There have been a number of outstanding performances and milestones achieved by Taranaki golfers in 2011 including:

• Taranaki men’s team winning both the Northern and Shand Cup Quadrangular events for the first time in the same year.
• Taranaki junior girls team winning the inaugural national girls interprovincial tournament.
• Brad Hayward winning the best amateur at the Port Taranaki Open and being the top of the Lower North Island Order of Merit.
• Murray Martin winning the New Zealand Seniors championship at Ngamotu and representing New Zealand in the Sanctuary Cove Cup and Asia Pacific senior events.
• Holly Winter (13) and Celeste McLean) making their debuts for the Taranaki senior women’s team at interprovincial level.
• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead making a successful return to tournament golf winning the New Caledonian Open

A new Pro Shop is now open at the New Plymouth Golf Club. The Taranaki Golf Centre is operated by well known professional Craig Owen and is open to both members and the public. Owen has taken on fellow professional Patrick Moore, a recent PGA graduate, Moore (25), represented Wellington as an amateur before being the assistant professional at the Taupo Golf Club for five years. Moore has a passion for teaching and is keen to promote junior golf in the district with his first event being the Arnold Palmer junior tournament at the New Plymouth Golf Club on Monday 16th January.

Manukorihi golfer John Stuart received an early Christmas present this year. The 26 26 handicapper used a five iron to ace the 149 metre par three 13th hole in the Wednesday Xmas Hamper at his home club last week.

21/12/11
Taranaki representative Murray Martin has retained his place in the New Zealand seniors team to play Australia for the Sanctuary Cove Trophy at the Christchurch Golf Club from 14-15th February. Martin (58) will defend his New Zealand Seniors Strokeplay title at the Waitikiri Golf Club from 9-11th February. The full New Zealand team is Michael Barltrop, Rodney Barltrop, John Batley, Robbie Bell, Frank Borren, David Burton, Andrew McKechnie, Murray Martin, Phil Mosley, Arthur Parkin, John Sanders & Tony Treen
New Plymouth professional Dominic Barson and Grant Moorhead finished the year on a high note recently. Barson fired a five under par round of 67 to finish third in the $17,000 Coast Papamoa Beach Pro-am at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club while Moorhead fired a 69 to finish tied for sixth. The event was won by Michael Hendry who beat Nick Gillespie in a sudden death play-off after both players recorded six under par rounds of 66.
The 2012 NZPGA Order of Merit title went to Auckland professional Richard Lee who headed fast finishing rookie professional Nick Gillespie, with Port Taranaki Open winner, Josh Carmichael in third place. Dominic Barson (19 events) finished in 8th position while Grant Moorhead (10 events) finished 10th.

Brad Hayward (New Plymouth) topped the 2011 Crowded House Taranaki Tour Order of Merit. Hayward (71-73-144) finished fourth in the Tour championship final to head off Hawera’s Tim White (71-81-152) with Aarun Langton (71-68-139) rounding out the top three. The Order of Merit title went to Grant Lester from Westown with youngsters Ben Joseph (Inglewood) and Ethan Jones (Manaia) second and third respectively. The under 16 title went to Zac Marino (Waitara) with Fletcher Broderick (New Plymouth) second.

Taranaki veteran golfers featured in the New Zealand Veterans National Championships held in Northland recently. Kaitake’s Peter Greer recorded a 78 in the matchplay qualifying round to take out the Diehard Gross trophy for over 70s. Taranaki women scooped the major women’s prizes with Stratford member, Ann Braithwaite (74-81-83-80-318) winning the women’s overall best gross trophy and Inglewood’s Josie Keegan (64-68-69-66-267) took out the best net trophy.

Kaitake member Kay Cavey scored a hole in one at the Ngaruawhaia Golf Club recently. Playing in a veteran’s event, Cavey used a five wood to ace the 118 metre par three 3rd hole.

A small field of 44 players competed in the Taranaki Veterans monthly tournament at Kaitake. The men’s monthly button was won by Kaitake member Alban Reid with 43 stableford points while the women’s button was won by Helen Whyte (Kaitake) with 34 points. Other leading scores were: Senior- Rodney Ward 40; Russell Moore 40, Ross Fah 40; Intermediate- Peter Barker 43, Reg Woodfield 42, Norm Lofthouse 41; Junior- Trevor Hughes 36, Peter Spurway 35, Colin Kemp 35; Ladies-Ann Braithwaite 33, Lois Agnew 33

 

Leading caddy Sreve Williams will open his own Steve Williams New Zealand Age Group Classic starting at Inglewood tomorrow. Williams, is arguably the best caddy in the world having teamed up with Tiger Woods for over a decade before taking on the bag of Australian Adam Scott earlier this year.

A field of 75 players under the age of 25 will tee up the opening 18 holes with a mass start at 1pm. 36 holes will be played at Stratford on Saturday with the final 18 holes at Inglewood on Sunday. A number of entries have been received from outside the district with a large contingent coming from St Andrews, Omanu and Mt Maunganui.
Leading contenders for the boys title include Nick Coxon from St Andrews. Jamie Reid (Fitzroy), Matthew Morris (St Andrews), Luke Phillips (Narrows) and Bailey Smith (Mt Maunganui).  Taranaki representatives Celeste McLean and Holly Winter from Manaia lead the girls’ field with strong competition expected from visitors Stacey Walsh (Omanu), Amy Austin (Royal Wellington) and Amber-Rose Thompson- Newth (Castlecliff).

Taranaki golfers have a feast of golf options over the festive season. The 36 hole Twin Links tournament tees off at the Waitara Golf Club on Boxing day with the second round at Fitzroy on the 27th December. Taranaki’s premier holiday tournament, the Cobb & Co 54 hole tournament starts with 18 holes on Wednesday 28th December with the second and third days at New Plymouth and Inglewood respectively. To complete the 8 day circuit the South Taranaki 54 hole new year tournament tees off at Hawera on New Year’s Eve with the final two days at Manaia and Hawera.
Fitzroy Golf Club senior men’s champion Jamie Reid (73-65-138) took out the Taranaki senior champion of champions title at Kaitake on Saturday. The 20 year old shot a three under par round of 65 in the second round to edge out Opunake’s Aarun Langton (71-68-139) by a shot. The intermediate division was taken out by Brian Sinclair (71-80-151) from Opunake while Westown’s Don Openshaw (83-81-164) edged out Fitzroy’s Nick Northam (77-88-165) by a shot to claim the junior title. The Westown team of Jay Maaka (142), Guy Honnor (132) and Don Openshaw (132) won the best club aggregate net score on 406, nine shots clear of Opunake and Manukorihi.

The Tumahu Glassman Open Xmas Hamper attracted a field of 117 players on Sunday. Manukorihi’s Daryl Baird (66-4-62) recorded the best gross score of the day with a four under par round of 66 while Opunakes’s Callum Roach (71-16-55) had the best net score of the day and won the intermediate section. Other leading scores were: Senior- Stableford-Dean Simpson 43, Snoz Hamilton 43; Intermediate-Stableford-Wayne Davey 46; Junior-Net-Leo Clegg (89-31-58); Stableford- Noel Sharpe 44, Chad Knowles 44; Women- Net-Trudy McEldowney (87-21-66); Stableford- Cath Corbett 40
Manaia junior Tineka Kumeroa is a player to watch out for in the future. The 10 year old was part of the Taranaki junior girls team that won the national girls title in October. Since then Kumeroa has continued to impress, scooping the best women’s net prize at the Hawera Golf Club Christmas Hamper before recording her best score to date with an 88 gross off her 26 handicap for a net 62 to win the best women’s net at the Manaia Open Christmas Hamper on Sunday.
 

Taranaki representative Murray Martin has retained his place in the New Zealand seniors team to play Australia for the Sanctuary Cove Trophy at the Christchurch Golf Club from 14-15th February. Martin (58) will defend his New Zealand Seniors Strokeplay title at the Waitikiri Golf Club from 9-11th February. The full New Zealand team is Michael Barltrop, Rodney Barltrop, John Batley, Robbie Bell, Frank Borren, David Burton, Andrew McKechnie, Murray Martin, Phil Mosley, Arthur Parkin, John Sanders & Tony Treen

New Plymouth professional Dominic Barson and Grant Moorhead finished the year on a high note recently. Barson fired a five under par round of 67 to finish third in the $17,000 Coast Papamoa Beach Pro-am at the Mount Maunganui Golf Club while Moorhead fired a 69 to finish tied for sixth. The event was won by Michael Hendry who beat Nick Gillespie in a sudden death play-off after both players recorded six under par rounds of 66.
The 2012 NZPGA Order of Merit title went to Auckland professional Richard Lee who headed fast finishing rookie professional Nick Gillespie, with Port Taranaki Open winner, Josh Carmichael in third place. Dominic Barson (19 events) finished in 8th position while Grant Moorhead (10 events) finished 10th.

Brad Hayward (New Plymouth) topped the 2011 Crowded House Taranaki Tour Order of Merit. Hayward (71-73-144) finished fourth in the Tour championship final to head off Hawera’s Tim White (71-81-152) with Aarun Langton (71-68-139) rounding out the top three. The Order of Merit title went to Grant Lester from Westown with youngsters Ben Joseph (Inglewood) and Ethan Jones (Manaia) second and third respectively. The under 16 title went to Zac Marino (Waitara) with Fletcher Broderick (New Plymouth) second.

