SteveAlker has helped bring the PGA Tour Champions to our television screens.
The Hamilton golfer has been one of the stars on the United States golf circuit for those aged 50 and older.
As a consequence I have been watching the competition more than anytime beforehand but I could hardly believe my eyes to what I saw recently.
On the screen was Padraig Har rington from Ireland. He made his usual six or seven powerful practice swings and then boomed his tee shot down the middle of the fairway.
But it was what I saw next that blew me away.
The next picture of Harrington was of him jumping into a golf cart and driving off by himself.
Must have a medical exemp tion, I thought.
A little time later I saw another shot of another player -- can’t re member who it was -- jumping into a golf cart and driving off by himself.
What’s going on here, I won dered.
Two players driving golf carts. Surely they both can’t have medi cal exemptions, I thought.
The players had caddies. It was still the caddie’s job to strap the big golf bags to their backs and trundle off down the fairway as the golf carts whizzed by.
Surely the players are not al lowed to drive a cart without a medical exemption, I thought.
I thought wrong.
After some digging, I came across the following statement on internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.
“In 2006, the Champions Tour division board of the PGA Tour or ganisation voted to allow players
the option to use golf carts during most events on the tour. The five major championships and certain other events, including pro-ams, are excluded.”
The Champions Tour is for golf’s oldies. But they are not that old.
Harrington, for example, is aged 51.
Champions Tour veteran Bern hard Langer is 65. Fred Couples is 63. Miguel Angel Jimenez is 58. Ernie Els is 52. Steve Stricker is 55.
These guys are all younger than most of the guys I play with.
These guys play tournaments that are generally of only three rounds.
These guys just trot off down the fairway and when they get to the ball they ask the caddie for the eight iron, play the shot and hand the club back to the caddie.
None of the guys I play with have a caddie.
Most of the guys I play with,
push their own trundler.
Although some of the guys I play with do have a motorised trundler. Tut, tut.
Why on Earth would the Cham pions Tour allow players to drive carts?
I wondered if what I saw was not meant to be screened. Should it have been edited out? Televi sion producers would have been told not to show such shots, I thought to myself.
Golf is not an aggressive sport. It’s not hard to walk down the fair way when someone else is carry ing the clubs. I can’t think of one good reason to allow not-that-old players to drive carts.
While watching Harrington drive his cart, I felt an embarrass ment for the sport. Golfers don’t have to run or jump. They just walk. If they can’t walk, they can get a medical exemption.
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COVER PHOTO: Ryan Fox poses with the trophy on the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole after winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course, St Andrews, in Scotland last month. (Photo credit: Richard Heath cote/Getty Images)
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RyanFox is almost certain to gain starts in all four major championships next year.
That was one of the substantial benefits from the New Zealander’s win in the Alfred Dunhill Cham pionship in Scotland last month. The win saw Fox’s world ranking soar to No 25 after being ranked 213th at the end of last year.
The world’s top 50 ranked players gain automatic starts into all four majors and it would seem unlikely Fox would slip outside the top 50 for the meantime. They four majors are The Players Championship, the Masters Championship, the United States Open and The Open. They are held in March, April, June and July. They are the richest tournaments on the PGA and DP World Tours with The Players, for example, carry ing a purse of $US25 million.
Fox was handsomely rewarded for his win in Scot land.
The Alfred Dunhill Championship carried prizemon ey of $US5 million and the winner’s purse was 830,000 euros. That equates to about $NZ1.4 million.
The win was also Fox’s second for the year which saw him bound up the DP World Tour rankings to No 3. The two ahead of him were Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick. Fox has since moved up to No 2 on the DP World Tour rankings as his good form has continued.
Fox’s previous win for the year came in the $US2 million Ras Al Khaimah Classic in the United Arab Emirates where he led all the way for an impressive five-shot winning margin. That win was worth more than $NZ500,000.
Fox said he would have to seriously set his sights on running down McIlroy and Fitzpatrick for DP World Tour honours which culminates with the $US10 mil lion DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from No vember 17-20.
“I guess after the good run I had in the middle of the year, that was always the goal, to give myself a chance going into Dubai,’’ Fox told the European Tour website.
“It’s pretty cool to have that. Obviously a couple of pretty good players on that rankings’ list, so I’ll have to do something even more special to get ahead of those guys but just to be in the mix is pretty good.”
Fox began the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Cham pionship four shots behind but after just seven holes
he had taken the outright lead before a combination of magnificent approach play and brilliance on the greens helped the 35-year-old extend his advantage to three strokes with three to play.
There was a late scare at the 17th but Fox managed to limit the damage to just one dropped shot before safely parring the last.
Fox finished the tournament on 15 under par af ter carding seven birdies and three bogeys, one shot clear of Callum Shinkwin and Alex Noren.
On hand for the win were Fox’s parents Grant and Adele Fox along with Ryan’s wife Anneke but it was the absence of Australian cricketing great Shane Warne, who died in March, that gained most attention.
Fox and Warne had finished second in the teams’ event of the same tournament last year and were very good friends.
“To be honest the only person I can really think of at the moment is Warne,’’ Fox said.
“He meant a lot to me and this event and was a great mate. It’s a terrible shame he’s not here. I’m go ing to enjoy celebrating this one with the family.”
When asked whether he felt Warne’s presence out on course, Fox added: “Yeah, there was definitely some luck out there.
“Obviously I was pretty nervy the last three holes. I didn’t hit very good shots, to be honest, down the 16th, 17th and 18th. He was definitely helping out.”
A bogey at the 13th hole on the final day reduced Fox’s lead to two shots but he holed a monster birdie putt from more than 50 feet on the 15th green to re gain his three-shot lead.
After finding the thick rough off the tee at the 17th, Fox managed to get back on the fairway with his sec ond shot but a disappointing chip left him with a 75foot par putt.
He knocked that to within four feet and was able to drop just one shot, with his lead now down to one. But a straightforward par at the last sealed a victory.
Ryan Fox has reaped the benefits of sticking with long time Auckland coach Marcus Wheelhouse, himself a former accomplished professional golf er.
Fox’s recent win at the iconic Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scot land was very big in terms of so many things, not the least his prizemoney of $US816,000 ($NZ1.48 million.)
Wheelhouse, despite the difficulties of being mainly at an opposite end of the world, still has regular contact with Fox, usually weekly. Fox also sends videos of himself in action so any little gremlins can be ironed out.
Fox’s recent month in Europe was an exercise in frustration and of course ulti mate jubilation with his win at the Dunhill Links.
He had to cope with lost clubs, a knee injury, then a missed cut with borrowed clubs, four or five clubs which simply weren’t suitable, before his clubs turned up just before the Dunhill Links teed off. Wheelhouse said: “It was all pretty strange and freaky the way it worked out. So it was good he could get his driver, two wood and putter back in the bag as they
are very important clubs for him.”
What things are working better for him now and any specific things to work on?
“Technically we changed his putting a couple of years ago and it is now bearing fruit with better results. Much more con sistent now.
“He was always pretty good but could have some bad patches as well. We worked a lot on his short game over the last Christmas period. His short game, chipping around the greens, has been coming along much better. His wedge play has improved. He does a wedge test most weeks on Track Me.”
He has played St Andrews many times but this time played it better than previ ously. Any particular reason?
Wheelhouse explains: “Overall I think it is not one area but more that everything is trending in the right direction. In the 18 to 24 months to the end of 2021 there had been signs of it being there but never sort of all coming together.
“This year though, there are three or four areas that have bumped up a little bit at the same time which has made a huge difference to his game, hence the excellent results. At St Andrews his put ter was hot and sometimes that is the
difference.”
No question Fox’s win sent a very strong, loud and clear message to Pres idents’ Cup captain Trevor Immelman whose position in terms of being a selec tor should come under scrutiny.
Who knows what may have happened had he selected the in form Fox and not forgetting Aussie Lucas Herbert. It was great that Fox could dismiss the snub and get on with playing and at the same time take the fond memories of late mate Shane Warne with him to victory.
So what does the future look like?
“His schedule next year is looking amazing. He is going to play the Austra lian Open in early December and I will join him for that.
“Next he will play the Dubai swing in late January and February, then he will come home for a couple of weeks. After that he will be in the USA for three months play ing all the big ones like the Bay Hill, The Memorial, the Players’ Championships and the Masters. That is the benefit of be ing ranked in the world top 50 no matter what tour you are on.”
Fox will more than likely miss the 2023 New Zealand Open as it clashes with Bay Hill and he admits it is probably too good
an opportunity to turn down.
New Zealand Open chairman John Hart and tournament director Michael Glading fully understand Fox’s position and want what is best for him. His goal is to play all four majors so the more he can play in the United States the better his chances.
Fox is one of those special profession al golfers in every way and a wonderful example of how players should conduct themselves.
No one could ever get frustrated play ing with him unlike many we could name. None of the annoying habits of time wasting such as addressing the ball and backing off several times, taking ages to decide what to play and taking forever over putts.
Fox has become a warm favourite on the DP World Tour with fans and partic ularly with the commentary team who seem to talk about him at every opportu nity — and why not.
He has an engaging and humble dis position and calls a spade a spade. What more could one want from a leading sporting figure?
So there are some exciting times to look forward to involving Fox and I am sure all golf fans will agree with that.
Michael Hendry became the player with the most wins on New Zealand’s Charles Tour when taking out the Taranaki Open last month.
It was Hendry’s eighth win on the Charles Tour, sponsored by Jennian Homes, and he put on a clinic on the final day at the New Plymouth Golf Club with a blem ish-free six under par 66 to win by three.
Hendry, 43, began the final round a shot behind the over night leader Cameron Jones but made a statement on the opening hole by draining a 30foot birdie putt to take sole possession of the lead early after Jones opened with a bogey. He made a second successive birdie at two to add another shot onto his lead, which he wouldn’t re linquish.
There was a further birdie at the short par five seventh hole to make the turn in three under par and be a shot clear of Jones with nine to play.
Hendry kept his foot on the gas, mak ing birdies at 12, 13, and 15 to put an unassailable gap between him and the chasers. Three pars coming home was enough to win by three over Josh Geary.
Hendry said to win again on the Charles
Tour was another proud moment.
“It means a lot,’’ Hendry said.
“As a New Zealand golfer, it’s great to etch your name in a little bit more of New Zealand golfing history. It’s really pleas ing to come and win these events.
“I played really well, and it was enjoy able to play with Geary, who has been
playing really well and (Cam) Jones, who I know really well and have known since he was a kid. I really enjoyed watching him play over the weekend. He didn’t have a great day today, but he’s learning all the time.
“It’s not only enjoyable winning, but I really loved spending time out on the golf
course in a competitive nature with good mates.”
Hendry said to win eight Charles Tour events was very satisfying.
“It’s the little things like these records that you can hold on to for a long peri od of time and be talked about as a good golfer in New Zealand. I want to put my name in the headlines … so it’s pleasing to get another win.”
Hendry was to head to Japan where he needs a solid finish to his Japan Tour sea son but the New Plymouth win will pro vide him with confidence.
“Absolutely. I played most of the 72-holes really well. I didn’t make a bo gey today and made very few the entire week, and hit a lot of quality shots. The great thing about coming to events like this, albeit it isn’t a large event in compar ison to some of the others we play, is that you want to win.
“To get the competitive juices flow ing and feel the nerves over a couple of shots where I need to make sure I don’t make any mistakes coming in, to get the job done is good. It doesn’t matter what the size of the event is; if you want to win, you’ll feel it. It was cool to feel that pres sure today.”
Full leaderboard & tournament infor mation go to: https://www.golf.co.nz/ tournament-detail?tournamentid=395& competitionid=922976&clubid=281
LydiaKo posted her 18th win on the world’s top golf circuit for women when easily winning a $US2 million event in South Korea last month.
The win came in the BMW Ladies’ Championship in Wonju and the New Zealand star is now ranked 30th for the most wins on the LPGA Tour.
The list of most wins is headed by Kathy Whitworth of the United States who racked up 88 wins from 1962-1985 when the tour was not as international as it is now.
Ko, 25, registered her first win on the LPGA Tour in 2012 in the Canadian Wom en’s Open as an amateur to become the tour’s youngest winner at age 15.
Prior to her win in South Korea, Ko had finished in the top five in eight of her pre vious 11 starts and it seemed she was desperate not to let another shot at win ning for the second time this year slip by.
