Celebrating Our Legends: Kim Harris
Published on 9th May 2025 in Celebrating our Legends, Guests News, Latest NewsIn March 1985, Kim, 43 years old, retired from Monash University Cricket Club, having played there a number of years and was looking for another sporting interest. He’d played golf socially but irregularly but, as Kim put it, “felt confident that he could become a mediocre golfer to equal that of his cricket ability”. He had no golfing contacts, but a friend recommended that he consider Spring Valley. So one day he
walked to the end of Graham Road and found himself in the office of then Manager Ron Armstrong. A game was arranged with three members who vouched that he was a suitable candidate for membership. His nomination was signed by Geoff Arthur and the late Jack Kennedy and he was admitted as a member after an interview. The President at the time was the late Trevor Bignell, and the Captain was current Life Member Graham Ball.
Kim started as a provisional A member with limited playing rights. He recalls playing some Wednesday and eventually some Saturday mornings. Time sheets were not yet a thing, with groups of players sent off the first tee in more or less the order in which they arrived. Some fours played together every week, while others made up groups in order of arrival. Kim started on a handicap of 27 and remained in the high 20s for some time, until he eventually won the morning comp on a Wednesday. He received a letter, as was then customary, from the club requesting his presence on the next Wednesday evening to receive his trophy. Kim took this extremely seriously, and accordingly presented himself, dressed in the then mandatory jacket and tie, upstairs in the old clubhouse at 6 pm. There he found another world, and ever since has always been an afternoon golfer, only playing mornings when circumstances dictated it.
Afternoon golf in those days was very different to today. Fours were made up upstairs on the spur of the moment. On entering the door most golfers who didn’t have a prior arrangement would be asked “Are you a one” and if the answer was yes, you would be instantly recruited. At the end of the day most would shower, don jacket and tie, and sit with the other members of their four, drinking and awaiting presentations. The results of the comp of the day would be announced, as now, and then last week’s winners, most of whom were present, were presented with their trophies and asked to recall how they did it. Then came fines for misdemeanours on the course, some of which were standard, like three-putting, not making the ladies’ tee with a drive, air shots, and putting a ball in the lake etc.; while others enabled the wags of the club to “put in” their mates for embarrassing moments on and off the course. Much hilarity ensued. After this concluded some dutiful family men, as Harry Marks often put it, would go home while others, as many as 25 or 30 at times would stay for dinner, where friends “re-made the world, especially the golf club”, some would drink more than was prudent, on occasion paying for it with their driving licences; and the evening would often finish in the small hours in the snooker room out the back. These were very different times and understandably were bound to change over the years, but one of the constants in Kim’s time at SVGC has been staying after golf with friends for dinner most Wednesday’s over the last 40 years.
Kim nominated his late wife Carole for club membership, seconded by Patsy Stannus, in the late eighties. She became as keen a member and by the time Kim retired from work, one or both of them played golf every day of the week. Carole was invited to join the Ladies’ sub-committee in the nineties and served for a number of years, including three as Ladies’ Secretary. She was the archetypal busy person that you ask to take on such a job and all who remember her would agree she served with devotion and good humour in the various tasks she was allocated. Declining health eventually caused her to give up golf, much to her regret.
Spring Valley in Kim’s early days still had a hard copy newsletter called “News and Views”, which was published bi-monthly. With Kim’s career in book publishing with Cambridge University Press, he was a natural for the editor’s job who would source contributions from various club office-bearers, and occasionally others, doing a paste-up and dealing with the printer in a timely manner for posting to members. Kim continued in this role until technology allowed an “E-newsletter” to bring in-house many of the time-consuming aspects of this role. A feature of News and Views was the series of cartoons featuring members by the late Ken Lovell, which Kim remembers were featured on the walls of the downstairs spike bar as well as in the newsletter.
Kim’s second career, as a jazz pianist has served him well at Spring Valley. In the nineties his daughter Anita was just beginning her singing career, and The Anita Harris Quartet found favour with Robert Sim, then Assistant Manager, and for a number of years provided entertainment at the Mothers’ Day lunches, which were then well patronised. Then there was the VFL day, celebrated on the Wednesday before the Grand Final, when golf attire gave way to a variety of uniforms representing the 12 original VFL teams and part of the fun was the gathering of supporters to sing their respective club songs. There was even a team representing umpires, who had their own song. Kim was dragooned into providing accompaniment for these. Kim still has bad dreams in which he is forced to repeat the Collingwood song ad nauseam!!
During the nineties Kim developed an interest in the rules of golf which led him to ask the Captain of the time, John Philp, whether the club would support him in studying for a club level Rules of Golf accreditation. He agreed to this, and after its completion, Kim refereed several gold letter events including more than one Spring Valley Cup final and even one Pennant final (not involving Spring Valley, of course). This led to an invitation to serve on the Match Committee, and later on the Board of the Club, on which Kim served for seven years. It was an exciting time to be a Board member, when the present clubhouse was conceived, built and opened. During this time Kim served on Match, Marketing, Social, Communications and Membership Sub-committees, including time as Chairman of the last three. Kim retired from the Board as Club Vice-President in 2005.
Kim’s Spring Valley membership led to various golfing opportunities outside the club, including golfing holidays organized by the late Neville Coyne, and more recently by his long time roommate Peter Scurrah, with other members including Graham Biesse, Michael Burke, Laurie Litaize and the late Frank Edmonds and Ian Jones. Kim along with were part of another group which went to Corowa on the Cup Day weekend; this included three other couples, the Loughnans, the Hortons and the Goodings, of which Bev Horton and he are the only living survivors. Kim had more than 10 years as a regular participant in the Grange reciprocal visits, and participated in the Huntingdale events. Laurie Litaize introduced him to the Victorian Chemists’ Golf Club where he has been a perpetual guest or latterly a social member for upwards of 30 years, enjoying all the best courses Victoria has to offer.
In his 40 years Kim has had more than his share of golf achievements. He got down to an 11 handicap, and can boast a best gross stroke score of 78. He’s had the thrill of eagling 7, 12, 16, 17 and 18. He has had 3 holes-in-one in competition at Spring Valley – the 3rd twice, the (old) 10th once – plus one at Woodlands in social competition. He’s won two Monthly Tankards – sadly no medals. His crowning achievement at the club was victory in the 2011 Spring Valley Cup with Michael Burke. He counts Kim as one of the two best SV partners he has ever had. Kim still plays golf twice a week, his handicap has a 2 in front of it and the option to play off the red tees has given Kim longevity in golf that otherwise he may not have had. Kim can be seen in his trusty ride-on buggy – courtesy of breaking his ankle in a hole on the 8th in 2003!!
Kim feels very blessed and fortunate to have joined Spring Valley in 1985, having made some wonderful friends and shared and lived some memorable experiences.
Kim, Spring Valley Golf Club is very thankful for the significant contribution you have made to the Club and we congratulate you on achieving 40 years’ membership, and as you do, we hope it can continue for many years to come.
Celebrate Kim’s name day on Wednesday 14th May!
