Martin Smith (golfer)

Martin Smith (c. 1915 – 26 May 1969) was an Australian professional golfer active from the 1930s to the 1950s who won the Victorian Professional Championship twice, in 1939 and 1951, and represented Victoria in the Vicars Shield interstate professional competition.^[1][2][3]

He was active from the early 1930s through the early 1950s. Based primarily in Victoria, he was a two-time winner of the Victorian PGA Championship and a prominent figure in Australian professional golf during the Second World War and immediate post-war years. Smith competed regularly against many of the leading professionals of his era, including Norman Von Nida, Ossie Pickworth and Peter Thomson, and was frequently selected in representative team competitions. Contemporary reports and later tributes described him as a powerful and tenacious competitor, particularly noted for his long hitting and iron play.

Smith emerged as a promising young professional in Melbourne during the early 1930s. In 1931, he competed in assistant professionals’ tournaments at Albert Park, where newspaper coverage described his play as steady and accurate, emphasising straight hitting and consistency rather than reliance on exceptional putting.^[14]

By 1933, Smith was being mentioned regularly in golf columns as a rising Victorian professional, establishing himself among the younger group of tournament players.^[15]

During the mid-to-late 1930s, Smith recorded a series of low rounds that brought him wider recognition. He set a course record of 64 at Croydon, a performance reported nationally and cited as evidence of his exceptional long-iron play.^[16]

In 1939, Smith produced one of the most notable rounds of Australian professional golf, shooting a course-record 67 at Royal Melbourne West to lead a strong open field.^[17][18]

Later that year, he set a new record on the Commonwealth course, reinforcing his reputation as a powerful ball-striker.^[19]

In March 1939, Smith was appointed club professional at Northern, a position he held for approximately eleven years. The appointment placed him at the centre of Victorian professional golf during one of the game’s most competitive periods.^[20]

Smith won the Victorian PGA Championship for the first time in 1939, securing the Dunlop Cup and confirming his status among Victoria’s leading professionals.^[21] Smith led the qualifying rounds of the 1939 championship with a total score of 155, entering the match-play stages as the leading qualifier.^[22] He defeated C. M. Conner by 5 up and 4 in the final at Commonwealth Golf Club, a victory described in contemporary reports as thoroughly deserved.^[1]

He claimed his second Victorian PGA Championship in 1951, more than a decade after his first victory, demonstrating notable longevity at state championship level.^[23] Smith won the Victorian Professional Championship again in 1951, defeating Jack Boorer by 7 and 5 over 36 holes at Southern Golf Club (New Brighton).^[2]

During the Second World War, Smith remained a central figure in professional golf, participating in patriotic exhibitions and challenge matches. In 1941, he contested a widely publicised 72-hole match against Norman Von Nida, played across Royal Melbourne and Northern. Pre-match coverage highlighted strong public interest, special transport arrangements, and Smith’s impressive practice form.^[24]

Mid-match reports recorded Smith holding a two-up lead over Von Nida after the opening stages of the contest.^[25]

Von Nida ultimately won the match at the 71st hole, with newspapers noting large crowds and substantial funds raised for wartime causes.^[26]

In pre-match commentary, Von Nida publicly described Smith as “the best Victoria has,” reflecting the regard in which Smith was held by Australia’s leading touring professional.^[27]

After the war, Smith returned quickly to high-level competition. In 1946, he achieved interstate success, including a professional purse victory at Manly, finishing ahead of Ossie Pickworth and Kel Nagle.^[28]

In 1947, Smith broke the course record at Torquay and defeated Pickworth. The following day, he tied with Pickworth at Northern, with reports noting that Smith had “regained the form which put him in the top flight of Australian golfers,” despite playing with a persistent back injury that required the use of a steel corset.^[29]

Later that year, Smith partnered J. L. Clifford to win the Victorian Foursomes Championship at Woodlands, securing the title by a single stroke.^[30]

Smith represented Victoria in the Vicars Shield, the principal interstate professional team competition of the period. Contemporary reports regularly listed him among Victorian team selections, confirming his standing within state representative golf.^[31]

Match reports record Smith contributing decisive victories for Victoria, including wins over Bruce Auld of South Australia and Syd Cowper, helping secure overall team success in multiple Shield contests.^[32][33]

The Vicars Shield was the principal interstate match-play competition for professional golfers in Australia during this period.

Smith won the Dunlop Cup at Metropolitan Golf Club with an aggregate score of 146 (73–73), finishing ahead of a strong field of state professionals.^[34] In addition to tournament play, Smith regularly appeared in exhibition matches and instructional tours across Victoria and interstate, and was frequently described as one of the State’s leading professional golfers in contemporary press coverage.^[35][36]

During his professional career, Smith set or equalled multiple course records at leading golf clubs in Victoria and interstate. Contemporary newspaper reports described him as repeatedly producing record rounds in competitive play, including at Kingston Heath Golf Club, where he “improved on the long-standing course record”,^[37] and at Royal Melbourne Golf Club (West Course), where he “set a course record of 67 to lead the field in the first round of the Australian Open”.^[38] Further record rounds were reported at Croydon Golf Club,^[39] Commonwealth Golf Club,^[40] Long Island Country Club,^[41] Brisbane Golf Club^[42] and Torquay Golf Club, where he broke the existing course record previously held by George Naismith.^[43] These record-setting performances occurred across open championships, professional purse events and club open meetings, and spanned more than a decade.

Smith continued to compete successfully into the early 1950s. His final major recorded victory came in 1953, when he won the Peter Scott professional purse at Kingswood, marking the closing phase of his tournament career.^[44]

Contemporary accounts consistently described Smith as a powerful ball-striker and long hitter, particularly effective with long irons. His game was characterised by straight hitting and consistency rather than reliance on exceptional putting. Observers frequently noted his effectiveness in match play and his ability to apply sustained pressure over extended contests.

Tributes published following his death described him as a “very good iron player” and a “very tenacious competitor,” attributes that defined his reputation among fellow professionals.^[45]

Smith lived in Caulfield and later Beaumaris, remaining close to Melbourne’s Sandbelt golf courses throughout his life. In addition to his club duties, he operated a professional golf shop in the Metropole Arcade off Bourke Street in central Melbourne, advertising golf equipment and repair services during the 1940s.^[46]

Smith died on 26 May 1969 at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, aged 54. He was survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Bryan Smith, later became a professional golfer and served as a club professional at several Victorian golf clubs, and also competed in professional golf, including the Victorian Close Championship.^[45]