On the final day of the tournament she birdied the second hole to move into sec ond place and was tied for the lead when posting another birdie on the par five fourth hole.
She delivered a one-two punch with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes to get to 18 under par and suddenly had a three-shot lead.
Coming down the stretch, she rattled off birdies on holes 15, 16 and 17 to get to 21 under and put herself five ahead with one left to play. Ko closed it out with
a par on the last to post a seven under 65 at a venue not too far from her birthplace of Seoul.
“I was able to feed off good momen tum,’’ Ko reflected afterwards.
“I had a couple of stretches where I made consecutive birdies. For me, the big turnaround was my birdie on 10. To be honest, if it didn’t go in, I had a pretty
hefty par putt coming back. I was able to feed off that.
“I normally don’t do first pumps, and I did a couple of first pumps on my back nine because I knew how much every sin gle of those putts would count.
“I feel so proud to be born in Korea. Be cause of that I really wanted to win here. It’s not only just a place that I’m born, but
a lot of my family is still here. This week my relatives are here, my direct family is here and I wanted to win it for them as well. To be able to do that this year in front of a lot of them, it means a lot.”
Ko is the fifth player with two or more wins on LPGA Tour this season, joining Atthaya Thitikul (2), Brooke Hender son (2), Minjee Lee (2) and Jennifer Kup cho (3).
This year also marks Ko’s first season with multiple wins since 2016.
The $US300,000 winner’s prize moved her ahead of In Gee Chun to second on the LPGA money list with $US2,647,062 earned this year, but she remained seventh on the career money list with $US14,678,016.
When asked if this is her best season yet considering her consistency through out 2022, Ko says she counts it among the best - if not as the best - of her nine years on tour.
“I think this is probably the best I’ve played, the most consistently I’ve played,’’ she said.
“When I was (world) No 1, I just had more wins in that season. I don’t think I’ve had as many top 10s.
“I wanted to finish my season off strong, including this one, with only three events to go. To be able to win this one means a lot, and I think it gives me good motivation for my last couple of events in Florida.”
Alker’s earlier wins include a senior major, the $US3.5 million Senior PGA Championship in May.
The win in Virginia was the first event of the PGA Tour Champions season-ending playoff series in which the winner receives $US1 million.
Alker started the final day of the Virginia event two shots from the lead but was merely holding his place on an overcast and drizzly day until bounding to the lead with three successive birdies from hole No 15 onwards.
“It was kind of a dogfight down there at the end,” Alker told the PGA Tour website.
“I was trying not to look at the leaderboard, be cause there was so many guys just trying to win this golf tournament.
“I made those clutch birdies on 15, 16, and especial ly 17, that was huge.”
bogeyed it, Alker said it snapped him back into focus.
“Maybe just kind of freed me up a little bit, kind of re laxed a little bit, because I have had those struggles on seven, eight and nine, it wasn’t happening,” Alker said.
“And then hit a quality shot on 10. And to be, like, just tied, I wasn’t chasing anymore.
“And then I just started giving … I said to myself, just give yourself some chances, let’s just play how we did playing yesterday, back nine, we just gave ourself a lot of chances. And yeah, I was putting well, so that turned out nicely.”
NewZealand golfer Steve Alker continued his amazing form on the PGA Tour Champions when winning for the fifth time in less than 12 months in the United States last month.
The latest win came in a $US2.2 million event in Vir ginia which carried a winner’s purse of $US335,000. That’s about $NZ583,000.
It was only 14 months ago that Alker, 51, joined the Champions circuit for over 50-year-olds but he now has earnings of $US4.4 million. In New Zealand dol lars that’s $7.6 million.
Alker had scores of 69, 65 and 68 to finish at 14 un der par. Second at 13 under was Kyung-Ju Choi while equal third on 12 under were Doug Barron, Jerry Kelly and Padraig Harrington.
Alker was delighted to get the job done.
“So, yeah, just so glad to, especially with Paddy and Jerry playing so well and I’m right there as well. So it was exciting and nerve-racking, everything, all those emotions.”
Alker and Kelly both played the front nine in even par, leaving Alker still two behind and a little frustrat ed with his game. But when he birdied 10 and Kelly
Sam Jones created history in his own backyard when becoming the first amateur golfer to win the Jennian Homes Trophy.
The 26-year-old had an in credible 2022, picking up his first victory on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour at the Car rus Tauranga Open last month ago after being a bridesmaid a handful of times.
He finished second at the Renaissance Brewing New Zea land Strokeplay in April after Josh Geary shot seven under on the back nine to pip him at the post and again at the DVS Clear water Open. He also finished second at the Christies Floorings Mount Open and 20th at the Autex Muriwai Open earlier this year.
The Manaia Golf Club member came into the final event of the year, the Taranaki Open, with a 190-point lead over Geary. He needed a strong finish to secure the title and create his own piece of New Zealand golfing history.
He achieved that with a sec ond placing.
“It was a long day out there,’’ Jones said.
“I got off to a bit of a slow start, but I managed to keep my nose in it and understood that I need ed a strong finish to clinch the trophy. It was pretty tight at the start with Mike [Hendry] and Josh [Geary], but I’m over the moon to get it done.
“I just tried to stay as calm as I could. I had a few tee shots in the first three rounds of the tourna ment that I wasn’t feeling very
comfortable on, but I read a couple of notes in my notebook today that calmed me down before certain tough tee shots, which really helped me commit to my lines a lot more.
“I just tried to free myself up today, and whatever happened, happened.”
He said his performances in top events this year give him plenty of confidence heading into the Nomura Cup in the Phil ippines this month.
Previous Jennian Homes Tro phy winners:
2015/2016: Jim Cusdin 2016/2017: Mark Brown 2017/2018: Daniel Pearce 2018/2019: James Anstiss 2020: Daniel Hillier 2021: Ryan Fox
RodneyYee, the head professional, golf shop and learning centre manager at Russley Golf Club is making a difference on the coaching scene in Christchurch.
He is the coach of Cooper Moore who recently won the under-16 New Zealand Age Group Championship at Pukekohe, competing against older boys. Yee was born in Christchurch.
When did your golf journey begin?
“I was handed a golf club by a cousin when I was six and I had few hits at the park between some rugby goal posts. Dad joined me up at Harewood Golf Club and a nice man, Mark Guy, took me under his wing. At that time he had a golf school. He was looking after most of the top players around town. Once or twice a week we would get together as a squad.”
When did that start?
“When I was seven and dad would drop me off and pick me up at night. I would be the last one to leave as there were no cars in the car park. They were good times being in a really good environment, having fun with a lot of good players.”
Yee has been playing golf at Russley for the last 25 years since he was 10 years old and working there for the last 13 years. He says it is like a second home for him.
How did the work begin?
“Taking opportunities really. When I was still at univer sity I was picking up range balls for the golf shop initially, then I was offered a position working in the golf shop part-time and doing some weekend work. It was kind of one opportunity led to another. At the time the profes sional Jason Hunter left and an opportunity came up to do a traineeship. It was really good timing as I was just finishing university studies.”
So, he started his training under Mark Guy.
“During my traineeship I went to the Gold Coast in Australia for a conference. I remember very clearly ar riving at Royal Pines and being blown away by the facili ties. The two-storey car park and the golf shop had two Ferraris parked outside. Pretty much two thoughts went through my head — do I want to work towards having an opportunity to work at an established place like that, or do I want to go home and build it from scratch?
“I decided to build from scratch. That is when the Rus sley golf learning centre started. Mark Guy thought the learning centre would be a good move. It took a year or two to get up and running.”
So how is it going now?
“Now we are just meeting demand. At the moment we have five full-time professional coaches. We turn over more than 100 hours coaching a week. We are for tunate to have one of the youngest coaching teams in the country … average age probably 30. The structure of
our learning centre is we each look after our own space. There is no competition between the coaches. We work together really nicely.”
Jess Reid and Hillary O’Connor look after the ladies and the she loves golf programme and juniors. Moon hak Lee looks after the Korean space for members and other golfers. Yee, himself, has a core group of students who are at elite age or have longer term ambitions. Mark Guy is also on board. At the time of this interview they were looking for a sixth coach to meet demand. In 2023 they are bringing on another trainee.
Reid has been a teaching professional since 2013 and is retail manager of the pro shop. She was a Canterbury representative for four years and won PGA trainee of the year award all three years of her training. Hillary
O’Connor was a Canterbury rep for 10 years. Lee was a Canterbury junior and senior rep. Guy was trained at the Mornington Club in Victoria and played the pro circuit. He was a professional at the Christchurch Golf Club in 1983 and Harewood in 1988.
Yee continues: “We are future proofing the learning centre and in two years time will introduce another trainee. Just to give a bit of backbone to it, our junior programme which used to run on a Sunday but now runs over the weekend. We have 70 kids in our pro gramme alone, starting at three years old to about 12. We run groups of six.
“At the moment we have 32 on our waiting list. Some have been waiting one or two terms to get a spot and that is why we are recruiting to cope with the demand. So that is just our junior programme which is tied in with Golf New Zealand’s futures’ golf initiative which has been awesome.”
Outside of the junior programme, they probably have another 40 to 50 youth golfers come through each week. They promote the learning centre to bring people from the outside in. For example none of the 70 children in the junior programme are members. The fees are for a term at a time. The pathways and structures are well in place to take a youngster from three years old to as far as they want to go.
Yee said: “We have never really marketed the learn ing centre or promoted it. A lot of it has been word of mouth. There are a lot of cool success stories.”
So what about your golf? Have you played the pro cir cuits?
“No. I haven’t played the circuit. I played top level am ateur.”
He represented Canterbury at junior and senior levels and played for New Zealand universities at an overseas event.
“I decided to be a teaching pro after caddying for Aussie pro Scott Gardner, one of the nicest people. I caddied for him in three or four events here in New Zealand. Talking to these guys inside the ropes convinced me I didn’t want to be travelling 10 months of the year or whatever. I hadn’t done enough as an amateur and I enjoyed helping people so that is why I am where I am now.”
How is Russley doing regarding membership?
“We have around 900 members now. It is a little out of control with a lot of new faces so we are probably at the point of looking at putting a cap on membership. We have probably gained 200 to 250 members since precovid. Things like she loves golf have been good and we are big on social media. We have embraced it and it has been a huge part of helping us achieve where we have got to.”
No doubt the setup at Russley is a template for others to emulate. Rodney Yee has certainly been making a dif ference on the Canterbury golf scene.
Rodney Yee.
During our time at the Bay of Islands Golf Club in Kerikeri in Northland it was an opportune time to have a chat with the manager for the last three years, Kevin Hughes, and drill down on his background and the progress of the club.
Hughes was born in Auckland and had always lived there apart from two years in Christchurch.
“We had adopted two Russian children and when they were in the five to ten years’ period we wanted them to spend some time with their grandparents. So we spent two years freezing our butts off in Christ church.”
Having lived for over 50 years in Christchurch my self I did not challenge him.
Hughes continued: “A qualified accountant by trade, the opportunity to work here came up. My sister-in-law was a member here and said they may want me as they had financial issues. Originally I worked 10 years for Lion Breweries as an accountant. Following that I managed a manufacturing company in Auckland with 200 staff.”
“As a junior I played at Akarana then it was 30 years at Muriwai. I was chairman of the board there for about three years. The general manager’s position came up at Muriwai so I resigned as chairman as I was interested. However I missed out so chairman was my only involvement in golf club management until this position came up. They wanted someone to look after the accounting and all other club pro cesses.”
Was it a major move to make the change after all those years in Auckland?
“It was the first wave of covid and we had the perfect storm of reasons to move. We were getting kicked out of our rental accommodation and it was very hard to find anything to rent. I was running a dental group at that stage and they were only paying me the wage subsidy although I was working seven days a week. So it was an easy decision to make. Here we live in a cottage on site so I can look after security as well.”
How old are your children now? Any golf prodigies?
“They are 23 and 27 and not golfers although my daughter can play if I can drag her out. She hits a lovely little draw. Pick up a club and hit a draw.”
So tell us what the club’s progress has been since you started?
“The first thing was to sort out the finances as the committee had been strong on tightening the spend ing as they were struggling financially. However we own the land so are in a very good position in that regard. Three years ago the income was not lasting
a full year so there were borrowings and duplication of staffing.”
In fact there were three or four people doing the work Hughes is doing so efficiently now. Of course they were paying about $10,000 a year for account ing so that is another big saving with Hughes at the helm.
