With the flash of a grin, George Oshlack stares down his final putt, in his element on the green at a club he’s been part of for more than six decades.
He swings, he sinks it, and he’s won the tournament – the first victory in a while for the 99-year-old, and a much-needed one at that.
At age 99, George Oshlack spends most of his time with a golf club or squash racquet in hand.Credit: Daniel Pockett
Oshlack is a legend in Melbourne’s Jewish sporting community, smashing his way to becoming a three-time World Masters champion in squash, and scoring a hole in one three times in his 65 years as a member at Cranbourne Golf Club in Melbourne’s south-east.
On Wednesday, the Holocaust survivor shot four under his 34 handicap to win the men’s 18-hole competition, which attracted about 200 players. It was Oshlack’s first win since before his wife, Rosa, died about eight months ago.
“I used to win a lot, but not since my wife got sick – I couldn’t concentrate,” Oshlack said on Thursday.
“I tried my best. I just concentrated, properly, every shot. I didn’t rush, and I made sure I’m hitting it properly. That’s all.”
Oshlack drives the 45 minutes from his home in Toorak to Cranbourne Golf Club up to five times a week, competing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and throwing in a couple of practice runs. He bought a new car last year, and got a 10-year warranty for good measure.
Until a recent injury, he was also playing squash at least four days a week.
“When I got to [age] 64, I retired and became a full-time sportsman,” Oshlack said. “Slowly, [I’m getting] back into [squash], and I play only by myself at the moment – not with the boys.
“You’ve got to look after yourself. Your body is the most important thing. You’ve got to exercise a lot – that’s first – and secondly, you’ve got to watch what you’re eating. This will keep you healthy.”
George Oshlack shot four under his 34 handicap to win Cranbourne Golf Club’s men’s 18-hole competition.Credit: Daniel Pockett
Oshlack is a fixture of the Cranbourne club, which was set up 70 years ago – at a time when, he says, antisemitism meant he wasn’t welcome on the same Melbourne golf courses as his first wife, an Australian.
He was born in Zelechow, a small Polish village, which was invaded by the Nazis in 1939.
Oshlack was 14 years old when he and his older brother, Joe, jumped from a moving train bound for the gas chambers. They fled into the forest, and spent close to three years in hiding before they met Jewish partisans. His grandparents, parents and other siblings were killed in the Holocaust.
George Oshlack, pictured in 1970.
“Until we got to the partisans, it took us six weeks, and those six weeks were very hard because we didn’t have any [weapons]. We had nothing to fight with, and anybody could kill us,” Oshlack said.
“We were liberated by the Russian Army about seven months before the war ended.
“I had two uncles here [in Australia] ... and they found out through the Red Cross [that] myself and my brother are alive. Straight away, [they organised two permits] to come to Australia for us.”
Oshlack and his brother arrived in Australia three years later, in 1947. He eventually married Australian ballerina Eve Gordon, his first wife, and the couple spent 21 years together before she was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour.
“Then it took me another 16 years to settle up again, and I married Rosa [after I met her when] I was 54,” he said.
Oshlack is generous in sharing his story with his fellow golf club members.
He’s also much loved by them, and a beacon of joy at the club – often spotted grinning cheekily, cracking jokes with friends, and zooming around on his blue golf buggy.
Last month, the club celebrated Oshlack’s 99th birthday. His family and friends joined the party.
Next year, he hopes to celebrate his 100th birthday at Huntingdale Golf Club, where some of Cranbourne’s members are relocating. The Cranbourne club, itself, is coming to the end of an era, after it was sold for development last year. It’s due to close in February next year.
“My kids, if I will be still alive [at] 100, they want to make it a big thing,” Oshlack said.
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