates’ Champion from 1947-64; winner of the Victorian Country Championship in 1956 and runner-up on five occasions; Victorian Champion of Champions in 1958; and for many years a key player for Central Gippsland in the Victorian Ladies’ Golf Union Country Teams’ Championship.
Betty played against and defeated many famous names in women’s golf including Australian Margaret Masters, New Zealand and South African champion, Joan Fisher, Marion Dwyer and Buetta Cheney.
But throughout all her success, Betty always maintained shooting low scores paled into insignificance compared to giving help to others who were playing the game.
She came to Rosebud in retirement and immediately initiated the club’s junior clinic. She and husband, Bill, were instrumental in the formation of the now vibrant Rosebud Country Club. Bill even helped with the planting of numerous trees on the South Course.
Betty retired from active competition in 1998 when still playing in A grade competition. But up until the time she died, she was still very active with the junior program shaping the games of the club’s best young golfers.
Her proteges include Daniel Hyndman, who became a professional golfer; teaching professional Scott Mclean; Craig Mclean a professional player and teacher; trainee professional, Tanya Fleming and promising amateur Jody Fleming, who counts among her many wins victory in the Victorian Champion of Champions Trophy.
There were many other youngsters who came under Betty’s tutelage and at Rosebud the saying goes that she ‘had a heart as big as any golf course and a knowledge and skill that would do the world’s best golfers proud’.
In 2004, Betty won the Federal Government’s regional Sportsperson of the Year Award which was presented to her by MP Greg Hunt at a function in Hastings.
She was also active in the community as a volunteer for the Victorian Institute for the Blind and in 1967 was appointed a Life Governor of the institute.
Rosebud Country Club is rightfully proud to honour Betty Hebb, not only for her many years work and dedication to the club but also to the sport of golf in general.
Australia's Golf News Leader, Inside Golf gives you in-depth coverage of Australian golf news, golf events, golf travel and holiday destinations, Australian and international golf course reviews, the hottest new golf gear and tips and drills to improve your golf game. Written by award-winning journalists, Inside Golf also features interviews with Australia's top professional golfers, the game's rising stars, industry leaders and golf equipment manufacturers. You can even win great golf prizes and equipment. It’s all in Inside Golf. FREE at Australian golf courses, driving ranges and golf retailers across Australia. 