With covid on the scene, the boost in internal travel was a boon for the club.
“We had a 77 percent increase in green fees in 2021. For the most part that has continued except for when Auckland shut down and we followed.”
Is membership growing? “We have had about a 10 percent increase.
Are juniors a focus?
“Yes we are pushing the juniors. We have Monday coaching by Taylor Gill from Waitangi. He was a ju nior member here and his mum plays here. We are budgeting around $6000 a year for junior coaching. Two local players plus a lady member join Gill and they take four groups with about 16 to 20 attending each Monday.”
Are women a target? “We have a strong but ageing women’s membership. The average age would prob ably be 60 to 65 but we get about 30 to 35 playing every Tuesday. I call the 30 to 50 year olds the lost generation.”
Hughes then offers some very insightful thoughts about attracting new ones to the great game.
“Young ones, they want to play a nine hole am brose with their mates. They don’t care if they have only contributed a few shots. They just want to have a bit of fun and dress casually and sometimes want to have music on the back of their carts.
“We have to find a place in golf for these ones. What we try and do particularly on Sundays is put together all categories that do not fit with the traditional golf er and put them on the other side of the course. So we send one lot off the first tee and the other off 10 or vice versa. That way they they don’t annoy each other.”
The course was in excellent condition when we played it so we asked him about the greenkeeping.
“We have a new greenkeeper Martin Burger who has worked at Whitford Park and then a period at Kauri Cliffs. He then suffered a leg injury that pre vented him from greenkeeping for a couple of years so he did a few other things. Then when we had a va cancy a few months ago he put his hand up and I said with that sort of background you are in. He has been brilliant and is a very good golfer as well. He is on a plus one and plays for the Northland Masters team.
“In all, we have two full-time greenkeepers. But there is a lot of work so we do rely on volunteers to tidy and clean up the course . I am expecting the course will continue to improve under their watch.”
Have there been or are there any course changes of significance?
“Not in recent times but there is a plan for a devel oper who owns land adjacent to the course to buy our course for housing and build a new course on the other side of this one. It is not an official proposal yet and it would take 75 percent of members to vote in favour. Bearing in mind the membership is an older demographic they may think what’s in it for me? So watch this space for the next five years.”
“Another interesting development involves the Quail Ridge housing on the other side of the river re lating to waste water dispersement. We have struck a deal with them to disperse their waste water on parts of our golf course, parts that we don’t use, and they pay us for that privilege which could be the case for the next 20 or 30 years. It is another boost for our finances.”
The Bay of Islands Classic is the biggest tournament the club hosts with 250 golfers. Then in September it has the Citrus Classic which features top amateurs. There is a thought to look at a two-day pro-am com bining with Waitangi. On that note we conclude, with both Kevin Hughes and the Bay of Islands Golf Club in very good heart.
The world is open to travellers again and we would love
to join us in
and their
From
Europe and then South Africa, experience the cultures and traditions, the landscapes and cities. Return to NZ
and rewarded by your encounters.
Winter golf holiday packages in Queensland are now available for booking, so if you want to relax in some winter warmth next July/August, make sure you don’t miss out and head over to our website where you will find all the information.
fully hosted packages ensure you have a hasslefree, fun and relaxed time when travelling with us. You’ll find all the details of all these and other tours on our website, including convenient online booking.
er, building structural strengthening, and the creation of a sprig bar with outdoor seating, plus a complete new septic system and treatment plant.
The total cost was high, just on the $1 million mark, but the return on in vestment has been immediate – with the opening of the more causal sprig bar adding an additional $60,000 in li quor sales to the club’s bar revenues, $26,000 to the café, plus pro’ shop equipment and apparel sales increasing by $300,000 in the current financial year.
Part of the credit for increasing bev erage revenues at the club has been Jackson’s preference for New Zea land craft beers – particularly local brands Liberty, and Hallertau - which all regularly outsell the bigger interna tional brands.
portation to the beach.
Jackson and the team of volunteers at Muriwai Golf Club have all been early adopters of Golf New Zealand’s pest eradication programme recom mendations. One year into the initia tive, the club operates 90 pest traps around its holes – catching 700 pos sums and rats so far. This has seen the club’s pheasant population treble. Likewise, Muriwai’s quail breeding stocks are growing, and numbers of protected species oyster catcher, dot terel, and herons are also on the rise.
The local primary school will uti lise Muriwai Golf Club for its envi ronment curriculum – involved with bird counting and tree planting initia tives in conjunction with the Depart ment of Conservation.
to establishing a small coastal community’s golf club as the hub of social activitycombined with creating one of the best ecologically-friendly recreational desti nations in New Zealand – has earned the club’s general manager a national award.
Muriwai Golf Club general manager Andrew Jackson won the club manager of the year accolade at the Golf New Zealand awards presented recently, for his efforts in leading the Auckland venue into an unprecedented new era of community involvement and finan cial prosperity.
Jackson has been Muriwai Golf Club’s general manager for 5-1/2 years. In that time the club’s turnover has grown three-fold.
Under Jackson and the club’s board stewardship, the club structures its week-to-week operations on the principals of a five-year strategic plan. The club’s current success has been built on implementing a range of initia tives – including:
* Positioning the course and its club house infrastructure as a social hub for everyone in Muriwai
* Making golf attractive to as wide a playing pool as possible by em bracing more women and children onto the course
* Introducing a comprehensive range of environmental protection and enhancement programmes to grow and nurture native flora and fauna species
* Taking a business-focussed ap proach to the course’s activities, in cluding commercial partnerships.
Positioning itself to be the social and focal hub of the tight-knit Muriwai community north-west of Auckland, the golf club is now offering food and beverage services under a club licence – similar to an RSA (Returned Services’ Association). In parallel with extending the food and beverage menus, Muri wai Golf Club’s clubhouse is about to undergo the second phase of a major refurbishment programme.
The first phase of this pro gramme, completed 18-months ago, saw the clubhouse ground floor com pletely remodelled – including the ad dition of new women’s changing room and bathroom amenities, a new pro shop, a new ground floor entrance foy
That tap pouring loyalty to local ly-owned craft breweries has also seen two of the Kiwi beer labels becoming intricately linked to the club’s sponsor ship activities – with one committing to signage on four carts, and another, not wanting to be outdone, taking on sig nage on eight carts.
Cementing a win-win scenario for all parties, indeed Liberty now sponsor the club’s pennant teams, plus the Mu riwai Open pro-am. In parallel, multiple wine companies in the nearby Kumeu and Huapai locales also enjoy sponsor ship exposure including the Hunting Lodge, which is the major sponsor for the club’s Sundowner Twilight Series.
With that infrastructure operation al, phase two of Muriwai Golf Club’s club house redevelopment will see the up per-level deck substantially extended up to the putting green, and the interior dé cor completely modernised to reflect a stylish seaside hospitality venue – fund ing dependant of course.
Jackson anticipates the re vamped clubhouse with its spectacular golf course and sea views will become a sought-after wedding venue for the nearby greater Auckland catchment populous – utilising an existing natu ral elevated sand dune platform for ceremonies, and with guests able to take advantage of golf carts for trans
Meanwhile, a recent community open night at the club – featuring a pre sentation from the Department of Con servation on the club’s pest trapping and eradication programme – attract ed 75 Muriwai residents, 15 of whom signed up on the night to become so cial members affiliated with the club.
The club has a membership of 1060 players – including 160 women, a 75 percent increase in this demograph ic in just two-years. Jackson regularly hosts she love golf events – such as a recent six-hole ambrose event which saw 44 females taking to the fairways before a complimentary bubbles and giggles prizegiving.
Before the ambrose event, 25 of the women picked up tips from the club’s professional Gary Parkinson and pro shop staff on the driving range –with many participants now feeling confident enough to sign up for the club’s summer twilight series.
Auckland’s abysmally wet winter this year has also been a boom for Mu riwai - with its sand-based links allow ing for play regardless of how much rain came down the day before. In August, the course – which promotes itself as a year-round playable linksgenerated $77,000 in green fees alone in August, with an additional $15,000 from cart hire.
SteveAlker has agreed to play next year’s New Zea land Open.
The open is to be played at Millbrook Resort from March 2-5 and tournament organisers have confirmed Alker, who has been starring on the PGA Tour Champi ons in the United States, has committed to tee it up.
A total of 156 professionals will take on Millbrook Re sort’s Coronet and Remarkable courses in their bid to claim the 102nd edition of the New Zealand Open, pre sented by Sky Sport.
Tournament chairman John Hart was happy to be returning to normality after a few stop/start years and was grateful for the support of various stakeholders through what has been a very challenging time.
Said Hart: “Firstly, we are excited to be planning for the New Zealand Open again after a two-year break due to the covid-19 restrictions. We were disappointed to have to cancel the last two planned events in 2021 and again this year, but we are now full steam ahead for 2023.
“We are overwhelmed by the support of our finan cial backers. All of our major sponsors have renewed their commitment to our event, which is extremely gratifying, particularly in light of our two recent cancel lations. As well we have sold out the amateur field with a significant international wait list of people looking to get in the event.”
Alker, recent winner of one of the major events on the PGA Champions Tour (the Senior PGA Championship), has confirmed he will be returning to Queenstown and will be looking to build on his incredible 2022 perfor mances. Alker, from Hamilton, has won three Champi ons Tour tournaments and $NZ4.8 million in prizemon
ey in 2022.
Alker said: “The New Zealand Open is and will always be on my bucket list of events to win. How could you not want to have your name on your national open alongside the greats of our sport like Sir Bob Charles, Kel Nagle, Peter Thomson, Ian Baker-Finch and Michael Campbell.”
New Zealand’s other leading professional on the inter national stage, Ryan Fox, is however a doubtful starter in 2023, due to clashes with high profile PGA Tour events in the United States that he now qualifies to play in.
Hart added: “We were delighted to see Ryan win the Alfred Dunhill tournament at St Andrews and we ful ly understand that Ryan needs to chase his PGA Tour dream.
“The opportunities that have now opened up for him are not ones we would expect him to pass up on. He has been an enormous supporter of our event for many years, and we have no doubt that he will continue to support us in the years ahead whenever he can.”
With the completion of the new nine-holes at Mill brook Resort in 2021, the New Zealand Open will for the first time, will be played across both the Coronet and Remarkables championship courses providing a new dynamic to the event and some fantastic views for play ers and spectators alike.
Tournament director Michael Glading said: “We are very lucky to have the unwavering support of the Ishii family and Millbrook Resort, and we are looking forward to showing off their amazing facility to New Zealand and the rest of the world. Both courses are true champion
ship quality and the views from the newly completed Coronet course are breathtaking.
“Our international field will again include numerous up and coming young players from around the world. We are proud of the fact that in recent New Zealand Opens, three of this year’s International Presidents’ Cup team have played in Queenstown, prior to breaking onto the world stage.
“Sungjae Im (12th in 2017), Cameron Davis (7th in 2018) and Tom Kim (4th in 2020) are good examples of the quality of field that we are able to attract – as these players illustrate, we have hosted many of the world’s most promising players from Asia and Australasia, and we know that the 2023 event will again showcase some of the best young players from around the region.”
GolfNew Zealand has announced its first series of tourna ments specifically for disabled golfers in New Zealand.
The series will see four regional events over summer, leading up to the Golf New Zealand All Abilities Nation al Championship to be held at Win dross Farm Golf Club in Auckland next April.
The All Abilities’ events are part of an official world ranking tournament series for golfers with a disability (WR4GD) and are open to all golfers with a physical, sensory or intellectual impairment who hold an WR4GD pass or access pass. The WR4GD is adminis
tered by the United States’ Golf Asso ciation (USGA) and Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A).
Golf New Zealand is a member fed eration of the European Disabled Golf Association (EDGA) -- a collaboration of more than 40 national governing golf bodies across the world, sharing a tournament structure and worldwide calendar of events and championships for people with disabilities.
2022/2023 ALL ABILITIES
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
All Abilities regional series
* Canterbury region
Russley Golf Club, Christchurch – 20 and 21 November, 2022
* Bay of Plenty region Mount Maunganui Golf Club, Tau ranga – 17 and 18 December, 2022
* Wellington region Royal Wellington Golf Club, Welling ton – 21 and 22 January, 2023
* North Harbour region Muriwai Golf Club, Auckland - 6 and 7 March, 2023
Golf New Zealand All Abilities National Championship 2023
* Windross Farm Golf Course, Auck land - 1 and 2 April, 2023
Regional series: $50 entry fee per event.