Taranaki veteran golfers featured in the New Zealand Veterans National Championships held in Northland recently. Kaitake’s Peter Greer recorded a 78 in the matchplay qualifying round to take out the Diehard Gross trophy for over 70s. Taranaki women scooped the major women’s prizes with Stratford member, Ann Braithwaite (74-81-83-80-318) winning the women’s overall best gross trophy and Inglewood’s Josie Keegan (64-68-69-66-267) took out the best net trophy.

Kaitake member Kay Cavey scored a hole in one at the Ngaruawhaia Golf Club recently. Playing in a veteran’s event, Cavey used a five wood to ace the 118 metre par three 3rd hole.

A small field of 44 players competed in the Taranaki Veterans monthly tournament at Kaitake. The men’s monthly button was won by Kaitake member Alban Reid with 43 stableford points while the women’s button was won by Helen Whyte (Kaitake) with 34 points. Other leading scores were: Senior- Rodney Ward 40; Russell Moore 40, Ross Fah 40; Intermediate- Peter Barker 43, Reg Woodfield 42, Norm Lofthouse 41; Junior- Trevor Hughes 36, Peter Spurway 35, Colin Kemp 35; Ladies-Ann Braithwaite 33, Lois Agnew 33

14/12/11
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30/11/11
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16/11/11
The Taranaki men’s golf team tee it up at the national interprovincial championship at the Poverty Bay Golf Club next Tuesday. The five strong side will be looking to go one step further than last year when they all but made the semi-finals. The team will be led by 20 year old Brad Hayward (New Plymouth) who has had an outstanding year, being the best amateur at the Port Taranaki Open and also winning the Lower North Island Order of Merit. Hawera’s Tim White comes in at number two while Thomas Hill (New Plymouth) will be making his fifth appearance at this tournament at number three. Club –mate Zach Lewis will debut at number four while veteran Murray Martin will anchor the side at number five. Tyla Otene (Westown) is the travelling reserve.

Taranaki’s round robin draw is:

• Tuesday : am versus Canterbury; pm-bye
• Wednesday: am versus Poverty Bay; pm versus Hawkes Bay
• Thursday: am versus Auckland
• Friday: am versus Wellington; pm versus Manawatu-Wanganui

The Taranaki women’s golf team was beaten 8 ½ - 7 ½ in their annual match against Manawatu-Wanganui on Sunday. The 36 hole matchplay event was played at the Stratford Golf Club with 14 year old Celeste McLean and masters representative Chris Wilson both recording two wins for Taranaki. The five strong interprovincial team to compete at the national championships at the Whakatane Golf Club from 6th-10th December was named following the event and is, in playing order: Rochelle Keegan (Westown), Nicole Keegan (Westown), Melissa Hill (Manukorihi), Celeste McLeaqn (Manaia) and Holly Winter (Manaia).
Results against Manawatu-Wanganui (Taranaki names first):

Morning singles:

• Rochelle Keegan all square with Kelly Nicholas
• Nichole Keegan lost to Stephanie McCabe 4/3
• Melissa Hill beat Bridie Hodge 3/2
• Celeste McLean beat Emma Clayton 2/1
• Holly Winter lost to Amber Thom-Newton 3/2
• Carol Chard lost to Kara Durie 3/2
• Vanessa Bouvet beat Jill Holl 1up
• Chris Wilson beat Karen McManemin 2/1

Afternoon singles

• Rochelle Keegan lost to Stephanie McCabe 4/3
• Nichole Keegan lost to Kelly Nicholas 5/4
• Melissa Hill lost to Emma Clayton 4/3
• Celeste McLean beat Bridie Hodge 2/1
• Holly Winter lost to Kara Durie 1 down
• Carol Chard beat Amber Thom-Newton 2up
• Vanessa Bouvet lost to Karen McManermin 2/1
• Chris Wilson beat Jill Holl 5/4

The Fitzroy Golf Club completed their men’s matchplay championships recently. In the senior final, Jamie Reid fired a five under par round of 62 to lead Brian Rowland 10 up after 18 holes, a lead he maintained to win 10/9. In the intermediate division Mike Earley beat John Amundsen 5/4 while Nick Northam beat Jack Horner 3/2 to claim the junior title. The 18 hole limit title went to Don Betts who beat Dan Joubert 7/6.
124 players competed in the Opunake Golf Club open christmas hamper. Taranaki representative Aarun Langton shot a five under par round of 66 to take out the best gross while Mark Davis took out the senior net with 66 and John Newland (Patea) the best stableford with 41. In the intermediate division, Terry Oliver recorded the best net score of 64 with John Deegan the best stableford on 39. The junior net went to Peter Johnston on 61 with Mark Feaver leading the stableford on 44. The best women’s net score went to Patti Smith on 62 and Margaret Wellington won the stableford with 40 points.

9/11/11 2/11/11

• Taranaki 3 Manawatu-Wanganui 5
• Brad Hayward lost to Josh Munn 1 down
• Tim White all square with Tyler Hodge
• Thomas Hill lost to Lachie McDonald 4/3
• Zach Lewis all square with Hayden Ring
• Tyla Otene lost to Rhys Watkins 4/3
• Jamie Reid lost to Trent Munn 2/1
• Jay Maaka beat Rhys Harold 4/3
• Joseph Doyle beat Jack Leenards 2 up
• Juniors-Taranaki 2 Manawatu-Wanganui 2
• Brook Gray lost to Kaylin Huwyler 4/2
• Hayden Chamberlain beat Alex Whiley 2up
• Zach Marino lost to Jackson Campbell 3/1
• Kyle Joseph beat Michael Birchall 2/1

• Taranaki 2 Bay of Plenty 6
• Brad Hayward beat Landyn Edwards 2/1
• Tim White beat Brad Kendall 1up
• Thomas Hill lost to Andrew Stewart 3/1
• Zach Lewis lost to Sam Davis 7/6
• Tyla Otene lost to Craig Hamilton 6/5
• Jamie Reid lost to James Hamilton 3/2
• Jay Maaka lost to Hayden Beard 1 down
• Joseph Doyle lost to Victor Janin 6/4
• Juniors-Taranaki 0 Bay of Plenty 4
• Brook Gray lost to William Howard 6/5
• Hayden Chamberlain lost to Ben Shanley 2/1
• Zach Marino lost to David Feeney 1 down
• Kyle Joseph lost to Cameron Neal 3/2

• Taranaki 7 Poverty Bay 1
• Brad Hayward beat William Brown 1up
• Tim White beat Simon Jenkins 5/4
• Thomas Hill lost to Andrew Higham 4/3
• Zach Lewis beat Dion Milner 4/3
• Tyla Otene beat Shayde Skudder 3/2
• Jamie Reid beat Bruce Yates 4/3
• Jay Maaka beat James Devery 9/7
• Joseph Doyle beat Peter Kerekewre 2up
• Juniors-Taranaki 1 Poverty Bay 3
• Brook Gray lost to Quentin Carmichael 4/3
• Hayden Chamberlain lost to Peta Westrupp 1 down
• Zach Marino lost to Sheridan Rangihuna 5/4
• Kyle Joseph beat Taine Lincoin 3/1

26/10/11

• The Taranaki senior men’s team will be looking to maintain their perfect record when they compete in the Central North Island quadrangular against Manawatu-Wanganui, Poverty Bay and hosts Bay of Plenty at Taupo this weekend. After wins in the Shand Cup and Northern quadrangular earlier this month the eight strong side is on a roll and looking to create a historic hat-trick of wins in interprovincial fixtures this year. The team line-up will feature two changes with Murray Martin ( away with Taranaki masters team) and James Malone (injured) being replaced by Jay Maaka and Joseph Doyle.. The full team, in playing order is: Brad Hayward, Tim White, Thomas Hill, Zach Lewis, Tyla Otene, Jamie Reid, Jay Maaka and Joseph Doyle. A four strong under 19 junior boys team will also compete in the event. The junior team, in playing order is: Brook Gray, Hayden Chamberlain, Zach Marino and Kyle Joseph.
• Opunak’s Aarun Langton will lead a five strong Taranaki men’s masters team to compete in the national men’s interprovincial tournament at the Levin Golf Club starting next Monday. The other members of the team, in playing order are: Murray Martin (New Plymouth), Tony Hardy (Westown), Neil Bryant (Manaia) and Robbie Sim (Kaitake). Taranaki’s darw is:
• Monday am versus Waikato; pm versus Otago
• Tuesday am-Bye; pm versus Bay of Plenty
• Wednesday am versus Poverty Bay
• Thursday am versus Wellington; pm versus Aorangi
• Friday am versus Hawkes Bay; pm versus Manawatu-Wanganui

