The Divvy Van Travesty Quiz

The Bottles Open was first played in 1976 at Warburton Golf Club in the Yarra Ranges — making 2026 the 50th anniversary tournament.

The tournament takes its name from the entry fee: originally two 26-ounce bottles of CUB beer. It has since been reduced to one.

The original entry fee was two bottles of CUB-approved beer — in the days, as Robert Goss put it, 'when men were men.'

1977 was known as 'The Golf War' — no tournament was held, making it one of only two years in 50 that produced no result.

1998 was the only other year without a result — the tournament at Midlands, Ballarat was abandoned when the course was washed out by rain.

Arthur Mittas claims he was poised to win his maiden Bottles in 1998 when the rain came — and he remains convinced to this day.

Peter Roberts played 43 consecutive tournaments without missing one — including the 2025 event, an unbroken streak that remains very much alive.

The longest-running venue in the tournament's history is Belvoir Park Golf Club, Bendigo — home to The Bottles from 2011 to 2024.

Carrington Park, Rosebud was the tournament's home from 1980 to 1993 — the longest single run at any one course until Belvoir surpassed it.

The most forgiving course ever played was Carrington Park, with a slope rating of just 112 and a course rating of 67.0.

The toughest course in tournament history was Midlands Golf Club, Ballarat — slope 131, rating 72.0.

The Bottles has been played across seven different golf courses in its 50-year history.

Creswick Golf Club was played just once, in 2004 — and was significantly redesigned in 2006, so the course that exists today is an entirely different layout.

The tournament moved to Bendigo in 2011, where it has been played ever since — first at Belvoir Park, then Neangar Park from 2025.

The lowest net score ever recorded in the tournament was 48 — by M. Purdon at Buninyong in 2006.

The highest gross score ever recorded at a Bottles course was 144, by Phil Murcutt at Buninyong in 2000.

Phil 'Phillthy Phil' Murcutt famously walked off the course at Rosebud mid-round after a massive Thursday night, saying simply 'I've had enough.' Phil played in the Bottles from 1988 until 2005 and won the NAGA three times — including a record high gross score of 142 in 2001, a record that still stands.

The infamous 'Ballarat pizza runner' incident involved at least three players sprinting from a Sturt Street pizza restaurant — though they had already paid.

The Dromana Three — Robert Goss, Kevin Kavanagh and Peter Wilson — were picked up by police in November 1986 after a play-fight in the vacant lot beside the pizza shop.

The police drove the Dromana Three 10km out of town and offered them a choice: walk home or spend the night in Hastings lock-up. Kevin Kavanagh voted for the lock-up. He was outvoted.

During the walk back from the Divvy Van drop-off point, at least two of the three stripped naked and threw rocks at street lights. One of them connected.

The Bottles Open is always held on the last Friday in November — a date that committee members have guarded with near-religious devotion over 50 years.

Peter Roberts won the tournament for the first time in 1997 at Midlands Golf Club, Ballarat — his proudest achievement in 40+ years of competing.

Tim Fitzgerald won the 1992 tournament at Carrington Park with scores of 99-33-66 (gross-handicap-net) — and credits the improvement in his back nine to cracking open a VB at the 7th hole.

The National Hotel, Bendigo — known locally as 'The Nash' — has been the spiritual home of The Bottles Open dinner and prize-giving since the tournament moved to Bendigo.

The George Hotel in Ballarat was a beloved tournament base during the Ballarat years, and site of the infamous fire alarm incident where Tim Fitzgerald was the only player to evacuate.

The Peter Lalor Hotel in Ballarat hosted the legendary karaoke night — scene of Arthur Mittas discovering his superpower: sleeping standing up while holding a beer.

Peter Roberts once described the tournament's purpose to work colleagues as: 'the importance of connection, working on your mental health — and having a night on the piss.'

The concept of 'postage' referred to spare bottles of beer claimed by committee members as compensation for writing and posting personalised, handwritten invitations in the pre-email era.

Invitations were once personalised, handwritten, sent in envelopes with stamps — a practice that continued until technology made it redundant.

Robert Goss played in the nude during the 2012 tournament at Belvoir Park as a psychological gambit against Andrew Kolitsis. It didn't work — Kolitsis won.

Arthur Mittas has never missed his wedding anniversary in 40+ years of marriage — because it falls around the same time as the Bottles Open, which he has never missed either.

The first round at Neangar Park, Bendigo was won by G. Juchnevicius with a net score of 58 in 2025 — the inaugural champion at the new venue.

Neangar Park's opening five holes are known locally as 'The Paddock' — a deceptively tight test that has started many rounds badly.

The 18th hole at Warburton Golf Club was a tee shot launched over a mountain, watching the ball drop metres below — remembered by players decades later as one of golf's great drives.

The tournament returned to Warburton in 1988 — twelve years after the inaugural event — for a nostalgic one-off revisit.

Warburton hosted the very first Bottles Open in 1976, making it the birthplace of one of Australian amateur golf's longest-running tournaments.

The Criterion Hotel in Ballarat, first licensed in 1859, was used just once — in the first year the tournament moved to Ballarat. The committee had other ideas for subsequent years.

The NAGA award is named in honour of David 'Max' McAlister, who competed from 1991 to 1997 before passing away in June 1999 at the age of 35 after a brave battle with cancer. The trophy was created and donated by his great mate Phil Murcutt.

The Nearest to Pin trophy is named The Neil Freeling Trophy, in honour of a foundation player and 1987 champion. Neil was part of the Department of Education 'chapter' of the Open's origin story, and famously told his fellow golfers: 'Don't worry about the trees; they're 90% air.' He passed away in April 2005 at the age of 49, after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

The Albion Hotel in Carlton was an early gathering point for the emerging Bottles circle — open after 10pm, with Neon Leon and the Speed Kings as the resident band.

Players were once required to stay for the entire weekend — Thursday night through Saturday morning. The tradition of arriving on Thursday has persisted for decades, and in 2026 it was elevated further with the inaugural Dinner of Champions held on Thursday night.

The Nepean Highway drive from Melbourne to Rosebud in the early years was described as 'at least a 4-can trip' — a reference to in-car refreshments that would not be endorsed today.

Tournament winners are not permitted to take any prize bottles away — they remain the property of the event. This rule has been enforced for 50 years.

Robert Goss draws a direct parallel between the Dromana Three incident and Scottie Scheffler's arrest at the 2024 US PGA Championship — citing it as proof that even the innocent get nicked.

Tim Fitzgerald stood alone outside The George Hotel at 3am while the fire alarm sounded — every other player was too drunk to be woken. He chose not to go back in.

The Bottles Open has survived rain, wind, injury, bereavements, work obligations, young families, long commutes, and at least one actual police arrest.

Several players have been involved in every decade of the tournament — from the Warburton years of the 1970s to the Neangar Park era that begins in 2025. They are Barry Anderson, Peter Beilby and Kevin Kavanagh, all Legends.

The 50th anniversary tournament was held at Neangar Park, Eaglehawk, Bendigo in November 2025 — the first time the event had moved to a new course since 2011.

In Robert Goss's own words: 'How do you become a legend of the Bottles Open? Keep fronting up every year, and when the opportunity arises, just fuck around a bit with your mates.'