National Championship: $100 entry fee.
All events are 36-holes.
Medals are awarded to first place gross winner, and first place Stable ford winner.
For more information and registra tion for the Golf New Zealand All Abil ities events series, please visit https:// www.golf.co.nz/national-champion ships
Or contact Golf New Zealand Par ticipation and Inclusion Manager em ily.davidson@golfnz.org or phone 022 370 4407 for more details.
Only players with a WR4GD pass can be ranked with WR4GD.
Onehas to ask when will the ridiculous war being waged by the PGA and DP World Tours on LIV Golf and its players ends?
Perhaps the upcoming legal stoush may have an influence with the presiding United States District Court judge Van Keulen saying in response to the argu ments provided by both sides: “One is too broad and the other too narrow. Both sides should work towards a compromise on this.”
Here’s hoping.
To perhaps highlight the stu pidity of the ongoing saga I thought a somewhat lightheart ed look at many of the headlines in the past few months might be enlightening. Let us keep in mind we are talking about fellow professional golfers plying their trade. So here goes.
HEADLINES OF WAR …
McIlroy backs tour suspen sions.
DP World Tour confirms sanc tions for LIV rebels.
McIlroy on what the PGA Tour must change to combat LIV.
They say one thing and do an other — McIlroy.
One more than someone else — McIlroy after PGA win 21,
one more than Greg Norman.
I supported Greg Norman’s exclusion from the 150th Open — McIlroy (another nice one).
Kevin Na won’t be missed — Grayson Murray (who?)
Woods and McIlroy propose stadium events to combat LIV threat — Yawn.
Please stay away in your fan tasyland — Joel Dahmen (Anoth er tour “star’’).
Augusta chairman warns play ers off joining LIV.
Tiger Woods delivers savage verdict on LIV Golf — mmmmm Patrick Reed removed from Scottish Open — (for years a supporter of the European Tour)
I’ll never speak to (close friend) Phil Mickelson again — Fred Couples
We hold all the cards. If they (LIV) play we won’t. Like a base ball strike at the US Open — Da vis Love III at his colourful best.
We players make the rules on the PGA Tour. We don’t care what the courts say — Davis Love III on striking. That’s the at titude Davis!!!!
PGA Tour confirms further LIV Golf suspensions.
Norman asked not to attend QBE shootout which he found ed 33 years ago and has hosted and played in every year since — appreciation (not).
PGA Tour commissioner Mo nahan rules out ever coming together for discussions — this after Greg Norman ran out of patience and said that after several attempts to have discus sions with the PGA without any response, LIV would not pursue that any longer.
PGA and DP Tours strengthen alliance amid the LIV threat — sounds like NATO or the UN.
Virtually every DP World Tour player does not want LIV players in our tournaments — Paul Mc Ginley
Don’t speak for us as we have no problem with them playing — Several players respond to McGinley.
The PGA Tour have always been bullies — Lee Westwood.
Tiger Woods is all that matters in the LIV battle — Justin Thom as (oh really).
LIV Bangkok event to remain without ranking points due to in sufficient notice — a convenient excuse after Mena Tour joins with LIV.
Justin Thomas blames LIV players for world ranking points issues.
Gary Player slams LIV move by Cameron Smith. He was giv en wrong advice — your opinion Gary.
McIlroy calls for peace talks between LIV and the PGA — change of mind.
An offer I couldn’t ignore — Cameron Smith explains with clarity and reasoning.
Ernie Els suggests a three month LIV season after PGA sea son ends.
Best solution is for PGA Tour and LIV to work together — Phil Mickelson (too sensible)
I can’t stand the anti LIV narra tive. It is tearing the game apart — James Hahn talking sense.
You are welcome to the PGA Tour purse increases.
I wish they (LIV players) could play in the Ryder Cup. It’s Europe versus USA not the PGA and DP Tours versus LIV — Jon Rahm
Those on the OWGR board (read Monahan and Pelley) who hate LIV need to grow up.
LIV Golf is not pure evil. They need to stop having shots at each other. The LIV schedule is very appealing — Adam Scott.
And the last word from Dame Laura Davies.
“I have no problem with the LET Aramco Saudi backed se ries or LIV as we are all self em ployed. I’m happy for the guys on the LIV Tour and for the PGA players. Choices are usually nev
er a bad thing. Is it legal to ban players if they are qualified to play.”
That is just a small sampling. Several other players have been less than pleasant in their outbursts against their fellow professionals on the LIV Tour. Billy Horschel has made sever al harsh comments while Ed die Pepperell has sounded off drawing some responses from Lee Westwood. Shane Lowry is another to fire shots.
To their credit many of the world’s best golfers have sensi bly kept their opinions to them selves knowing that the scene could suddenly change for the better and they will again share the fairways with the LIV players. So why inflame the situation. Adam Scott set a good lead with his comments.
Ironically it is difficult not to wonder where we would be now had the LPGA and LET (Ladies’ European Tour) commission ers been heads of the PGA and DP Tours. I have no doubt they would have at least sat down with Greg Norman and probably thrashed out something bene ficial for their respective mem bers. It will not surprise if that scenario for the women’s tours plays out in the not too distant future.
Canterbury junior Cooper Moore was too consistent for his rivals at the Eagles under 17 boys National Golf Championships at Mangawhai Golf Club in Northland.
Each of the 15 Eagles’ societies from throughout New Zealand can send three players to the tournament, two of either
sex and one other.
Cooper Moore, 14, from Clearwater Golf Club, won the event with rounds of 74, 72 and 72 for three-round total of 218. He played solid, mainly error-free golf, although runner-up Nicolas Cheifetz pushed him hard in the final round for second place with rounds of 73, 75 and 72 and a total of 221.
Noah Novacek, from Queenstown, was
third equal with 73, 82 and 70 for 225. Novacek’s final round 70 was the best round of the tournament by two shots but his 82 second round put paid to his winning chances. Isaac Steel (Tieke) tied for third with 78, 74 and 73.
This is a prestigious annual event run by the Eagles Golfing Society of New Zealand. The society has 1450 members throughout New Zealand. It was estab
lished in 1964 as a charity that supports the Halberg Disability Sports Foundation and junior golf.
Many players who have played in this event in the past have become some of our best professionals. Such names as Michael Campbell, Craig Perks, Daniel Hillier, Gareth Paddison, Renee Fowler and Amelia Garvey feature.
Resort continues to make its mark as a world lead ing destination for holiday makers, golfers and property owners.
It has picked up a host of worldwide awards. For the third year running it has won two prestigious World Travel Awards.
It has again been judged New Zea land’s leading resort and Oceania’s leading hotel for 2022. Add to those the following:
* 2022 Best New Zealand golf resort by Haute Grandeur Global Hotel Awards
* 2022 Trip Advisor travellers’ choice award in the top 10 percent of Hotels Worldwide
* 2022 World luxury golf and lifestyle resort from corporate America today
* 2022 World luxury golf and lifestyle resort by M & A Today Global Awards Add to this Millbrook followed up last years’ win by making the final of Queenstown’s employer of choice award.
Following on from the recently com pleted multi-million dollar improve ments and revamp around the village centre, Millbrook will now significantly invest in a complete redevelopment of its driving range.
$1 million will be spent in the staged development which will cater nicely for the large numbers of players com peting at the 2023 New Zealand Open which for the first time will be held en tirely at Millbrook.
The access road to the driving range plus the car park, which are current
ly gravel, will be asphalted. The grass range hitting area will be doubled and the under cover hitting bays will be tre bled to 17 bays. Toilet facilities will also be provided and plans are in the pipe line for a tennis centre and golf acad emy. There is an existing tennis court for guests near the village centre.
With it’s two international 18-hole courses now in full swing, Millbrook is at the pinnacle of resorts worldwide. The Remarkables and Coronet courses are available on alternate days for visi tors and members.
The Nomura Cup is back on the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) schedule after a five-year hiatus.
First postponed due to Hong Kong’s political unrest in 2019, and latterly due to the covid-19 pandemic, Golf New Zealand has finally been able to name a three-man team to head to the Philippines capital of Manila next month.
The team of Kazuma Kobori (Rangiora), James Hydes (Gulf Harbour) and Sam Jones (Manaia) will get the chance to redeem themselves following a flat performance at the recent World Amateur Teams’ Championship in France.
Kobori is the highest-ranked Kiwi in the side, find ing himself inside the top 50 on the world amateur golf rankings earlier this year, which automatically qualified him for the 2022 United States’ Amateur Championship.
James Hydes comes into the team after a long northern hemisphere summer campaign, where he got to test himself against the best amateur golfers in the world. Sam Jones rounds out the team as the current New Zealand Amateur Strokeplay champion.
Golf New Zealand’s high performance manag er Gregg Thorpe said: “While it’s unusual to have a Nomura Cup following so soon after an Eisenhower Trophy campaign, it does provide this team with a great opportunity to take their learnings from France and put them into practice at the Nomura Cup.
“There was a pretty raw and honest review follow ing that performance and I look forward to seeing how the team prepare and perform in November on the back of that.”
The Nomura Cup, also known as the Asia-Pacific Amateur Teams’ Championship, will be played at The Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club, (Masters
Course) in the Philippines from November 15-18.
The Nomura Cup is held once every two years and is rotated in the Asia-Pacific region. It was first held in the Philippines in 1963 and New Zealand was a win ner in 1995 when the tournament was held at the Russley Golf Club in Christchurch.
Conducted by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation with the support of world governing body, The R&A, each team consists of three male players (previously four), contesting 18 holes of strokeplay for four days.
In each round, the lowest two individual scores make up the team score for the round.
The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship. The winning team receives the Nomura Cup, which was named after Shun Nomura, the former vice-president of the Japan Golf Associa tion, who donated the cup.
TheHills Golf Club’s recent open day was a huge success, according to general manager Craig Palmer.
Palmer, firstly explained why they did it.
“We are constantly inundated with requests from people who just want to come and have a look at the place. Because of our private model the answer is al ways no.
“So we thought it would be really nice to create one day each year where we could actually say yes, so that was the reason we decided to do it.
“We did little advertising this year because we wanted to see how it went. Unfortunately the weath er wasn’t great but we were still busier than we ex pected We had to have someone assist with park ing.”
The car park filled quickly so the overflow areas were fully utilised.
There were three experiences on the day.
The opportunity to play The Farm par three course and with a full field of 84 there was a morning tee time and an afternoon tee time. There was the op tion to dine in the clubhouse and also to walk the course and enjoy the sculptured art work.
Palmer added: “Very few non members have played The Farm course so it was nice to share that with our compliments.
We asked how many people turned up.
“There were hundreds. We probably should have had a counter at the gate and the other thing that would have been nice was have somewhere for peo ple to write something about their experience.
“We will definitely do things a little bit differently next year. People might think doing it midweek is a bit silly but it is the perfect time to do it as the big course is always closed for green renovations from Monday to Thursday that week each year …. and people don’t have to dodge golf balls or anything else so they can have a very good look around.
“Next year we may have a coffee cart at the front of the clubhouse as the restaurant got too busy to han dle takeaway coffees, We did think about it for this year but didn’t know how busy we would be. Next year we will get a local company involved and even may have a food truck out on the course as well for snacks.”
The thought of a charity event did come up.
“We did think earlier this year to have it as some kind of charity event but we decided to make it free of charge and just get a few people through the gate to enjoy the experience. One chap said he would happily pay so we might find a way to make it hap pen as a charity event.”
Considering it was a rainy and windy day and ev eryone booked to play The Farm turned up it was a remarkably successful day for the local community.
The Otago Golf Club began a trial in July that stirred up much consterna tion amongst many female members. There were four reasons for the trial.
1. Remove gender references to tees.
2. Move to a common par 71 for all members.
3. Amend the indices for all holes.
4. Change the tee colours to black, gold, silver and bronze.
Feedback was mixed to say the least so the board decided last month to end the changes except for the new coloured tee markers.
It was hard to see the justification for having all holes and indexes the same for men and women as some holes simply didn’t lend themselves to that for women.
Forcing the women to play to the same par as the men did not go down well. The best example was the 18th, a steep climbing par four for men and a par five for women which became a par four for the women. The prob lem was few, if any, women could get even close to the green in two shots. So there was no point in it being a par four.
