By Brendan Rees
Ever since Brian Lasky picked up a golf club at the age of 14 he was hooked.
Today, the life member of Cranbourne Golf Club has been awarded the Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for his service to golf as part of the Queen’s Birthday honour list.
“You get involved in organisations because you want to be involved,” Mr Lasky said of the award.
“The award is something that comes at the end of the day; there’s no premeditation with it – certainly not on my part.”
He has been involved with Cranbourne for over 50 years and with Golf Victoria in different capacities – and lauded for his tireless contribution to the game.
The keen golfer, who has played off a scratch handicap and achieved some 26 years as a pennant player, has been a member of Cranbourne Golf Club since 1965.
He became the club’s assistant treasurer from 1974-75 and has gone on to hold the titles of vice-captain, club captain, committee member and currently serves as a greens sub-committee member.
Mr Lasky also became a life member in 2001, and is current president of the Cranbourne Country Club.
He has also held an impressive list of titles with Golf Victoria (formerly Victorian Golf Association) including vice-president, council member, and a national rules of golf referee since 1993.
Mr Lasky’s father was one of the founding members of the Cranbourne Golf Club – after he was knocked back for membership at Melbourne golf clubs upon his return home from World War II.
So, he and a few Jewish friends got together and started Cranbourne Golf Club in 1952 – with Mr Lasky’s father becoming the second president of the club.
Their charter declared there was no discrimination within the club, applicants just had to be of “good golfing character” and “just nice people to be around”.
When Mr Lasky was a lad, he said his father “eventually took me out and I got bitten by the golf bug and became an avid golfer myself”.
Unfortunately, Mr Lasky of Brighton East has not been able to hit the fairways for 22 months due to a condition called ‘frozen shoulder’ which is characterised by stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint.
“I just haven’t been able to use the left arm,” he said. “I would like to get out there … but I’m not quite as addicted.
“Hopefully I’ll get back to it but we’ll see what happens,” he said, adding the elusive dream of achieving a hole-in-one awaited him.