12/10/11

• The Taranki men’s representative team will be looking to build on their Shand Cup victory last weekend when they compete in the Northern quadrangular tournament against Auckland, Waikato and Northland at the Waitomo Golf Club this weekend. The eight strong senior men’s team will be led by the in-form Brad Hayward with Tim White (Hawera) and Thomas Hill (New Plymouth) retaining their spots at two and three. Zach Lewis jumps a spot to number four with veteran Murray Martin rounding out the top five. Westown’s Tyla Otene is at number six while Jamie Reid and James Malone make up the balance of the team, A four strong Taranaki under 16 boys team will also compete in the event and is in playing order: Ben Joseph (Inglewood), Sam Jones (Manaia), Fletcher Broderick (New Plymouth) and Daniel White (Hawera).
• A six strong Taranaki girls team will compete in the inaugural girls interprovincial tournament to be hosted by the Bay of Plenty Golf Association next week. Seven teams from Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Northland, North Harbour, Taranaki and Waikato will compete at the week long event which will be held at the Rotorua and Springfield Golf Clubs. The criteria for the tournament is that the girls have to be under 21 years of age and not yet played at the Women’s Inter-provincial. The three lowest handicap players will play matchplay off the stick and the other three players will play in handicap order, matchplay off handicap. Teams will play a round robin competition with two rounds on Tuesday, one Wednesday, two on Thursday and the final round on Friday morning. The Taranki team is Holly Winter, Celeste McLean, Vanessa Bouvet, Tyla Winter, Claudia Munro and Tineka Kumeroa. All girls except Bouvet (New Plymouth) are from the Manaia Golf Club.
• The Kaitake Golf Club completed their club matchplay championships recently. In the senior men’s division Robbie Sim beat Simon Spurdle 5/4 while Glen Hooper had to go to the 37th hole to beat Grant Hildred for the intermediate title. In the junior division Snow Lock beat Ross Jonas 3/2 while Mark Boardman beat Ralph Ellicock in the limit final.
• Weekend Ladies Results: Senior- June Neal beat Raewyn Hawker 8/7
• Intermediate- Sheryl Richardson beat Janice Farrant 2/1
• Junior- Lois Agnew beat Mary Pettigrew 4/3
• Midweek Ladies Results:Senior-Robyn Robins beat Kath Brown 8/7
• Intermediate: Jacqui Prater beat Joan Gerrard 5/4
• Junior: Vivianne Todd beat Helen Whyte 3/2

5/10/11

• The Stratford Golf Club will take centre stage this weekend when it hosts the annual quadrangular tournament involving Manawatu-Wanganui, Hawkes Bay and Wellington. The 10 strong senior men’s teams will compete for the Shand Cup, the four under 19 boy’s team will play for the Shand Salver and eight women from each district will compete for the Sybil Green Trophy. The Taranaki teams are (in playing order): Men- Brad Hayward, Tim White, Thomas Hill, Murray Martin, Zach Lewis, Sanjay Modgill, Tyla Otene, Jamie Reid, James Malone and Jay Maaka; Junior Boys- Brook Gray, Joseph Doyle, Des Wilcox, Hayden Chamberlain; Women- Svala Garner, Rochelle Keegan, Holly Winter, Melissa Hill, Nicole Keegan, Celeste McLean, Kim Lucas and Carol Chard.
• Taranaki’s number one amateur Brad Hayward (71-69-71-72-283) continued his great run of form at last weekend’s Port Taranaki Open. Not only did the 20 year old claim the best amateur title at the Open but he also won the inaugural Lower North Island Order of Merit title for 2011. Hayward beat Manawatu-Wanganui representative Tyler Hodge by 12 points while Hawera’s Tim White finished in 8th position. The women’s title went to Hawkes Bay golfer Kate Chadwick with Manaia junior Holly Winter finishing in 5th place.
• The Hawera Golf Club completed their club matchplay championships recently with Taranaki representative Tim White defeating Michael Sullivan 8/6 to claim the senior men’s title. In the intermediate division, Anthony Ropiha beat Karl Frost 5/4 while Jamie Clarges beat Alan Kupe 4/3 to win the junior division. The limit division went to Graham Williams who beat Bernie King 3/2. In the women’s senior final , Carol Kersten beat Jackie Shera 9/8, the intermediate title went to Elsie Newell who beat Lesley Potts 14/13 and Jan Bigham took out the junior division beating Sue Goble 6/5.
• Taranaki representative Murray Martin scored his second hole in one recently. Playing in a Taranaki masters trial Martin used a seven iron to hole out on the 120 meter par three 14th hole. Martin went on to record a six under par round of 66. Meanwhile Peter Dombroski continued the recent run of hole in ones at Inglewood when he holed out on the 130 metre par three 8th hole.
•  
• Manaia junior Ethan Jones picked up a bronze medal at the NZCT Aims games in the Bay of Plenty recently. The 12 year old was competing in the year 7 and 8 event as a representative of Hawera Intermediate School. Jones finished third in the boys gross competition with rounds of 85 (Omokoroa), 81 (Te Puke), 84 (Tauranga) and 82 (Mt Maunganui).

21/09/11

• Taranaki golfers finished well off the pace at the Wellington Strokeplay championship held at the Shandon Golf Club last weekend. The 72 hole men’s championship was won by host club member Marc Jennings (64-67-70-72-273) while the women’s title went to Wellington representative, Julianne Alvarez (75-75-74-77-301). Thomas Hill (72-73-74-77-296) was the best of the Taranaki men finishing 15th equal. Other Taranaki scores:
• Murray Martin (82-78-77-70-307), Des Wilcox (80-76-74-78-308), Jamie Reid (79-76-77-78-310), Zach Lewis (80-75-81-74-310), Bryan Martelletti (81-80-76-74-311), Caleb Symes (84-77-80-78-317), Brook Gray (81-84-82-80-327); Women –Holly Winter (82-86-83-82-333) Celeste McLean (91-78-83-85-337)
• New Plymouth professional Dominic Barson (70-64-69-68-271) was the best of the Taranaki players competing in the $40,000 Carrus Open at Tauranga which finished on Sunday. Barson who will tee it up in the Port Taranaki Open starting next Thursday finished fourth best professional on nine under par, six shots behind Waikato professional Jim Cusdin (65-70-64-66-265). Taranaki’s leading amateur, Brad Hayward (69-75-70-74-288) finished tied for 43rd while Westown professional Craig Owen (74-74-148) missed the cut. The women’s title went to Waikato number one, Emily Perry ((72-69-70-72-283) who will also tee it up at New Plymouth next week.
• Te Awamutu professional Brad Shilton (67-65-74-69-283) will come into next week’s Port Taranaki Open in a confident mood after finishing fourth in the South Pacific Golf Open Championship at the Tina Golf Club in Noumea last weekend. Hawkes Bay pro Doug Holloway (70-72-70-74-286), who will also be in New Plymouth next week, was the next best Kiwi in a share of 21st place while New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead (70-69-75-74-288) had a disappointing weekend where he dropped from sixth place after two rounds to a share of 30th place.
• The Taranaki Junior Golf Society team to compete in the Booth Shield in Gisborne at Labour weekend is: Boys, Daniel White (Hawera), Des Wilcox (Westown), Jaren Otene (Eltham), Ben Josepth (Inglewood) and Corban Hill (Opunake); Girls- Celeste McLean (Manaia), Holly Winter (Manaia), Tyler Winter (Manaia), Claudia Munro (Manaia), Shantelle Bromell (Inglewod).
• Irishman John Parkes had two reasons to celebrate last week…the first was his home country’s win over Australia in the Rugby World Cup and the second was his first hole in one. Parkes used a seven iron to ace the 140 metre par three 12th hole on his home course at Fitzroy. Meanwhile two Inglewood members also recorded aces at their hole club recently with Ken (the toolman) Taylor using a seven iron to hole out on the 140 metre par three 17th and Graeme Small also using a seven iron to hole out on the 130 metre par three 8th hole.

14/09/11

• A squad of ten Taranaki players will compete in the 72 hole Wellington Strokeplay championship at the Shandon Golf Club this weekend. A number of Taranaki’s leading players are unavailable for the 72 hole event including Brad Hayward, who is competing in the Carrus Open which starts in Taurangs today. The Taranaki players competing in Wellington are: Bryan Martelletti, Jamie Reid, Zach Lewis, Thomas Hill, Brook Gray, Murray Martin, Des Wilcox, Caleb Symes, Holly Winter and Celeste McLean.
• Taranaki number one men’s amateur Brad Hayward won the rain affected Egmont championship at Stratford on Sunday. 76 players entered the 36 hole championship which was reduced to 18 holes after the second round abandoned. 20 year old Hayward was in a class of his own firing a one under par round of 70 to finish five shots clear of Opunake’s Aarun Langton, with the quartet of Tyla Otene , Kerry Otene, Des Wilcox and James Malone a further shot back on 76. The women’s title went to the in-form Melissa Hill who recorded an 82 to finish three shots clear of Svala Garner (Urenui) and Chris Wilson (Inglewood).
• New Zealand seniors champion Murray Martin had a rare off day at the Egmont championship on Sunday. Martin was three over par after four holes and had a two foot putt for par on the par five fifth hole when the putting demons struck. An amazing seven putts later (only one back handed) Martin walked off with an 11. For the record Martin went on to record an 88 for the 18 hole event.
• The Taranaki junior girls development team took out the honours at the Caledonian Quadrangular at Taupo last week.The team of Shantelle Bromell, Tyla Winter, Claudia Munro and Tineka Kumeroa beat Waikato and Bay of Plenty with 10 year old Kumeroa being the outstanding player with three wins.
• Auckland aland professional Richard Lee (67-69-69-75-280) had his best finish on the Japanese PGA tour when he finished tied 30th at the Toshin Golf Tournament last weekend. Lee started the final round in seventh place but two double bogeys saw him drop down the leaderboard. Lee is currently number one on the NZPGA Order of Merit and is confirmed to start in the Port Taranaki Open later this month..
• Carey Hobbs (76-73-71-72-292) fired a four over par total to take out the Manukorihi senior men’s strokeplay title recently. Hobbs finished seven shots clear of Damien Powell. The intermediate division was won by Gary Johnson (81-83-77-80-321) who edged out Richard Hamel by two shots. The junior division was shared by Trevor Woods (91-85-93-89-358) and Greg Stevens (94-94-87-83-358) while Lex Paul (99-96-96-92-383) took out the limit division with Carl Beale finishing runner-up.