Having the same par for each hole for both sexes did not seem to have any advantages so there was much relief when the sensible decision was made.
The 2022 season will be the last for the PGA EuroPro Tour, Europe’s third tier circuit.
Citing economic factors, rising costs and audience changes, the deci sion has nevertheless come as a shock to the golfing world. After all isn’t golf booming?
The tour has been an important step ping stone for over 20 years as each year the top five finishers on the order of merit were awarded Challenge Tour cards. This provided much valued ex perience on many aspects of full tour life. As with any of the minor tours this tour has produced major champion
ship winners and countless wins on the DP World and PGA Tours.
Where to now? Is this more evidence of the stranglehold the PGA Tour has on world golf? Time may tell.
A hole in one is cause for celebration. How about two in the same round. The odds of this happening are 167 million to one. Yet that is what happened at the mountainous Canmore Golf Club in Canada to a 14-year-old girl.
Adele Stanford achieved just that having only taken up the game the pre vious year.
She said: “This was only my third tournament and in my previous ones I messed up so I just wanted to beat my last score.’’
Her first ace came at the par three 12th hole.
“Once I hit the ball I thought that’s a good shot. It landed short of the green and rolled in. I was in shock.”
Three holes later at the par three 15th she repeated the dose.
“Someone said imagine if you get another one.” Sanford relates. “I hit it dead straight and it went in.”
When she got home and told her mother she became teary and said: “I’ve been golfing since I was a kid and never had a hole in one.”
The youngster hopes to become a good golfer and one day walk the fair ways with her idol, fellow Canadian Brooke Henderson.
The PGA Tour of Australasia has gained broadcast rights for the 2022/23 season of golf that will give fans more viewing than ever before. From Octo ber through to April, 17 events will be broadcast, providing over 170 hours of live tournament coverage in Australia.
For New Zealand fans there will be 150 hours of live coverage plus replays and highlights. This broadcast deal has been signed off for three more years. All parties involved are extremely pleased with the outcome.
Viewers will have much to look for
ward to with the Australian Open, Australian PGA, New Zealand Open and New Zealand PGA featuring. Play ers returning for some Australian events are Cameron Smith, Hannah Green, Adam Scott and Marc Leish man. Steve Alker is returning to have a crack at winning his first New Zealand Open.
It is hard to know whether to laugh or cry when PGA Tour chief execu tive Jay Monahan makes another an nouncement. With every breath he exhales, the controversial words Phil Mickelson uttered about the PGA Tour some months ago seem to be ringing truer and truer.
The PGA Tour will have increased purses of at least $US20 million prizemoney for four events in the fight with LIV Golf. A total of 13 events will have elevated prizemoney. These will replace initial plans for a limited international tour.
The PGA Tour seems to copy LIV with every move and one can only wonder if Monahan is incapable of coming up with something original. He appears to think money is the only answer.
PGA professional James Hahn, who says he loves the PGA Tour, does not agree. He is one of four player direc tors on the tour’s nine voting member policy board. However he was the only player to vote against the money laden changes, saying: “Certain changes were made to combat the LIV Tour not nec essarily make our tour any better.”
Telling words.
The PGA Tour players should be re joicing and thanking their fellow LIV pros and LIV golf for unlocking the PGA Tours hidden war chest rather than bad mouthing them. Funny what a lit tle competition can do.
If this happening wasn’t so shatter ing for the players it would be funny.
A United States college event held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin had to be
cancelled after just three holes on day two.
It was described as carnage as a re sult of many factors. High winds, light ning fast greens and to cap it off stupid brutal pin positions left no alternatives.
The combination of almost gale force winds and fast greens saw balls having no chance of holding some greens. The cancellation came after three groups had played the third hole and produced a 13 and a 16.
One player said: “there was carnage.”
Another person said: “The conditions were the worst I’ve ever seen and the pins both days were unfair.’’
Only two players scored in the 70s.
Sadly this had happened earlier this year at a state college event for girls. The pin position on the 18th hole was so difficult that the average score on that hole was a quadruple bogey. Keep in mind Whistling Straits has hosted several majors and the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Bryson DeChambeau is no one di mensional golfer.
His effort at the World Long Driv ers’ Championships recently surprised many observers. Last year he finished seventh.
His runner-up finish this year was more than admirable. Following re cent hand surgery and only one week of preparation no one expected what unfolded.
After making it through to the last eight he progressed to the final against Martin Borgmeier of Germany and came close to a huge upset.
DeChambeau’s best of his three counting drives was a whopping 406 yards (371 metres). However the expe rienced German struck a late 426 yard bomb to win.
Borgmeier said: “One very important thing you all need to know is none of us would be here with the improvements in technology if Bryson hadn’t come a year ago to make the sport what it is right now.”
The New Zealand team also comprise six players, with world number 72 Fiona Xu, who matched Bosio’s quarter-final ef fort at the US Girls’ Junior Championship, as their leading star. Others in the team are Vivian Lu, Eunseo Choi, Tara Raj, Dar ae Chung and Sumin Kang.
in the 2021 AIG Women’s Open at Car noustie through Final Qualifying.
Rudgeley, whose last win was in the third week of January at the Avondale Amateur, is eager to get back in the win ners’ circle and knows it would be a great week to do that in Thailand.
women’s amateur golfer Down Under. She is also the defending New Zealand Amateur champion.
Theleading women amateur golfers from Australia and New Zealand are targeting a win at the Women’s Am ateur Asia-Pacific championship when it is played at the Waterside Course at the Siam Country Club in Thailand from 3-6 November.
The premier women’s amateur cham pionship will feature 86 of the region’s finest golfers from 21 countries, with the first three editions being won by players from Thailand (Atthaya Thitikul, 2018) and Japan (Yuka Yasuda, 2019 and Mizuki Hashimoto, 2021).
In 2022, Australia will field a strong squad of six players, all ranked inside 152 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR). It will be spearheaded by Kirsten Rudgeley, the 2021 English Women’s Am ateur champion, who at 34 in the WAGR is the top-ranked Aussie.
It will also feature Kelsey Bennett who finished joint runner-up in the WAAP when it was played in Abu Dhabi last year. Justice Bosio, who reached the quarter-finals of the 73rd US Girls’ Junior Championship in Kentucky this year, Maddison Hinson-Tol chard, Caitlin Peirce and Sarah Hammett.
Bennett’s tied second place in Abu Dha bi is the best result by an Australian in the championship that is organised by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confeder ation (APGC) and was first held in 2018. For New Zealand, Wenyung Keh’s play-off loss to Atthaya Thitikul in the inaugural championship in Singapore in 2018 re mains the nation’s best finish.
The field in Thailand is stacked with stars, including Saki Baba, Japan’s world number four and the reigning US Ama teur champion. World number 11 Jiyoo Lim of the Republic of Korea and local star Natthakritta Vongtaveelap, who wants to go one better than her second-place fin ish in Abu Dhabi last year, will be strong contenders as well.
There is a lot to play for at the WAAP with the winner at Siam Country Club earning the opportunity to compete in two major championships in 2023 – the AIG Women’s Open and the Amundi Evi an Championship. They will also be in vited to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Hana Financial Group Championship.
The 21-year-old Rudgeley, who became the first Australian to make the cut at ANWA earlier this year and play the fi nal round at Augusta National Golf Club where she finished tied eighth, will be making her debut in the WAAP. The West Australian has also already had a taste of major championship golf, earning a place
Rudgeley said, “I have heard so many good things about the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship and how the girls have enjoyed their previous expe riences. I am excited to finally become a part of it this year.
“I know what is on offer to the WAAP champion. It was incredible to play and be in the mix at the ANWA this year and play ing at the AIG Women’s Open last year was just a whole other level. Having had a taste of major championship golf, I know that is where I want to be. Winning WAAP would be a huge boost to getting back there.”
Bennett had a chance to make a bird ie on the closing par-5 18th hole at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Sunday to force a play-off in the third WAAP championship, but the lively 22-year-old from New South Wales won hearts as she smiled her way through the disappointment.
Bennett said, “I played really well last year. Even though I didn’t quite get a win across the line. I can’t complain, it was an awesome experience. All year I’ve been thinking about the WAAP and getting a second crack at it. I’m excited to be back this year and hopefully I can go one bet ter.”
The 17-year-old Xu became the third New Zealander to win the Australian Am ateur crown following in the footsteps of her idol, Lydia Ko, who achieved the feat in 2012. That gives the soft-spoken Xu bragging rights to be called the best
Richard and Pam Wright took the GNZ Mixed Foursomes title with three comprehensive victories across La bour Weekend in Rotorua.
With none of their matches making the 16th, the Wrights took control of each match early on in the round and, other than a brief spell on Saturday morning, were never behind as they saw off their opponents with comfortable wins of 4&3, 5&3 and 6&5, respectively, in their three matches.
The Mother and Son combination had never played together before and en tered after deciding that playing a na tional tournament together should be on their bucket list. Winning, Pam said, was simply a dream come true.
Matamata members Richard, playing off a plus 1.9 handicap, and Pam (6.2) were seeded number one.
The weather played its part with 110 competitors from all over New Zealand, plus an Australian pair, enjoying the near perfect conditions on a well-presented course. Split into seven divisions, Roger and Christine Pears dominated their op
Xu said, “I have had some great suc cess in the past year, but the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship will be another step up for me. There are some remarkable players in the Asian countries and the competition will be intense. So many factors are involved in winning a tournament, but I am sure I won’t be short on confidence and belief when I tee up in Thailand.”
The WAAP has been developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confedera tion (APGC) to inspire future generations of women golfers and provides the cham pion with an unparalleled launchpad ear ly in their career through exemptions into multiple women’s major championships and other elite amateur championships.
The Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship is proudly supported by Rolex, Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings, Trust Golf, Hana Financial Group and Samsung.
For more information on the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, visit the champion ship website at www.randa.org/WAAP.
ponents in division two in the first two rounds, before beating Tim and Alison Pollock 3&1 in the final.
Cambridge pair Duncan Wright and Sian Stevenson, who were taken to the 21st hole before prevailing in their sec ond match, took out the Division 3 title with a 4&3 win over Wanaka members Paul and Julie McEwan.
Axel and Bev Hansen (4&3) beat Aus tralians Kim and Maryann Johnson to take the Division four title, whilst Philip Stark celebrated his Birthday by taking the division five title with Valerie Hancox, beating Ross and Nicky Stephenson 6&5. The final two divisions had two tight final matches. Ron Kusabs and Pamela Sut ton, and Dave and Rhona Mason, both won 2&1 to take the sixth and seventh division titles, respectively.
PaR nz Golfing Holidays who manage the tournament under the auspices of Golf New Zealand, announced that the 2023 championship will be contested in Wellington at Boulcott’s Farm Heritage Golf Club. Details and entry forms to be published in due course.
If events from the past month are anything to go by the Ohope Beach Golf Links club is poised to have an other bumper summer of golf.
Early in October the club hosted its inaugural Millennials tournament, attracting close to 90 players, most ly from Ohope and the Eastern Bay of Plenty but also from as far afield as Taupo, Muriwai, Raglan and Wel lington. Aimed at players and hack ers aged 18 to 40, the Mata Brewer ies-sponsored tournament had three divisions to accommodate the varying
abilities of the entrants. The concept of this tournament is unique, and it could well become a feature on other clubs’ programmes.
Come Labour Weekend the club held its time-honoured Ohope 10,000 Men’s Open with a maximum field of 124 tee ing off in this two-day 36-hole event. Thankfully overhead weather conditions were clear for both days, but brisk, all-di rectional winds did temper any spec tacular scoring. Paraparaumu member Harry Middleton set the pace on Satur day, carding a commendable 71, four shots ahead of defending champion and local golfer Matt Purdy. On the Sunday
Harry could not repeat that effort having a horror round of 84, whilst Matt scored a steady 76 to scrap home by a single shot from his nearest rival.
Moving onto the upcoming summer months, the club will continue with its regular weekly programme and the many visitors to the course are always welcome to participate in any club event. One addition to the programme will be the Business House Challenge. Sponsored by MTF Finance Whaka tane, the challenge based on stable ford points will be contested by teams of four players over a period of eight Fridays.
