Special Awards
NTP, LD & NAGA
The Nearest to Pin, Longest Drive and NAGA awards — for excellence at one end of the spectrum, and heroic struggle at the other.
The Neil Freeling Trophy
Nearest to Pin
Matt Roberts
Awarded to the player whose tee shot lands closest to the pin on the designated par 3 hole.
Longest Drive
Tom Dicker
Awarded for the longest drive on the nominated hole. The ball must finish on the fairway.
The Max McAlister Trophy
The NAGA Award
Lachie Myers
The NAGA — awarded with great affection to the player with the highest gross score across all rounds. A badge worn with pride.
✦ The Rules of Engagement
NTP Rules
- • One designated par 3 per round
- • Hole announced on the day
Longest Drive Rules
- • Hole nominated on the day
- • Ball must finish on the fairway
NAGA Rules
- • Awarded to the player with the highest gross score off the stick who has not won it before
- • No handicap adjustment applied
- • DNFs are ineligible (you must finish to win)
- • It is the fervent hope of the Handicapping Committee that one year the overall winner of The Bottles will also be the NAGA. A puzzling paradox!
In Memoriam
David 'Max' McAlister & Phil Murcutt
The Max McAlister Trophy — The NAGA Award
Max & Phil
The NAGA Award was dedicated to David 'Max' McAlister in 1999 and is awarded to the player who registers the highest gross score each year. Max competed at the Bottles Open from 1991 until 1997, before passing away after a brave and sustained battle with cancer in June 1999, at 35 years of age.
It is fair to say that golf was not Max's forte. His strength was definitely the off-course aspects of the Bottles. His antics at the pre-tournament dinner and drinks on the Thursday night, and at the post-Bottles festivities, were the stuff of legend. There was a period in the 90s where the bouncers at the Rosebud Hotel breathed a huge sigh of relief at the call of 'last drinks' on the final Thursday night in November.
On the course, Max played in 6 Bottles and averaged 117 off the stick. 1993 was by far his best Bottles where he pulled an amazing 91 from absolutely nowhere, finishing in second place — his highest ever finish. Predictably, the status quo returned with a bang in 1994 when Max signed off on a massive 138, registering his highest score.
The NAGA trophy was created and donated by Max's great mate, and long-time Bottles Open member, Phil 'Phillthy Phil' Murcutt. Phil played at the Bottles Open from 1988 until 2005 before his sad passing, far too early, in 2016. Fittingly, Phil himself took home the NAGA on three occasions, with a highest score of 142 in 2001 — a record that still stands.
"Max and Phil epitomised what the Bottles is all about — mateship, fun and connection, with some very ordinary, and occasionally adequate golf thrown in."
Both are dearly missed by the Bottles brethren, and their memory lives on. Vale Max and Phil.
In Memoriam
Neil Freeling
The Neil Freeling Trophy — Nearest to Pin
Neil Freeling was a foundation player in The Bottles Open — part of the Department of Education 'chapter' of the Open origin story, where the idea of the tournament was discussed across work desks and at the Fawkner Club Hotel.
A consistent golfer, he won the Open in 1987.
"Don't worry about the trees; they're 90% air."
In the early days, Neil famously offered this assurance to his fellow golfers — a claim which, predictably, came back to bite everyone who believed it.
A good-humoured man with an understated charm, Neil loved the Collingwood Football Club, horse racing, red wine and port, and his family (not necessarily in that order).
Tragically, Neil passed away in April 2005, at the age of 49, after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease about 18 months before. The Nearest to Pin trophy is named in his honour.
The Holy Grail
The Hole-in-One
For an average golfer the odds of scoring a hole in one are roughly one in 12,500 Par 3 holes played. There have been 1,276 completed rounds at The Bottles without a hole in one being scored. Apart from Warburton and Neangar Park which have 5, all other courses have had 4 Par 3s. So, over 5,100 attempts at a hole in one have been made at The Bottles. Perhaps by the centenary event we might be able to celebrate a successful attempt.
1 in 12,500
Odds per Par 3
1,276
Rounds completed
5,100+
Attempts made
Since 1976
150
Unique Players
Roll of Honour — scroll right on mobile →
There is no year in the records where the same person won the tournament, NTP, and LD. The closest is 1983 and 1984 where John McGrath won the tournament, but his NTP+LD double was split across those two years. John McGrath (1983) and James Dawson (1984) are the only players to win both the NTP and LD in one year.