7/09/11

• The Egmont championships will be hosted by the Startford Golf Club on Sunday. The 36 hole strokeplay event has attracted a field of around 50 men and 20 women. The men’s title will be keenly contested with Brad Hayward and Murray Martin (New Plymouth), Tim White (Hawera) and Aarun Langton (Opunake) the quartet to watch. Defending champion Tyla Otene (Westown) and local hope Tony Cawley are others who could surprise. In the women’s division, Debbie McCallum (Te Ngutu) and Svala Garner (Urenui) can expect a strong challenge from the junior trio of Holly Winter, Celeste McLean (Manaia) and Vanessa Bouvet (New Plymouth).
• Manukorihi golfer Carey Hobbs (71-70-141) completed a hat trick of Taranaki Masters victories at the weekend. The 54 year old who won the title in 2002 and 2004 shot a three under par total for the Spicers sponsored event to head off defending champion Aarun Langton (73-71-144) and Murray Martin (74-74-148). Martin took out the Taranaki seniors (55 and over) title while Debbie McCallum (80-77-157) took out the women’s masters title with Chris Wilson (78-85-163) finishing runner-up. The best net score was recorded by Kevin Cooper (69-67-136) and Don Armstrong (38-42-80) won the best stableford .
• The Taranaki womens representative team finished in third place at the Caledonian Quadrangular held at Taupo last weekend. The eight strong side lost their opening round against to overall winners Waikato (6-2) and were edged out by Wellington 5-3 on Saturday afternoon, before defeating hosts Bay of Plenty (4 ½ - 3 ½) in the final round. Melissa Hill playing at number six was Taranaki’s outstanding player with three wins while Rochelle Keegan was also unbeaten at number four with two wins and a half. 13 year old Holly Winter had a solid debut at number two with a win and a half. Full results:
• Waikato 6 Taranaki 2
• Svala Garner lost to Emily Perry 6/4
• Holly Winter lost to Chantelle Cassidy 7/6
• Celeste McLean lost to Charlotte Wilson 2/1
• Rochelle Keegan beat Tai Tongdethsri 1 up
• Nicole Keegan lost to Hannah Seifert 3/2
• Melissa Hill beat Melissa Shea 3/2
• Vanessa Bouvet lost to Jill Morgan 7/5
• Carol Chard lost to Erica Amon 4/2
• Wellington 5 Taranaki 3
• Svala Garner lost to Julianna Alvarez 8/7
• Holly Winter all square with Te Rongopai Clay
• Celeste McLean lost to Imogen Donnelly-Lawrence 3/2
• Rochelle Keegan all square with Alanah Braybrook
• Nicole Keegan lost to Barbara Parreno 7/6
• Melissa Hill beat Katie Smart 5/4
• Vanessa Bouvet beat Amy Austin 4/3
• Carol Chard lost to Gabrielle Palado 6/5
• Taranaki 4 ½ Bay of Plenty 3 ½
• Svala Garner lost to Susan Lines 3/2
• Holly Winter beat Heather Lavery 2 up
• Celeste McLean lost to Grace Senior 1 down
• Rochelle Keegan all square with Tyla Kingi
• Nicole Keegan beat Rotana Howard 1 up
• Melissa Hill beat Shelley McElroy 1up
• Vanessa Bouvet lost to Saini Skudder 4/3
• Carol Chard beat Helen Andrews 1 up
• The 2011 Fitzroy men’s strokeplay championships were completed recently. The senior division was shared by Jamie Reid (69-71-72-212) and Brian Rowland (69-73-70-212) while Trevor Wodward (76-74-74-224) headed John Ammundsen (74-78-76-228) by four shots to win the intermediate division. The junior title went to Nick Northam (81-88-80-249) with Steve Murray (80-87-88-255) runner-up. The limit title was also shared with Brendon Hill (92-89-92-273) and Karl Groot (90-91-92-273) tied after the 54 hole event.

5/09/11

• A field of around 65 players will tee it up in the Spicers Taranaki masters championship this weekend. Defending men’s champion Aarun Langton will again be hard to head off but others in the mix include Murray Martin (New Plymouth), Tony Hardy (Westown), Carey Hobbs and Daryl Baird (Manukorihi) Only five women have entered to date with Debbie McCallum (Te Ngutu) and Chris Wilson (Inglewood) the pre tournament favourites. Entries are still available with the first 18 holes at Manukorihi on Saturday and the final 18 holes at Westown on Sunday.
• The Taranaki women’s representative team will feature a youthful line-up this weekend with teenagers Holly Winter (13) and Celeste McLean (14) coming in at number two and three respectively and 11 year old Vanessa Bouvet at number seven. The full team in playing order is : Svala Garner, Holly Winter, Celeste McLean, Rochelle Keegan, Nicole Keegan, Melissa Hill, Vanessa Bouvet and Carol Chard. The four strong development team is Shantelle Bromell, Tyla Winter, Claudia Munro and Tineka Kumeroa. The other teams competing at the quadrangular are Wellington,Waikato and hosts Bay of Plenty.
• The Te Ngutu Golf Club completed their club championships recently. The senior men’s strokeplay title went to Murray West (78-84-80-78-320) while Jason Love (84-83-82-84-333) was a convincing winner in the intermediate division finishing 11 shots clear of Jarrod Pettett. The junior title went to Mark Reynolds (89-91-88-86-354) and the limit division was won by Peter Fake (87-95-90-92-364). The matchplay championship results were:
• Senior men-Brett Prestidge beat Clive Porter 6/5
• Intermediate: Mark Potts beat Jarrod Pettit 1up.
• Junior: Murray Smith beat Richard Johnson 1up
• Limit: Peter Fake beat Ray Wishnowsky 5/4
• Senior Ladies: Nicole Jones beat Kaye Maree Mihaljevich 6/5
• Intermediate: Adrrienne Johnston beat Erin Wilson 2 up
• Junior: Monica Hughes beat Donna Sturm 3/2
• 9 holers-Division 1-Ruth Schicker beat Jaon Goodchaap 4/3
• 9 holers-Division 2- Ellen Smith beat Jocelyn Caldwell 2 up
• 60 players participated in The Kiwi Butcher open tournament at the Manukorihi Golf Club on Sunday. Troy Burkhart recorded the best gross score with a one over par round of 73 while Greg Blyde (76-11-65) took out the best senior net and Jim Brand the best stableford with 42. Other results: Internediate: Net-Kasper Gwerder (82-18-64); Stableford- Robert Butler-43; Junior-Net-Mike Burkhart (94-35-59), Stableford-Mike Lima 43; Ladies-Net-Janet Christiansen (100-32-68), Stableford-Jo Broadmore 36.
• New Plymouth junior Sanjay Modgill (76-77-74-227) finished 20th equal at the New Zealand under 19 strokeplay championship played at the Omokoroa Golf Club last week. Fellow Taranaki golfers Jay Maaka (73-80-78-233) finished 37th and Damien Powell (76-81-78-235) finished 46th. The boys championship was won by Auckland golfer Sam An (67-71-75-213). The girls championship which was played at the Omanu Golf Club was won by Cecilia Cho (73-68-71-212) with Taranaki golfers Holly Winter (82-79-85-246) and Vanessa Bouvet (85-83-95-263) finishing 23rd equal and 34th equal respectively.