Visitors to the course since last summer will notice not only further enhancements to the course, all de signed as part of the aspiration to be a true links course, but also an extension to the clubhouse. Blending in nicely with the iconic octagonal-shaped club house the extension will provide more efficient office space as well as provid ing the club with the opportunity to extend its range of club-branded mer chandise and other golfing equipment.
Ohope Beach Golf Links will certain ly be geared up to welcome visitors to share in its amazing facilities over the summer months.
We love having groups come and play our course and offer a discount for 12 players or more. Give us a call to enquire about bringing your golfing buddies, or a ladies golf group, to Ohope Beach Golf Links ... and think about combining it with a round at one of our neighbours; Whakatane, Opotiki, Kawerau or Te Teko.
Thefamous IGANZ Trans Tasman Clash is getting ready to drive Aus tralia’s top 5 biggest hitters to the tee, destination Port Douglas this De cember 2nd where the Aussie Long Bal lers will smash it out for the Darrin Wise Stingray. This years TTC will be in asso ciation with Survivor Golf Series which both teams are excited to be collaborat ing with. Let’s introduce to you the Na tions representatives.
CAPTAIN - STEFFAN SCUTTI: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION
New Zealand Long Black and XDL Champion Mr. Grieg Mooney has done it again. Taking the New Horizon Construc tion - North Island Championship 2022 and Longest Drive in the Open Mens division at 368 m. Grieg is fa miliar for bringing the heat to the tee-box with his consistence Longest Drives in his division. Grieg is used to putting out the heat with his day job as a Fireman well respected in his career for going the extra miles. Grieg is hyped up to keep his cur rent title of XDL South Island Cham pion as he gears up to drive at the upcoming New Horizon XDL South Island Championship 2022 at Nel son Golf Club. Grieg has also been named as top five travelling for the famous Trans Tasman Clash in Port Douglas this December where the New Zealand Long Blacks will take on the Aussie Long Ballers for the Darrin Wise Stingray. Grieg Mooney walked the Red Carpet at the Hal bergs in 2021 as National Champion
and New Zealand Long Black in cele bration for the National Team creat ing sports history for XDL. The New Zealand Long Blacks nominated for Team of the Year for their back to back win against Australia. The 2023 season will look to be the most ex pansive for the sport with software launching to support participation.
Grieg is known for his humour and certainly brings the entertain ment to the tee. The big hitters are going to out and about in the com munity more in 2023 with the pan demic slowing plans for the region al events. New Zealand Long Drive will be scouting for the best courses for the sport and look forward to the NEW season being full of events around the nation.
Follow the New Zealand Long Blacks at www.newzealandlong blacks.com and for events and up dates on the sport go to www.iganz. co.nz where you can register for our 2023 season. The 2023 Calendar will be loaded this December.
Steffan has made impact on the sport since 2017, an Original Aussie Long Bal ler, an Australian Champion and Interna tional Champion who has recently cre ated sports history for the XDL winning the first Asia Long Drive Championship in Phuket - Thailand.
Iain is a former New Zealand Long Black, an original from 2017 who now resides in Perth Australia.
Iain is another veteran to the sport and has been dedicated to growing the game before being a national represen tative.
KARL PETERS - 1ST XDL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPION 2018
Jason is one of the most known play ers in the sport, an original Aussie Long Baller and the 1st captain of the national team. Jason is one you will remember to bring the entertainment.
Karl is the first XDL Australian Champi on and entered the Aussie Long Ballers in 2018. Karl is no stranger to represent ing Australia on the international stage.
Paul is a natural high-performance athlete and coach. Paul is dedicated to growing the sport of XDL and will be seen on and off the tee with coaching for the sport.
The Aussie Long Ballers top 5 will be at the forefront of 2023 national growth campaign and are set to give the New Zealand Long Ballers their all this De cember. For more on the Team go to www.aussielongballers.com and for event updates go to www.iganz.co.nz.
New Zealand Long Blacks Captain - Mr Paul West is on a roll with his XDL Championship titles. Winning both the North & South Is land Championships, taking the New
Horizon Construction - New Zealand Champion 2021 title to most recently being named the Masters XDL North Island Champion 2022 where he also took out the Long Drive in the Masters
at 359 m. Paul comes from a sporting background in particular Cricket which gives him an edge with his drive accu racy. One of the most respected men on and off the tee, Paul was an obvi ous choice for Captain. Paul has been dedicated to the tee with the National Team since 2017 and has been part of all the historic moments that have shaped the way for the future of the sport. The upcoming Trans-Tasman Clash being held in Port Douglas on the 2nd of December is creating much excitement with the launch of the XDL virtual grid with Optishot (American software company) where Paul along side the Aussie Long Ballers CaptainSteffan Scutti are set to drive the first balls with this world first. The New Zealand Long Blacks nominated for a Halberg Team of the Year for their back-to-back win against the Aussie Long Ballers are hyped to show their muscle and keep the famous Darrin Wise - Stingray for another season. Paul West will be on the tee with the upcoming New Horizon ConstructionXDL South Island Championship 2022 where he will be keen to keep his win ning streak polished to take another win. The 2023 season will be one of the most full calendars with NEW partner
ships to grow the sports participation. The Masters division will see a massive spike in competition participants with the national/regional growth plan for the sport. New Zealand Long Drive will be pushing for club events to grow the game from 2023 now that the global pandemic has lifted restrictions. Paul West will be seen at the forefront of the team and the sport seen here in one of the most recognisable imag es for XDL. Follow Paul and the team at www.newzealandlongblacks.com
#GolfJustGotLoud
day to see the New Zea land Long Blacks supporting the inaugural Catwalk Golf Tourna ment at the home of CATWALK - Wainui Golf Club. An incredible event with A list celebrities and the best in business all dedicated to CATWALK who raise awareness and fund ongoing research for Spinal Cord Injury - Cure. I know that CATWALK is appreciative to every one who supported and attended the CatWalk Golf Open on the 6th October 2022. Over $68,000 was raised through the players, raffle and auction, which is an amazing achievement.
There seems to be a real diverse range of reasons why this charity is close to home. We all know someone that has suffered from spinal injury, be it on the sports field, via accidents, or in general through serious health issues. For the New Zealand Long Blacks who are in a high-performance sport where back injuries seems to be more prev
alent, CATWALK was of great interest for our team to get behind. Organically we were drawn to supporting this great charity from the first conversation and the incredible warmth from the whole team at CATWALK made us feel part of the family. The New Zealand Long Blacks are focused on making CAT WALK part of the Regional and National Growth Program which begins in 2023.
The sport of Long Drive (amateur) and Xtreme Drivers League (professional) is about to go full swing into the year with plans to educate, entertain and partner with clubs and businesses to grow the game. OPTISHOT has partnered with the New Zealand Long Blacks who will be launching software for participation in the sport. A world first and ready this December for the Trans Tasman Clash in Port Douglas where the Men in Black take on the Aussie Long Ballers.
All players braved the cold blitz that struck most of the country and
with the unlimited food and bever ages being supplied, everyone was well equipped throughout the whole day. The CATWALK Golf Open certain ly was one of our most memorable Golf Tournaments on and off the tee. The owner of the New Zealand Long Blacks, Olna Ford is driven to support CATWALK with all ongoing plans for the sport and the National Team of BIG Hitters.
The fun continued on the 19th hole with the auction being a real hit for CATWALK. Incredible auction items and plenty on great bids to make the day a true success for the charity. Ap plauds to all the staff who we know have poured so much time and ener gy into organising such an event. The event was WORLD CLASS and one that has created much interest. The 2023 event already highlighted on the New Zealand Long Blacks calendar and with this the National Team wish to put up
some important and valuable items for auction. The New Zealand Long Blacks were nominated for a Halberg in 2021 and Captain of the Womens team re ceiving a Queens Honour in 2022 which has created history for sport globally. The national team also looking to raise awareness and funds for CATWALK from 2023 with a heartfelt dedicated to the organisation. Olna is thankful to the team at CATWALK for reaching out to her and looks forward to an everlasting relationship that is fruitful for the cause.
The amount of humour and smiles from the day could light up the nation. A brilliant feel good event with much to talk about for years to come. The auction items and raffle prizes were all top notch with the outcome for CATWALK bringing much cheer. With a national hero and the nation’s son - Richie McCaw being at the forefront of CATWALK, it’s easy to see how important this charity is drawing to it the most influential partners.
Fairview Estate has an outstanding café/restaurant
We have made great progress at The Greens, Fairview Estate over the winter months.
Earthworks were completed in April and our Civil Works are now well underway.
The Greens is the latest residential subdivision at Fairview Estate and features architecturally designed, freehold, townhouses with off-street parking – perfect for motorhomes or caravans –making it an ideal base for lifestyle and retirement adventures.
indoor and outdoor bars, as well as a Country Club which boasts a wealth of facilities that currently includes a health studio, tennis courts, golf course, and an indoor pool and spa complex for sport, tness, and socialising. This is community living at its best.
Estate has an outstanding café/restaurant
bars, as well as a
Fairview Estate has an outstanding café/restaurant with indoor and outdoor bars, as well as a Country Club which boasts a wealth of facilities that currently includes a health studio, tennis courts, golf course, and an indoor pool and spa complex for sport, tness, and socialising. This is community living at its best.
Club which boasts a wealth of facilities
currently includes a health studio, tennis
Centrally located in the sunny Bay of Plenty, Katikati is a thriving hub with supermarkets, a medical center, library, and all levels of schooling.
course, and an indoor pool and spa complex for sport, tness, and socialising. This is
Centrally located in the sunny Bay of Plenty, Katikati is a thriving hub with supermarkets, a medical center, library, and all levels of schooling.
With house and land packages from $1,034,000, all including Country Club membership, these high-quality packages won’t last long so get in touch and chat to our expert team
located in the sunny Bay of Plenty, Katikati is a thriving hub with supermarkets, a medical center, library, and all levels of schooling.
packages from $1,034,000,
With house and land packages from $1,034,000, all including Country Club membership, these high-quality packages won’t last long so get in touch and chat to our expert team today.
these
won’t last long so get in
Unlocking more speed and dis tance through engineering in novations like Carbonfly Wrap without sacrificing its industry-leading forgiveness, PING introduced the G430 family today in Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
“The combined distance gains throughout the entire G430 family are like nothing we’ve seen from one gen eration of clubs to the next,” said John K. Solheim, PING CEO & President. “Our approach with G430 has been to find more speed and deliver it in a way that contributes to lower scores and more enjoyment on the course. That includes providing a level of for giveness that remains unequalled. The powerful combination of distance and forgiveness wins out when golfers are properly fitted. We see that every day in our research and we’re excited to get the G430 into the hands of golfers so they can see the same benefits.
“The tour adoption the first week out was exceptional, with almost 30 drivers in play on the PGA Tour. Our staff appreciates the added ball speed of the driver and fairway woods and loves the sound. They are seeing from 2 to 4 mph gains in ball speed from the driver, which even the best players in the world are happy to find from their equipment alone.”
The new custom-fit, custom-built G430 family consists of three driver models (MAX, LST, SFT), three fairway wood designs (MAX, LST, SFT) in multi ple lofts, six hybrid choices and an iron set (4-9, PW, 45.5°, 50°, 54°, 58°).
In the new drivers, PING’s engineer ing team developed several new tech nologies common to all three models while applying specific advancements to each individual head, producing
measurable ball-speed gains while im proving sound throughout the series. The added ball speed is attributed to a shallower and thinner VFT forged face design engineered with Spinsistency, a variable roll radius technology prov en on the G425 fairway woods and hybrids. The improved and pleasing sound is the result of fine-tuning the frequencies of the head through a new internal rib structure.
The MAX (460cc) remains the most forgiving and fits the widest range of golfers. A 25-gram, high-density tung sten moveable backweight influenc es shot shape ±8 yards between the Draw, Neutral and Fade settings. Avail able in 9°, 10.5° and 12° lofts. Loft is adjustable ±1.5° and lie up to 3° flat from standard using the 8-setting Tra jectory Tuning 2.0 hosel.
“The MAX is the workhorse,” Solheim said. “It fits every skill level, from tour players to higher handicaps. The in creases in ball speed are remarkable and the sound is creating a very favor able conversation. When you combine those advancements with its indus try-leading forgiveness, the MAX will win a lot of battles in comparison test ing in the fitting environment.”
Exclusive to the LST (Low Spin Tech nology) driver is Carbonfly Wrap, a lightweight composite that covers the crown and wraps into the heel/toe sec tions of the skirt to save weight and lower the CG for more ball speed, less spin and higher MOI. The 8-layer, onepiece composite saves four grams and weighs 11.5g fully installed. A move able 22-gram, high-density tungsten backweight influences shot shape ±7
yards between the Draw, Neutral and Fade settings. At 440cc, the smaller tour-style LST is available in 9° and 10.5° lofts (adjustable ±1.5° and lie up to 3° flat from standard) and best fits faster swing speeds.
“With recent manufacturing ad vancements and the smaller head size of the G430 LST, the time is right to bring this technology to golfers,” said Solheim. “It’s quickly becoming the fa vorite of our tour players who are en joying the ball-speed gains while rav ing about the look, feel and sound.”
New to the SFT (Straight Flight Tech nology) head (460cc) is a two-setting, moveable tungsten backweight (22g) that positions the CG to deliver 13 yards of right-to-left shot bend in the Draw setting and another 7 yards in the Draw+ (20 yards total). Available in 10.5° loft (adjustable ±1.5° and lie up to 3° flat from standard).
“Our SFT technology reinforces our commitment to custom fitting,” Sol heim said. “It’s a tremendous option for golfers who consistently slice the ball. The reality is more golfers could benefit from this type of technology, so we’ve added the two-setting back weight to allow for further adjustments in shot bend as necessary.”
The multi-material iron produces distance gains of approximately 7 to 10 yards and improved accuracy through out the set. It’s the result of a complex design that combines a lower CG with stronger, custom- engineered lofts and a thinner face that delivers up to 2 more mph of ball speed – leading to significant distance gains without com promising PING’s famous forgiveness.
A key contributor to the added dis
tance is the PurFlex cavity badge, an in novation with seven flex zones that al low more free bending to increase ball speed across the face. In combination with a lower CG, the badge contributes to the solid feel and pleasing impact sound. The stronger lofts across the set resulted in the addition of a 41° PW to ensure proper gapping options and allowed for standard lofts in the tradi tional scoring wedges (45.5°, 50°, 54°, 58°).
“Our ability to make this iron so much longer while maintaining all the other important attributes golfers need from their irons like forgiveness, stopping power and gapping alternatives is one of the most impressive engineering stories throughout the entire G430 line,” said Solheim. “We know golfers want more distance from their irons but distance without control doesn’t lead to lower scores. That’s why we put so much emphasis on designing an iron that not only goes a very long way, but it flies higher, straighter and lands softer.”
Among the refinements to the over all shape is a shorter hosel, which cre ates a more compact, clean look and helps lower the CG, aligning it closer to the force line to increase ball speed and ensure solid impact, especially low on the face. Approximately 1° of addi tional bounce throughout the set pro vides clean turf interaction and pure strikes, minimizing “heavy” shots that come up short. The high-density tung sten toe and shaft tip weights contrib ute to its high MOI and produce tighter dispersion patterns. The hydropearl 2.0 chrome finish delivers consistent performance from wet or dry grass.
In all of the G430 fairway woods, we’ve developed Carbonfly Wrap to
deliver more distance by positioning the CG closer to the force line to max imize ball speed, resulting in higher, longer carries, whether fit for the MAX, SFT or LST model. The lightweight composite crown wraps into the heel and toe sections of the skirt, creating weight savings of 10 grams which are reallocated to achieve the lower the CG and increase ball speed. The com posite also plays a role in the pleasing sound. A tungsten backweight extends the perimeter weighting to ensure for giveness.
Two proven technologies from the previous generation carry over and contribute to distance gains and spin consistency across the clubface. With FaceWrap Technology, a variable-thick ness, high-strength maraging steel face wraps into the sole and crown of the stainless steel head, generating more flexing for faster ball speed and higher launch for greater distance. The variable roll radius of Spinsistency im proves performance across the face (especially on thin shots) by reducing spin to increase ball speed from the maraging steel face.
Each of the models is engineered to help produce added distance and forgiveness for a variety of skill levels. The MAX fits the widest range of golf ers with four options (3W/15°, 5W/18°, 7W/21°, 9W/24°), while the SFT is of fered in three heads (3W/16°, 5W/19°, 7W/22°) with lighter swingweights to help square the face at impact. The tour-style LST (3W/15°) best fits faster swing speeds. Trajectory Tuning 2.0 provides eight hosel positions, adjust ing for loft (±1.5°) and lie (up to 3° flat ter than std.).
The LST 3-wood’s multi-material de sign combines a 2041 Beta-Ti face, Ti 8-1-1 body, and 80-gram tungsten sole plate to position the CG low/back for faster ball speed with reduced spin, producing on average seven yards more distance.
The new G430 hybrids are loaded with innovations like Carbonfly Wrap, our newest technology and the key to more distance and green-holding stop ping power. Alongside proven technol ogies Facewrap Technology and Spin
sistency, they deliver the speed and performance golfers need to take on any approach shot. With six loft op tions (2H/17°, 3H/19°, 4H/22°, 5H/26°, 6H/30°, 7/34°) they are ideal mid- and long-iron replacements to help fill distance gaps in a player’s game. The lightweight, 8-position hosel enables adjustments for loft (±1.5°) and lie (up to 3° flatter than std.) to further dial in ball flight for the best results.
The Carbonfly Wrap saves eight grams of weight (compared to a steel crown) that is allocated to lower the CG for increasing ball speed while pro viding a pleasing sound. The thin, high strength maraging steel face wraps into the sole and crown of the stainless steel body to increase flexing, contrib uting to the higher ball speeds. Spinsis tency’s variable roll radius creates less loft low on the face to improve perfor mance on thin shots by reducing spin and increasing ball speed for added distance. A tungsten backweight ex tends the perimeter weighting to en sure forgiveness.
“The popularity of our hybrids con tinues to grow,” said Solheim. “They’ve
quietly become one of our most suc cessful categories. They’ve earned a reputation as easy-to-hit, reliable gap ping solutions to mid and long irons known mainly for their forgiveness. With the added distance golfers will now enjoy from the G430 hybrids, it’s one more reason to get fit for a PING hybrid.”
The G430 HL build is a new full-set custom option for slower swing speed golfers who don’t generate sufficient clubhead speed and ball velocity from traditionally weighted clubs. Custom engineered with lighter backweights (11g in driver and 5.5g in fairways and hybrids), ultra-light shafts (Alta Quick 35/45) and grips (Lamkin UTx, 41g), we’ve lowered the overall system weight so golfers can swing faster and generate more ball speed for higher launching, longer carrying shots across the entire set. Available in G430 MAX and SFT drivers and fairway woods, hy brids and irons.
Get Custom fitted today. For your nearest Ping dealer contact Sports Network Ltd 0508 776 786.
Witha focus on golfers in search of new technology engineered to deliver precise control and consistency, PING introduced the i230 irons and iCrossover today. The newest entries into PING’s popular “i” series are now available for custom fittings at authorized PING retailers around the world.
NEW“The new i230 irons and iCrossovers are for avid players who want to get better,” said John K. Solheim, PING CEO & President. “In the i230 iron, we’ve engineered a lot of performance into one design. It has the precise control and consistency of a players iron with an amazing feel while offering the for giveness of a game improvement iron. It reminds me a lot of the iconic PING EYE2 iron in that it will appeal to so many player types, from the tour pros to everyday golfers. It’s really packed with performance.
“We’ve re-branded our Crossover category into the ‘i’ family to target golfers who most likely play one of our blade-style irons. The tour-inspired head size and sole design along with higher ball speeds help it to transition more seamlessly as a long-iron alter native. We’ve also added hosel adjust ability, a highly beneficial innovation allowing golfers to dial in their trajec tories for the first time in an iron-style design. We believe this re-design will greatly improve its appeal and find its way into a lot more bags on tour and other competitive settings.”
mately three more yards of distance in player testing. Its higher MOI is largely due to tungsten toe and tip weights, which help make it the most forgiving “i” iron to date.
“The i230 iron sits in the middle of our iron offerings, so it requires us to balance a variety of performance attri butes,” Solheim said. “It needs the pre cision and solid feel of a players iron while offering the forgiveness a lot of golfers expect from a PING iron. We also want to provide more distance in a way that is predictable and repeatable to ensure it meets the precise gapping needs of the best players in the world. I’m excited to report our research and early tour feedback confirms we’ve achieved all that and more. It has a lit tle bit of everything to deliver a lot of performance.”
Through extensive modal analysis, PING researchers isolated undesirable frequencies within the clubhead and precisely positioned a re-engineered cavity badge to damp their effect to ensure a pleasing feel and sound. The four-piece badge combines a thin 304 stainless steel cap with an injec tion-molded thermoplastic that is se cured to the cavity with high-strength adhesive. The activated elastomer sup ports the face and sits in a toaster-style pocket, which is concealed behind the multi-material badge, creating a clean and appealing cavity design.
“Feel is one of the most important attributes in a players iron,” said Sol heim. “Golfers who rely on precise iron play require exceptional feel to control their ball flight. The i230 iron is engi neered to provide consistent feel from every club in the set. The soft elasto mer and the cavity badge work in con cert to ensure they not only feel great, but they sound even better.”
Advancements to the activated elastomer technology in the i230 iron allowed PING engineers to save sig nificant weight, which is re-allocated within the clubhead to position the center of gravity (CG) low for more distance and control while increasing the moment of inertia (MOI) for added forgiveness. The low CG combines with greater face bending to deliver higher ball speeds. The elastomer reinforces the face, providing more consistent bending and energy transfer across the entire face, resulting in approxi
The long irons (3-5) are slightly more compact than the tour-proven i210, producing more consistent clubface delivery and accuracy, while the rest of the set is designed with similar blade lengths. The sole design is also similar, with a rounded lead edge and ample bounce to promote smooth turf inter action for clean and solid strikes. The precision-milled MicroMax grooves deliver consistent launch and spin results for more accuracy in the long irons and greater control in the short irons and wedges, especially in wet or grassy conditions where the grooves and hydropearl 2.0 chrome finish help ensure lower launch angles with high spin rates.
“Meeting the needs of our tour pros,
who have already won with it, is an important element of the i230 iron,” Solheim said. “Their validation of this design goes a long way in giving golfers the confidence that they can also bene fit from its technology. The changes to the blade lengths and shaping are very subtle but are designed to improve the playability and the accuracy of the en tire set, especially the long irons. They inspire a lot of confidence when you look at them in the address position.”
Multi-material construction: 431 stainless steel body; activated elasto mer insert; 304 stainless steel/injec tion molded TPU (thermoplastic poly urethane) cavity badge; tungsten toe/ shaft tip weights; hydropearl 2.0 finish
AVAILABLE: 3-9, PW, UW in 10 col or codes (lie angle). Black color code is standard.
LOFT OPTIONS: Standard, Power Spec and Retro Spec
STOCK SHAFTS: Dynamic Gold 105 (R300, S300) & PING Alta CB Black (SR, R, S)
OPTIONAL STOCK SHAFTS: PING AWT 2.0 (R, S, X), Dynamic Gold (S300, X100), Dynamic Gold 120 (S300, X100), KBS Tour (R, S, X), Nippon NS Pro Mo dus Tour 105 (R, S, X), Elevate MPH 95 (R, S), UST Recoil 760 ES SMAC (A), 780 (R, S)
STOCK GRIP: Lamkin Crossline Black
With similar sole shaping, includ ing the rounded lead edge and ample bounce, the iCrossover seamlessly fits into an i230 iron set in place of long irons. The blade lengths are slightly shorter with less offset than previ ous crossover generations, making it more compact while providing a tourstyle appearance. The standard shaft length builds also are approximately one-quarter inch shorter than the pre vious models to transition into a set more easily, providing more control and tighter dispersion patterns with similar distance. The precision-milled MicroMax grooves and matte-black hydropearl 2.0 finish deliver consistent launch and spin results for more accu racy.
A first in an iron-style design, the ad justable hosel provides eight settings for loft and lie to help dial in a golfer’s desired ball flight. The lightweight ho sel is clearly marked to allow for quick and easy adjustments, with a range of ±1.5° loft and lie in various combina tions. The standard setting is the stat ed loft of the club at 1.5° upright.
“We looked closely at our fitting and Arccos data and discovered the vast majority of our crossover users were better players who use one of our blade irons,” Solheim said. “So, we shifted our focus to engineering a crossover that better fit the needs of that type of player. The iCrossover performance results have been excep tional. Its shape looks great, the ball speeds are higher, and it sounds very powerful. The addition of the adjust able hosel is a huge benefit to help players at that level dial in their ball flight.”