24/08/11

• Professional golfers have another event to look forward to preceding this year’s $40,000 2011 Port Taranaki Open. The Wanganui (Belmont) Golf Club are hosting a $20,000 Pro-am event on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th September. The 36 hole event will bolster the lead up to the Port Taranaki Open with the Hawera Golf Club hosting the $10,000 Croucher & Crowder South Taranaki Pro-am on Tuesday 27th September, the Mason Appliances Pro-am day at New Plymouth on Wednesday 28th September before the four day 72 hole Port Taranaki Open starts on Thursday 29th September.
• New Plymouth Boys High School (NPBHS) finished in 13th position of the 14 teams competing in the national secondary schools final played at the Tauranga Golf Club earlier this week. NPBHS (Sanjay Modgill 76-78-154, Jay Maaka 84-69-153), Charlie Boon (90-87-177), Brad McLachlan 86-88-174) had a team total of 480 with the three best scores counting in each round. The 36 hole event was won by St Peters College from Waikato (Troy Scott 68-70-138, Compton Pikari 71-71-142, Matt Morris 74-78-152, Agni Bhokar 69-74-143) with an impressive team total of 423.
• Wellington professional Nick Gillespie (66-65-64-71-266) blitzed the field to win the Vanuatu Golf Open by eight shots last weekend. Gillespie, who has been a professional for less than 12 months picked up A$9092 for his victory. New Plymouth professional Blake Cowley (81-75-80-76-312) finished 38th.
• Taranaki’s sole representative at the North Harbour Strokeplay championship, Zach Lewis (82-80-75-235) finished well off the pace in 27th place last weekend. The event was held at the Muriwai Links course and was reduced to 54 holes due to frost delays on the first day. The title was won by Bay of Plenty golfer Sam Davis (75-68-72-215).
• 70 golfers participated in the Taranaki Veterans August competition held at Fitzroy. The men’s winner of the monthly button was Westown’s Mario Marinovich with 41 stableford points while Eltham’s Ann Braithwaite was the best of the women with 30 points. The Kauri trophy for the best combined stableford score from the Westown and Fitzroy events was won by David Bolton from Westown with 77 points. Other leading scores at Fitzroy were: Senior- David Bolton 39, Lloyd Phillips 36, Ken Jurd 36, Nigel Preston 36, Brian Sutton 36; Intermediate- Brian Walsh 38, Alban Reid 37, Don Openshaw 35; Junior- Don Betts 40, Harley Simpson 39, Ern Sutton 38; Women- Margaret Bishop 28, Tui Steele 26.
• New Plymouth’s young guns Brad Hayward and Zach Lewis both fired aces over the past week on their home course. Playing in the Crowded House Wednesday Club, Lewis used a pitching wedge to hole out on the 116 meter par three 14th hole while Hayward used an eight iron to hole out on the 166 meter par three 12th hole on Saturday.
• The Spicers Taranaki Masters and Seniors championships will be decided next weekend. The 36 hole event is open to men and women aged 40 and over with the first 18 holes at Manukorihi Golf Club on Saturday 3rd September and 18 holes at Westown on Sunday 4th September. All participants will go into a draw for a team spot in the Mason Appliances Pro-am day.

17/08/11

• Taranaki’s top golfers can look forward to a jam packed calendar of events throughout September. The Taranaki women’s team and development squad start their representative campaign with the Central quadrangular against Wellington, Waikato and hosts Bay of Plenty in Taupo on September 3rd and 4th, the same weekend as the 36 hole Spicers Masters at Manukorihi and Westown. The other events in September are:
• Sunday 11th September – Egmont Championship (36 holes) – Stratford
• Saturday / Sunday 18th -19th September –Wellington Strokeplay (Shandon)-72 holes
• Saturday 24th September –Masters men’s trial –New Plymouth Golf Club (36 holes)
• Tuesday 27th September –$10,000 Croucher & Crowder South Taranaki Pro-am- Hawera Golf Club (18 holes)
• Wednesday 28th September –Mason Appliances Pro-am –New Plymouth Golf Club (18 holes)
• Thursday 29th September-Sunday 2nd October –$40,000 Port Taranaki Open –New Plymouth Golf Club (72 holes)

• Teenagers Joseph Doyle and Brook Gray had to go past regulation holes before the Tumahu senior men’s matchplay championship was decided on Sunday. 

• Both players were four under par for the 36 hole final, with 18 year old Doyle clinching the title with a birdie on the 37th hole. In other divisions, Bruce Sim edged out Kevin Dodunski 1 up to take out the intermediate title while Steve Kelly beat Pete Smyth 5/4 to claim the junior title. The limit title went to Wizz Manuel who beat Anthony Williams 5/4.

• Taranaki’s top amateur Brad Hayward (70-72-72-73-287) continued his good run of form at the Cambridge Classic last weekend. The 20 year old shot a one under par total to finish third equal. The 72 hole championship was won by Te Awamutu golfer Compton Pikari (74-70-71-69-284). Hayward’s clubmate Zach Lewis ( 76-71-75-74-296) finished 16th while Thomas Hill (75-79-80-DNF) failed to complete the final round.

• Westown professional Craig Owen (71-74-145) finished in 14th equal position at the A$25,000 Queensland Senior PGA championship played at the Redland Bay Golf Club last week. Owen picked up A$475 for his one over par total. The event was won by New South Wales professional David Merriman (67-70-137) who beat David Good (70-67-137) and Kiwi Jim Lapsley (67-70-137) in a sudden death play-off. In events leading up to the championship Owen (76) finished 34th in the A$10,000 Tewantin Noosa Legends Pro-am and 5th equal in the A$10,000 Carbrook Legends Pro-am where he shot a two over par round of 73.

12/08/11

• Taranaki’s leading amateur golfer Brad Hayward ( 71-72-75-218) recorded his most significant victory to date with a one shot victory at the Kapi Tareha Memorial tournament at the Napier Golf Club last weekend. The 20 year old backed up his recent second placing at the Waikato Winter Strokeplay championship with a solid two over par total. The event which was scheduled to be 72 holes was reduced to 54 holes due to frost delays on the opening day. Hayward‘s win has elevated him to number one on the Lower North Island Order of Merit. Hawera’s Tim White (72-80-73-225) was the only other Taranaki player to finish in the top 10, finishing seventh equal. The women’s title was won by Wellington representative Te Rongopai Clay (76-72-82-230) while Manaia’s Holly Winter (84-79-88-251) finished 11th and Celeste McLean (86-86-89-261) 18th. Other Taranaki scores: Murray Martin 74-75-80-229-12th=, Bryan Martellletti 76-80-76-232-18th=, Caleb Symes 78-80-78-236-30th, Joseph Doyle 79-74-84-237-31st=, Bernie Smith 83-74-83-240-34th, Neil Bryant 79-81-85-245-40th, James Malone 76-86-85-247-43rd=, Jay Maaka 86,81-80-247-43rd=

• Kaitake are the 2011 Taranaki Womens nine hole pennant champions. 

• The Kaitake team of Jo West, Heather O'Sullivan, Jean Keegan and Margaret Briscoe won with 37 points, edging out Westown on 36 and Fitzroy 31. It is the first time Kaitake have won the nine hole pennant competition.

• Former Taranaki golfer Cathryn Bristow has secured her first win as a professional. The left hander claimed her maiden LPGA Futures Tour victory at the rain-shortened $110,000 Pennsylvania Classic. Bristow fired rounds of 66 and 69 at the par-72 Felicita Mountain Resort and Spa for a nine under par total to earn a three stroke victory.Bristow’s first win as a pro earned her $19,100.

• The New Zealand Golf women’s home links competition was completed recently with Taranaki golfers achieving top three finishes in two of the national competitions. The New Plymouth duo of Shona Paterson and Margaret McNeice finished third in the Nancy McCormick foursomes competition with a score of 10.4 under par while Inglewood’s Val Oliver finished third in the nine hole Home Links-Sue Bunt Salver with a score of 6.6 under par.

4/08/11

• Taranaki’s leading amateur golfers head to the Hawkes Bay this weekend to compete in the 72 hole Kapi Tareha Memorial tournament at the Napier Golf Club. The event has attracted a top class field with the leading amateurs from Wellington, Manawatu-Wanganui and Hawkes Bay all vying for Lower North Island Order of Merit points. The Taranaki contingent will be led by Brad Hayward who is currently fifth on the Order of Merit. Hayward will be joined by Tim White, Caleb Symes, Jay Maaka, Neil Bryant, Murray Martin, Bernie Smith, Joseph Doyle and Bryan Martelletti. The Manaia junior duo of Celeste McLean and Holly Winter will compete for the women’s title.
• 20 teams participated in the Ugly Duck sponsored ambrose tournament at Fitzroy on Sunday. The winning team of Trevor Simpson, Grant Lester and Colin Shotter from Westown shot a 59 off the stick off a five handicap for 50 stableford points with the local trio of Dennis Reid, Danny Manu and Dennis Hanscombe finishing second on 47 stableford points
• Waitara golfer Chad Evans enjoyed a perfect start with his new Taylor made five wood on Sunday when he used it to hole out on the 151 metre par three 14th on his home course.
• 80 players competed in the multi sponsorted open tournament at Inglewood on Sunday. Westown’s Tyla Otene blitzed the senior division shooting a four under par round of 64 off a seven handicap for a net 57. The intermediate division was won by Bruce Black (84-19-65) while bowls guru Neville Elliot (89-23-66) took out the junior section. Otene capped off a great day by taking out the Cleggs Furniture Court shoot-out.
• Four solid rounds earned New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead A$2060 in the A$100,000 Pat O’Drisoll Real Estate / Tropical Auto Group Golf Classic last week. Moorhead (70-71-71-71-283) finished tied for 10th along with Taihape professional Hamish Robertson (69-74-66-74-283) on five under par. The 72 hole event was won by Victorian Ashley Hall (67-70-66-70-273) and Paul Spargo (64-68-68-73-273).
• Westown professional Craig Owen has been in action on the Australasian PGA Legends circuit over the past two weeks. Owen’s results were:
  A$10,000 Sandy Gallop Legends Pro-Am – 74-19th=
  A$15,000 Lifestyle Asset Legends Pro-Am – 74-9th =
  A$10,000 Club Car Gold Coast Senior Open -75-28th=
  A$17,500 Mercedes-BenzSanctuary Cove Legends Pro-Am -73-77-150-12th=