The iCrossover is engineered for high-swing-speed players looking for long-iron alternatives (2XR, 3XR, 4XR) that fit seamlessly into their set while delivering increased ball speeds for more distance with higher launch. The sources of the high ball speed are the thin, maraging steel face and lower CG position, which is closer to the im pact location to produce more energy transfer. The face is robotically welded to the 17-4 stainless steel body with a lower-hinged bend point to provide higher launch for better stopping pow er. A smaller internal cavity with target ed EVA polymer on the back of the face ensures a pleasing feel and sound.
Multi-material construction: 17-4 stainless steel body; forged, marag ing steel face; tungsten toe/shaft tip weights; matte-black hydropearl 2.0 finish
AVAILABLE: 2XR (18° loft) 40 1/8” std. length, 3XR (20°) 39.50”, 4XR (22.5°), 39.00”
TRAJECTORY TUNING 2.0 HOSEL: 8 loft/lie settings
STOCK SHAFT: PING Tour 2.0 Chrome 85 (R, S, X)
OPTIONAL STOCK GRAPHITE SHAFTS: PING Alta CB Black (SR, R, S), Mitsubishi Kai’Li White 80 (S, X), Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 70HY (5.5), 80HY (6.0, 6.5)
STOCK GRIP: Golf Pride 360 Tour Vel vet (six sizes)
Get Custom fitted today. For your nearest Ping dealer contact Sports Network Ltd 0508 776 786.
Women’s
Runners up - Whangarei 2
Winners - Ngunguru / Sherwood com bined team
Men’s
Runners up - Northland 1 Winners - Northland 2
The masters quad played recently at Akarana Golf club Auckland team defeat ed Waikato Golf Association 7.5-0.5 t to take the title for 2022.
In the other match Masters quad - Har bour Golf over BOP Golf 5-3.
Sunday, 16th October at Tahuna Golf Club gathered the Prebble Cup and Tol ich Trophy finalists come to battle it out. This year, hoping to take home the Preb ble Cup, we had Ngahinepouri who last won this event back in 2017. They were matched up against St Alexander whom haven’t had the priviledge of taking home the Prebble Cup Trophy since 2001 so they had their game faces on and weren’t going to take it easy. It was a battle from the start with both teams finishing tied after the foursomes in the morning, 2 all. The afternoon is where the pressure started to hit St Alexander. The teams fought it out right to the last hole but Ngahinepouri were the stronger team on the day.
Ngahinepouri Team: Pictured back left to right: Steve Missen, Andrew Galbraith, Peter Walker, Davy Schrijvers and Ed Dentice, Front left to right: Ray Foster, Malcolm Jacobs & Haki Walker.
In the Tolich Trophy, a Plate Tourna ment played for by the annual first round Prebble Cup competition losers, Haura ki faced Matamata. Matamata has the experience of winning in prior years but Hauraki hasn’t yet held either the Preb ble Cup, where they were runner up in 2021 to Tahuna nor the Tolich Trophy. The morning round had Matamata lead ing 3/1 after the foursomes. Hauraki fa voured the singles and made Matamata work for every point. In the end it wasn’t quite enough to stop Matamata who went on to win 7/5.
The club took full advantage of their lo cal knowledge to lift this trophy, played annually for teams of 4 club officers, in conjunction with Welington Golf Associa tion.
Tasman Ladies Pennant Final was played recently held at Totaradale Golf Club. The course was looking good and we were very lucky the rain didn’t come to much. The ladies had a great day bat tling it out. Results as follows:
1st Nelson
2nd Greenacres
3rd Marlborough
4th
The 2022 Men’s Masters South Island Interprovincial was played recently at the Motueka Golf Club which is set to host the NZ Freyberg Masters in a month’s time.
Canterbury sent a team with a few fa miliar faces as well as three new players
to the event in Woo Bong Kim, James Howard, and Alisdair Reid. After famil iarizing themselves with the course on the Friday the competition started on Saturday with the competition consisting of 6 amateur players from the provinces of Southland, Otago, Aorangi, Tasman, and ourselves. Over the course of the weekend, the teams played each other in a round-robin competition of singles match play off the stick, as per the estab lished rotation of the “split draw” format
for 5 teams playing 72 holes without a bye.
On the Saturday the Canterbury men got off to a positive start beating tour nament hosts Tasman 4.5-1.5 combined with a strong 5-1 win over Southland. No table performances included a pair of 5/4 victories for both Aaron Forsyth and Alis dair Reid in both their match up’s as well as Woo Bong Kim recording two victories playing from the number 1 position.
Format: Pairs 4BBB Stableford
Date: Saturday 5th November, 2022
Shotgun start:
9.00am
off: 10.00am
Entry: $30 per player
Can be paid to: Kawerau Ladies Golf Bank acct: 38 9023 0591318 000
Particulars: your first & last name
your club & membership number Reference: Xmas Tournament
Entries to: Wendy Bowden 0272729944 or Email: wendybowden28555@gmail.com
Includes: 2’s and novelties
Lunch & Dessert,
Recently both the Canterbury Boys team and Canterbury Girls team com peted at their respective annual Inter provincial tournaments. The boy’s event was held at Cambridge Golf Club while further east the Girls event was played at Rotorua Golf Club, both in great condition despite the unusually wet and cold Octo ber weather that were faced throughout the week.
The Boys team, made up of members of the Canterbury Golf Talent Development programme were well balanced with sev eral players returning to the event they have played in before but also featuring two players making their debut for the team in Phong Nguyen at number 6 play ing as one of two u16s, and Tim Graham playing at number 2 as one of four u19 players. The rest of the team was made up by Yuki Miya, Seb May, Sam Harris (all U19s) and Cooper Moore (U16s.) As with last years event the boys started very positively with two first day wins over Manawatu/Wanganui and Taranaki
both by the margin of 4-2. The U16s with the notable Round 1 performances with Cooper Moore winning 6/4 and Phong Nguyen 8/7. The following day we came up against our fellow mainlanders Otago which after a very tight match saw the teams share spoils 3-3 in what was a fair outcome.
Moving into day 3 it was all to play for with the second double round day ahead. The boys had a positive start to the day overcoming a resilient Northland side 4-2 with big wins to Seb May 8/7 and Sam Harris 6/5. The afternoon match was against pre-tournament favourites Auckland who featured a couple of NZ Junior representative players, in what ef fectively became a semi-final match. Af ter a very tight match we went down 3.52.5 in what could easily have been a 3-3 outcome with an unfortunate drive from Phong Nguyen which sat 1-foot outside the OB pin, who at the time was leading his match 1Up going down the last hole. A notable performance in that match was from Canterbury number 1 Yuki Miya who halved with NZ rep Joshua Bai with both players making birdie on the last. With day 3 results in, Canterbury finished
the round-robin play second in their pool meaning they progressed to the 3rd/4th Play Off on the final day where they faced Wellington. Deservedly for the Boys they triumphed in that match 4-2 to take out the final podium spot. Yuki Miya again took a notable scalp beating NZ Rep Jayden Ford 1Up. Phong Nguyen also re corded another victory to take his record for the week to 5 wins and one draw, a very impressive effort at his debut Boys Interprovincial.
The Girls team was equally balanced with many 5 of the 6 players returning to the event they had played previously. The debutant within the team was Zaria Bourne playing in the number 5 spot. Other members of team included Deanna Matthews, Alisia Ren, Estelle Lin, Vanessa Lim and finally captain Jasmine Clancy who was playing at likely her last Girls Interprovincial event. As with the tourna ment conditions players 1-3 play off the stick while players 4-6 play of their hand icap which requires players to give or receive strokes on occasion. Round one didn’t quite go to plan coming up against a strong and eventual finalist team North Harbour where they went down 6-0. The
team bounced back well however to de feat hosts Bay of Plenty 4.5-1.5 in the af ternoon. Notable performances included 4/3 win to Alisia Ren and a first tourna ment win 2/1 for Zaria Bourne. The girls carried that momentum into the next day where they prevailed over Hawkes Bay/ Poverty Bay 4-2 with Estelle Lin winning 5/4 and Jasmine Clancy 2Up.
Rolling into the second double round day the ladies required a big effort to finish high up in their pool. The faced Wellington in the morning in the “crossover” round, the Wellingtonians were too strong however coming out with a 5-1 victory. However, like they did on day 1 the girls bounced back well to come away with an afternoon victory over Manawatu/ Wanganui 3.5-2.5. Estelle Lin with the standout win in this one 8/7 which also featured wins to Alisia Ren and Zaria Bourne. The match was decided however when Deanna Matthews, playing in the ever-challenging number one spot man aged to fight back a secure a half on the 18th vs the strong player Sera Raj, which was enough to secure team victory.
At the end of round robin play 3 teams in Canterbury’s pool finished with 3 wins and therefore 6 points. The placings therefore were decided on games which Canterbury found themselves on the wrong side of, eventually finishing 3rd in their pool and progressing to the 5th/6th Play off on the final day, also vs Welling ton. That final match finished in a 3-3 tie with Vanessa Lim getting a crucial 1Up victory to secure the draw in that match to leave the team with a 5th= finish.
The Town womens team made it three in a row against the Country Women in perfect Spring conditions recently at Riv erton Golf Club.
Town led from the start albeit narrow ly, 4.5 - 3.5 after the morning foursome matches. Town dominating with com fortable wins across the silver match es but almost equally matched by the Country bronze players who collect ed three wins out of the four matches played.
The afternoon individual matchplay was dominated by the Town silver play ers with a number of even matches all falling in favour of the experienced visi tors ending with a 7-1 scoreline. Country again battled hard in the bronze matches but ultimately came up short 5 matches to 3.
Overall Results score 16.5 - 7.5.
The 2022 Southland Matchplay Cham pionships were held in superb conditions at Queens Park Golf Club on the 24th and 25th September.
Liam Balneaves (Invercargill GC)
Liam Balneaves (Invercargill GC) con tinued his hot form winning the Senior Mens title against Scotte Hellier (Gore GC) who went close to defending his title from 2021.
The Mens Senior B title went to Tegan Proudfoot (Greenacres CC) who narrowly pipped Ben Patston (Otago GC) in a very close match.
Ngarimu Paraki (Queens Park GC) dom inated on his home course to comfortably win the Masters over 40 grade, he faced off against Alan Baird (Dipton) in the final
after Alan removed in form Ewan Clark in the semi final.
The Womens Matchplay was rejuve nated this year with the introduction of a 4BBB matchplay competition. Twelve pairings from across the district battled it out across three divisions with plenty of closley fought matches across the field.
Hannah Struthers and Kelly Mills (Queens Park GC) squeaked past Barbara Wilson ( Winton GC) and Hoana Ayto (Gre enacres CC) in the Division 1 Final, Olivia Frost ( Invercargill GC) and Helen Baird ( Dipton GC) were too strong for Robyn Pullar (Invercargill GC) and Anita Fraser ( Riverton GC) in Division 2 while the pair ing of Pam MacLeod and Faye Dudfield (Drummond GC) scrambled to beat Nik ki Hume and Mandi Smalley (WintonGC) on the last hole to be crowned Division 3 champions.
The annual Millennium Trophy match between Aorangi and Canterbury women was played at the Methven Golf Club on Monday 3 October. Played in fine sun ny conditions after some early morning drizzle, Aorangi continued its dominance in this event by defeating Canterbury by 578 to 563 Stableford Points. Average team points - Aorangi 28.9 to Canter bury’s 28.1.
Debbie Scott (Canterbury) presenting the trophy to Glenis Priddle (Aorangi). The best scores were: Aorangi Helen Rapsey (Mayfield) 37 Gay Smith (Temuka) 36 Jenny Johnson (Gleniti) 36 Sue Graham (Mayfield) 34 Elizabeth Collins (Tinwald) 32 Linda Pearsall (Geraldine) 32 Canterbury Sue Collins (McLeans Island) 34 Margaret Langan (Weedons) 33 Liz Scott (Waimakariri Gorge) 33 Elizabeth Hill (Templeton) 32 Crissie Banks (Greendale) 32
Cromwell Golf Club’s Inia Logan was the recent winner of the Moore Golf Cromwell 36-Hole Open on a score of even par 144.