28/07/11

• Taranaki’s top amateur golfer Brad Hayward had his best result this year with a second equal placing in the Waikato Winter Strokeplay championship played at the Lochiel Golf Club in Hamilton last weekend. 20 year old Haywood (69-71-70-72-282) shot a six under par total for the 72 hole event to finish six shots behind Canterbury’s Keelan Kilpatrick (69-68-70-69-276). New Plymouth golfer Sanjay Modgill (71-80-72-69-292) finished tied for 14th.
• The honours were shared in the annual Taranaki versus Auckland junior development squad clash last week. The 36 hole event which was played at the New Plymouth Golf Club resulted in a 12 all draw. Opunake’s Corban Hill recorded a win and a half for the boys while Holly Winter (Manaia) and Shantelle Bromell (Inglewood) both recorded two wins for the four strong girls side.
• A team of 15 Taranaki Junior Golf Society members travelled to Rotorua last weekend to play a triangular event with Waikato and Bay of Plenty (BOP) Junior Golf Societies at the Lake View Golf Club.
• Jaron Otene (Eltham) won the boys best gross with a 73, while Tineka Kumeroa (Manaia) celebrated her 10th birthday in style breaking 100 for the first time shooting 97 off a 35 handicap for a net 62. These scores helped Taranaki to a win over BOP with Taranaki’s net average score of 74, two better than BOP on 76.
• In the stableford match with Waikato the Taranaki boys beat their Waikato opponents but but the girls fell half a stableford point (average) short losing 34 to Waikato's 34.5.
• The next junior Golf Society events are the Mohekey and Smart trophies at Manukorihi on August 7th and a Quiz fundraiser at Inglewood on August 12th.
• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead failed to make the cut in the latest Queensland Pro-am circuit event. The $50,000 City of Rockhampton Pro-amt was won by Queensland professional Adam Crawford (72-70-68-66-276) who fired a 12 under par total and edged out New South Wales professional Aaron Townsend by a single shot. Hawkes Bay professional Doug Holloway (70-73-71-71-285) was the best of the Kiwi’s finishing tied for 15th.
• 11 year old New Plymouth Golf Club member Vanessa Bouvet (87-87-78-252) finished tied for 45th in the Calloway World age group championships held in San Diego recently. The 11-12 year old championship was won by Xiang Sui (69-67-71-209) from China.

20/07/11

• Manukorihi Golf Club is Taranaki’s top club. The four man team of Robert Butler (89-22-67), Paul Fairhurst (81-9-72), Richard Hamil (79-11-68) and Ron Morrell (97=21=76) fired a team total of 283 to claim the $1500 top prize in the final of the Dow AgroScieces-Taranaki Golf Christchurch Earthquake fundraising event at Stratford on Sunday. 11 teams competed in the 18 hole final with Urenui Dennis Mills 85-14-71, Duncan Elliott 86-11-75, Ian Beasley 106-37-69 and Nigel Musker 80-9-71) taking away $500 for finishing runner—up) on 286. Leading individual scores were: Michelle Furness (93-28-65), Chaddie Chadwick (89-24-65), Brent Neil (82-15-67), Robert Butler (89-22-67), Murray Cook (85-17-68), Richard Hamil (79-11-68-), Jackie Higgins (96-28-68).
• A $500 donation from the Strathmore Golf Club lifted the total amount raised in the Christchurch Earthquake Fundraising event to $5980. The Taranaki Golf association have topped this amount up to $10,000 and Dow AgroSciences have pledged a further $5000 worth of product. The money raised will be distributed to Christchurch Golf Clubs via a trust fund established by New Zealand Golf.
• Now if your golf is in the doldrums spare a moment for Manaia golfer Grant Gibbs. Playing in the Christchurch Earthquake final tournament on Sunday the 30 handicapper was trundling along quite nicely until he scored a 10 on the par five seventh. A par three on the next settled things down before Gibbs hit the low point of his round with an 18 on the par four ninth. For the record Gibbs went on to score a122 for a net 92, with Manaia recording a team score of 297-14 shots behind winners Manukorihi –oh what could have been !!
• Taranaki representative Murray Martin (81-76-77—234) finished in a tie for 19th place at the Queensland (55 and over) Senior Amateur championship last week. The 54 championship was won by New South Wales golfer Greg Corben (72-74-73-219) with Wellington golfer Rod Baltrop (75-78-74-227) the best of the Kiwis in seventh place.
• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead (69-74-69-71-283) fired a one under par total to finish in a tie for 21st place in the A$70,000 City of MacKay Pro-am last week. The Queensland PGA tour event was won by local professional Anthony Johnson (68-71-65-68-272) with Doug Holloway (68-69-67-72-276) the best of the Kiwis, finishing in a tie for fifth.

13/07/11

• A field of around 50 junior golfers will compete in the North Taranaki Age group championships at the Fitzroy Golf Club next Wednesday. The Reid Plumbing 36 hole championship has been bolstered with the inclusion of a 12 strong Auckland junior development team who will face a Taranaki junior development team at Ngamotu on the following day. Among the contenders for the under 19 boys championship are two three handicappers from Auckland, Johnny Tynan and Kieran Brooke while the local hopes will rest with the quartet of Jay Maaka, Des Wilcox, Brook Gray and Joseph Doyle. A total of nine girls have entered the 36 hole championship with Celeste McLean and Holly Winter leading the local charge while four handicapper Samantha Colling and eight handicappers Joclyn Katu and Esmarelda Ligaliga should be prominent for the visitors.
• Taranaki’s top club team will be determined on Sunday with 12 clubscompeting in the regional final of theTaranki Golf and Dow AgroSciences Christchurch Earthquake fundraising event. The latest club to complete their qualifying event was the Manukorihi Golf Club who contributed $360 with 18 players participating. The Manukorihi qualifiers were: Robert Butler (88-21-67), Ron Morrell (90-20-70), Richard Hamel (82-10-72) and Paul Fairhurst (81-9-72). The 18 hole final will feature a teams event with all four individual net scores counting for the team total plus an individual competition.
• The Australian Senior Team won the 2011 Sanctuary Cove Trophy. In a tense final day of individual matchplay, The result was in the alance right to the end, with the Australians matching the New Zealanders for a 6 all result in the individual games. Going into the singles the Australians held a three point advantage after the foursomes and fourball matches. The overall result of the Ryder Cup format competition was 13.5 points to 10.5. Taranaki representative Murray Martin had a win in the foursomes, a loss in the fourball and halved his singles match.The victory gives Australia a three series to two lead over New Zealand with the 2012 challenge scheduled to be held in Christchurch.

6/07/11

• Four more clubs have completed qualifying competitions for theTaranki Golf and Dow AgroSciences Christchurch Earthquake fundraising event bringing the amount raised to $5120.
• The Waitara Golf Club raised $600 with 15 men and seven ladies participating in their golf competition and a further $140 raised in a raffle. Qualifiers for the regional final were: Britt Ward (82-16-66), John van Praagh (81-12-69), Leo Lorne (79-9-70) and Paul Foreman (85-15-70).
• There were 14 players in the Manaia qualifying event with $280 raised. Qualifiers were: Michelle Furness (95-23-72), Jackie Higgins (96-23-73), Grant Gibbs (104-30-74) and Brian Sutton (92-16-76).
• The quartet of Diane Morrisey (90-24-66), Ann Braithwaite (82-15-67), Bob Cave (87-20-67) and Murray Cook (84-17-67) will represent Stratford Golf Club at the regional final after 21 players participated in the Stratford event raising $420.
• A further $460 was raised by the Eltham Golf Club with the top four players being: Gordon Stratton (87-12-65), Jarron Otene (70-4-66), John Durdle (78-9-69) and Grant MacKay (75-6-69).
• The Waitara Golf Club completed their men’s matchplay championships recently. In the senior division Tony Nartin beat Casey Raven 4/3 while Baz Moore defeated Geoff White 4/3 to claim the intermediate title. The junior division was decided on the last hole with Matt Lima beating Gordon Wilson and the limit division was taken out by Alan Queripel who beat Jackie Yang 3/2.
• Taranaki number one Brad Hayward had his work cut out to claim the 2011 New Plymouth Golf Club senior men’s matchplay championship on Saturday. His opponent Mark Kennard shot a three under par round of 69 in the morning round to lead 1 up, a lead he held until the final six holes, where a late rally by Hayward saw him win one up. The intermediate division was won by Peter Barker who beat Paul Stark 5/4 while the junior division went to Richard Pepperell who beat Sam Peterson 5/3. The 18 hole limit division went to Allan McKernan who beat Graham Goldsworthy 2/1.
• The Taranaki women's weekend pennant final  round, was played on Sunday at the Stratford golf course. Patea had a convincing 4-1 win  over New Plymouth to clinch the title for 2011, finishing two points clear of the Taranaki Golf junior girls team . Final points for the season were Patea 14  T.W.G.A. 12  Inglewood 11 Te Ngutu and Hawera 10  Stratford 8  Westown and Manukorihi 7 New Plymouth 6 Kaitake 3.
• The Te Ngutu women’s golf team finished fourth in the New Zealand Golf women’s national teams championship. The four strong side ( Erin Wilson,Jenny Cleaver, Fiona Taylor and Diane Jellyman) won the Taranaki event with a score of 15.4 under the course rating. The national event was won by the Lawrence Golf Club with a score of 24.2 under their course rating.

29/06/11

• Taranaki’s leading amateur golfer Brad Hayward (77-75-79-231) finished well off the pace at the Glencoe Invitational tournament in Canada last week. The 20 year old New Plymouth golf club member was participating in the 54 hole event courtesy of the Ngaki Tamariki Charitable Trust. Hayward finished tied for 34th on 15 over par well behind the winner, MacKenzie Hughes (69-73-69-211) on five under par. Fellow Kiwi golfer John Radcliffe (74-74-75-223) finished 14th.

• 40 teams participated in the Walsh’s Open tournament at Manukorihi on Sunday. The charity event was organised by professional John Garner with the benefactors being the Christchurch Red Cross and the Taranaki Community Rescue Helicopter. The best gross score went to Mark Kennard and Stephen McIntosh with a four under par 68, six shots clear of Peter Eliason and Melissa Hill on 74. The best nett in the senior division was recorded by Robert Butler and John Kretschmar on 64, half a shot ahead of Peter Hermann and Eddie Hollard on 64.5. The junior division was won by the husband and wife combination of John and Marie Rayner on 67, with Troy and Chris Burkhart second on 68

• The fund for the Taranaki Golf and Dow AgroSciences Christchurch Earthquake fundraising event has moved to $3260 with Fitzroy and Inglewwod completing their club qualifying events.The Fitzroy Golf Club raised $580 while Inglewood contributed $300. The four Fitzroy qualifiers for the regional final are Brent Neil (78-14-64), Evan Jones (72-6-66), Brian Rowland (71-4-67) and Doug Williams 93-25-68). The women dominated the Inglewood event with the qualifiers being Sue Dodunski (93-33-60),Shirley Miller (92-30-62), Melanie Wilson (73-9-64) and  (Chris Wilson (75-10-65). With the wet conditions in June clubs have been given another two weeks to host their club qualifying events for the regional final which will be held at the Stratford Golf Club on Sunday 17th July.

• 12 year old Manaia member Ethan Jones was the toast of his club last week. The 13 handicapper used a three wood to ace the 153 metre par three 7th hole . Ethan  said " I hit it sweet ". His playing partner said it was a straight shot, bounced and ran into the cup.

 

22/06/11

• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead’s recent good run of form has continued with two top five finishes in Fiji over the past two weeks. Moorhead (65-73-70-208), who finished as the leading professional with Hamish Robertson at the Muriwai Open in May, finished second to Wellington based professional Nick Gillespie (69-69-69-207) in the F$40,000 Fijian Open played at the Pacific Harbour Golf course. Moorhead (74-65-72-70-281) then shot seven under par in the F$60,000 Starwood Classic which was played on the Natadola and Denarau Golf Clubs to finish in a tie for third, five shots behind Hawkes Bay rookie professional Peter Zwart (74-67-68-67-276).
• The Waitara Golf Club completed their men’s strokeplay championships recently. The senior title went to Tony Martin (72-75-77-224) with Guy Morris (77-77-77-231) runner-up. The intermediate division was won by Geoff White (80-74-78-232) who finished two shots clear of John van Praagh (79-77-78-234). Sheldon Perry (86-86-90-262) headed off Gordon Wilson (85-91-88-264) to claim the junior title while a strong last round by Allan Queripal (110-105-95-310) saw him clinch the limit division from Jackie Yang (101-113-100-314).
• The Inglewood Golf Club have completed their men’s matchplay championships.The senior championship was won by Kerry Otene who beat Ross Gadsby 4/3 over the 36 hole final. The intermediate division was won by 14 year old Ben Joseph who beat Rod Clough 3/2 while the junior title went to the final putt with John Burgess beating John Bromell on the 36th . The 18 hole limit division was won by Craig Adamson who beat Shaun Gower 2 up.
• The fund for theTaranki Golf and Dow AgroSciences Christchurch Earthquake fundraising event moved to $2380 after the weekend club activities. The wet conditions restricted playing numbers with only a further 12 players fronting for the second stage of the New Plymouth Golf Club event bring the total club contribution to $820. The New Plymouth qualifiers for the regional final were Stefan Campbell (75-8-67), Gary Dunlop (89-21-68), Colin Heyes (72-3-69) and Keith Hodson (81-11-70).19 players entered the Waverley Club competition with the four qualifiers being Kerry Rees (74-7-67), George Hodges (80-11-69), Doug Brodie (82-12-70) and Nigel Alexander (82-11-71)
• There were 60 starters in the latest Taranaki Veterans event played at Westown last week. The winners of the monthly button were Peter Barker (44 points) and Ann Braithwaite (30 points). Other leading scores were: Senior: Gerard Keegan 40, Brian Walsh 39, Bernie Lile 38, David Bolton 38; Intermediate: Rodney Ward 42, Alban Reid 40, Lloyd Phillips 37; Junior: Hugh Taylor 41, Colin Wheeler 39, Terry Reardon 39, Alan Linn 39
• The Taranaki mid week womens pennant finale was postponed earlier this week and will now be played at Stratford on Monday. In the semi-finals, Opunake meet Waverley while Patea play Pungarehu.

15/06/11

• The Christchurch Fundraising Event received a timely boost with a further $1080 raised over the past week. New Plymouth Golf Club ($580) held a mid week competition last Wednesday and Patea Golf Club raised $500 from their club event on Saturday, bringing the total raised to $1760. The Patea qualifiers for the regional final are Leo Quintus (75-7-68), Josh Abraham (79-10-69), Ray Finlay (83-13-70)and Neil Edgcombe (88-18-70).

• It will be survival of the fittest when the Taranaki mid week ladies pennant competition finale is played at Stratford next Monday. The top four teams will play 36 holes with the morning semi-finals followed by an 18 hole final and play-off for third and fourth. In the semi-finals Opunake play Waverley while Pungarehu are up against Patea.

• A small field of 26 junior golfers competed in the Taranaki Junior Golf Society Two Ball Best Ball tournament at Inglewood on Sunday. It was a disappointing turn-out for the Craig Owen sponsored event with 22 of the juniors coming from the Manaia and Inglewood Golf Clubs. The two ball best ball Thomson trophy was shared by Caleb Fitzpatrick and Connor Hawkes, Matthew Sullivan and Jaron Otene, Kyle and Peter Joseph after all pairs recorded a net 59. Inglewood golfer Kerry Otene recorded the best gross score with a one under par round of 67 while club mate Ben Joseph (70-9-61) took out the best net ahead of Des Wilcox (68-5-63). Other leading scores: 9 hole boys; Ryan Joll 56, Ryan Gilmour 59; 9 hole girls: Ashley Shotter 64, Kendall Frederikson 74; 9 hole short course- Thomas Elliott 57, Oliver Peters 58

• 30 members of the Stratford Golf Club travelled to Taupo at Queens Birthday to participated in the 40th anniversary of the Tombstone Trophy. The 36 hole competition is held at the Wairakei International Golf Resort and was won by Warren Cleland. The 26 handicapper recorded two rounds of 93 for a 36 net total of 134, four shots clear of Don Shearman who had rounds of 86 and 82 off a 15 handicap. A highlight of the trip was a hole in one scored by Murray Cook who used a six iron to ace the 131 meter par three 2nd hole.

• Two primary school students were big winners after participating in the Active South Holiday Programme recently. Daniel Johnston (Waverley Primary) and Finn Crawford (Whenuakura Primary School) both received a set of golf clubs and junior memberships to the Waverley and Patea Golf Clubs respectively as the lucky winners attending the three day programme.

• The Taranaki Secondary Schools golf championships were washed out last Friday and will now be played tomorrow. 14 scholl teams will compete for the boys title with New Plymouth Boys High School likely to receive strong challenges from Hawera High School, Coastal Taranaki and Frances Douglas Memorial College.

• Fitzroy golfer Brian Chard scored his first hole in one recently. The 22 handicapper used a seven wood to ace the 140 meter par three 15th at his home course.

8/06/11

• New Plymouth Boys High School’s stranglehold on the Taranaki Secondary Schools championship will be under threat when 14 schools compete for the title at Stratford tomorrow. The NPBHS team features leading Taranaki juniors Sanjay Modgill and Jay Maaka and relative unknowns Charles Barnes and Brad McLochlin. With three gross scores of the four team members counting towards the team total, the pressure will be on all players to return a competitive team score. Last year’s runners-up Coastal Taranaki (Brook Gray, Joseph Doyle, Issac Quintus and Hamish Kape) are a big threat as are Hawera High School (Celeste McLean, Sam Jones, Daniel White, Jarron Pittams) and Francis Douglas Memorial College (Hayden Chamberlain, Trent Van Der Poel, Jared Glentworth and Mason Laing). The winners will progress to the national final to be held at the Tauranga Golf Club on August 20th. 12 girls teams will also compete in an ambrose competition at the Eltham Golf Club tomorrow.

• The Urenui Golf Club has got the Christchurch fundraising event off to a great start with 34 golfers contributing $680 to the relief fund last Saturday. The four Urenui players to qualify for the regional final at the Stratford Golf Club on Sunday 17th July were: Duncan Elliott ((74-11-63), Dennis Mills (79-13-66), Nigel Musker (75-8-67) and Ian Besley (102-32-70).

• Kaitake junior Des Wilcox (16) will head an eight strong Taranaki boys junior development squad while Holly Winter (14) will head a four strong junior girls line up to play Auckland at New Plymouth on 21st July. The full squads are: Boys-Des Wilcox (Kaitake), Hayden Chamberlain (Waitara), Zac Marino (New Plymouth), Kyle Joseph (Inglewood), Sam Jones (Manaia), Fletcher Broderick (New Plymouth), Ben Joseph (Inglewood) and Corban Hill (Opunake); Girls- Holly Winter (Manaia), Celeste McLean (Manaia), Shantelle Bromell (Inglewood) and Claudia Munro (Manaia).

• A field of 56 players participated in the Icons Bar & Café Westown Classic last Saturday. The best men’s gross went to Jay Maaka with a 77 while Rochelle Keegan was the best woman with an 82. Other leading scores were: Senior: Kyle Greenlees (80-9-71), Bernie Lile (79-8-71); Intermediate: Gross-Travis Stewart 82; Net- Gerard Keegan (84-14-70), Alan Foster (86-15-71); Junior: Gross- Alan Mitchell 85; Net- Graeme Phillips (92-22-70), Pat Carr (100-26-74); Women:Net-Melissa Hill (84-7-77).

• New Plymouth golfer Jack Kurta scored his third hole in one recently while on holiday in Brisbane. The four handicapper used a nine iron to hole out on the 130 meter par three 5th hole at the Victoria Park Golf Club. Meanwhile Brian ‘Big Bird’ Rowland scored a rare albatross last week. Rowland was on tour with the Opunake 28 club when he used an eight iron to hole his second shot on the 464 meter par five 12th hole at the Kinloch Resort Golf Club in Taupo. The rare three under par two on the par five gave the six handicapper five stableford points on the hole.

1/06/11

• Taranaki golfers will get the opportunity to support fellow golfers and golf clubs affected by the Christchurch earthquake over the next month. The Taranaki Golf Association (TGA) has teamed up with one of their major sponsors, Dow AgroSciences to run a fundraising event over the next six weeks. Each one of the provinces 20 golf clubs will have the opportunity to run a club day or days in support of the event with the top four players from each club event progressing to a regional final to be hosted by the TGA at the Stratford Golf Club on Sunday 17th July. Players will pay $20 to enter the event with all entry fees going to Christchurch golf clubs affected by the February quake. Sponsors Dow Agrosciences will match the amount raised by Taranaki golfers, dollar for dollar in product up to $5000 in value. The regional final will feature both club prizes, with Dow putting up a further $2000 worth of product for the leading two clubs and the TGA chiming in with $1000 worth of individual prizes.

• The Tumahu Golf Club men’s strokeplay championships were completed on Sunday. The senior championship was shared by leading Taranaki juniors Brook Gray (70-70-140) and Joseph Doyle (74-66-140), while the intermediate title went to Glen Kennedy (76-76-152). In the junior section, Peter Smyth (95-85-180) came out on top while Wizz Manuel (85-87-172) blitzed the limit division with a score which was eight shots in front of the winning junior division score.

• The semi-finalists of the Taranaki women’s mid week pennant competition were determined on Monday after the final round of section play matches. In section one, Opunake were clear winners with Patea edging out Kaitake for the second qualifying spot while Pungarehu snuck past Waverley by two individual games to claim top spot in section two. The semi-finals will be played at Stratford on the 20th June with Opunake up against Waverley and Pungarehu meeting Patea.

• Former Manawatu Wanganui representative Bernie Smith (74-75-79-73-301) is the 2011 New Plymouth men’s senior strokeplay champion. Smith edged out defending champion Murray Martin (75-74-78-75-302) by a single shot. The intermediate title went to Ian Cull (79-79-80-84-322) who finished a massive 22 shots ahead of Jaron Mumby (89-81-90-84-344). In the junior division, club captain Simon Rowe (85-90-90-90-355) headed club chairman, David Haszard (88-91-92-86-357) and Sam Petersen (96-90-85-88-359) while the limit division went to Graham Goldsworthy (91-91-104-93-379) with John Pitman (100-99-94-97-390) runner-up.

• The annual Taranaki 500 golf tournament attracted a field of 145 plays at Westown Golf Club on Sunday. The McCallum and Dallas sponsored event is one of Taranaki's largest club tournaments, with this year being the 10th anniversary of the competition. The best club prize went to best club, Westown with 195 stableford points (best five stableford scored) who finished three shots clear of Fitzroy.

• In the individual section Opunaki's Nathan Young recorded a one over par round of 73 to edge out club mate Aarun Langton by a single shot. The men's best overall net went to Westowns Grant Lester (76-10-66) while fellow club mate John Kretschmar recorded the best stableford with 42 points. Kathy Faiers (85-11-74) from Patea recorded the best womens net score while Chris Wilson from Inglewood had the best gross with an 82.

• The Westown men's strokeplay championships were completed recently. In the senior divison Tony Hardy (73 - 72 -72 -217) finished five shots clear of Jay Maaka (222) while Travis Stewart (76 -79 - 82 - 237) was a clear winner of the intermediate A division, finishing 11 shots clear of Steven Quin. The intermediate B division was shared by Colin Cameron (84-90-86-260) and Gerard Keegan (90 -84- 86 -260). The junior title was also shared with Gus McCutcheon (92-99 -94- 285) and Brian Reed (93 - 96 - 96 - 285) finishing tied after 54 holes. The limit title went to Kevin Conlin (92 - 99-102 -293) with Ian Morrison (315) finishing runner up.

• Westown Golf Club Manager Graeme Cooper scored his first hole in one at his home course recently. Cooper played a six iron to hole out on the 117 metre par three seventh hole. Stratford member Janice Walton also scored a hole in one recently when she used a five wood to hole out on the 133 metre par three fifth hole.

• Beating your age in golf is no easy feat but Fitzroy's Alex Wright has just notched up his 50th round of matching or beating his age. The 75 year old has been as low as a three handicap and currently plays off an 11 handicap. Wright first beat his age as a 67 year old when he fired a two under par round of 66 at Fitzroy.

• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead enjoyed his best performance in 2011 last weekend. Moorhead (68-70-70-69-277) picked up $5200 after tying with Taihape professional Hamish Robertson as the leading professional in the $40,000 Muriwai Open. The 41 year old has had limited tournament play this year but reveled in the atrocious conditions on the final day to all but take his first Charles Tour title. His performance saw him jump back into the top five of the 2011 NZPGA Order of Merit.

• Taranaki’s leading amateur Brad Hayward (69-75-70-74-288) shot an even par total for the 72 hole Muriwai Open to finish in a tie for 19th overall and 8th best male amateur. 20 year old Josh Munn (63-68-71-74-266) from Manawatu stole the show winning the event with a 12 under par total , which included a course record nine under par 63 in the first round.

• Kaitake member Sally Kwon scored her first hole in one recently. Kwon, who plays off a 17 handicap used a three wood to hole out on the 126 metre par three 16th hole on her home course.

• The District final of the New Zealand Golf Women’s national club teams championship was won by Te Ngutu last week. The four strong team of Erin Wilson, Jenny Cleaver, Fiona Taylor and Dianne Jellyman recorded a total of 15.4 strokes under the (NZCR) course rating at the Hawera Golf Club.

• The 2011 Inglewood Golf Club strokeplay championships were reduced to two rounds due to bad weather. The senior men’s title went to Kerry Otene (66-67-133) with his brother Tyla (73-72-145) runner-up. The intermediate section went to Trev Schrider (75-75-150) with Basil Dodunski (77-81-158) in second place. John Frederickson (84-83-167) won a play-off against Errol Richardson (82-85-167) to claim the junior division while Shaun Gower (94-83-177) headed Bryan Wilson (82-98-180) and Gordon Aiken (92-88-180) to take out the limit title. The women’s silver division was won by Chris Wilson (71-75-146) and the bronze division went to Debbie Oulsnam (86-86-172).

• A field of 45 players participated in the latest Taranaki Veterans tournament at Manaia last week. The winner of the J. R. Brimbllecombe Cup was Trevor Jones from Te Ngutu with 42 pointswhile Cam Murray (Inglewood) took out the men’s monthly button with 39 points and Ann Braithwaite from Eltham, the women’s monthly button with 33 points. Other leading scores were: Senior- John Stewart 37, Rodney Ward 36; Intermediate: Bob Black 38, Peter Wilkes 36; Junior- Colin Wheeler 36, John Gane 35

• Now this shot takes some beating. Playing in the Inglewood monthly tournament recently, Manukorihi golfer Brent ‘Tacky’ McNab hooked his tee shot out of bonds on the par four 18th hole. His ball sailed over the trees and into the carpark where it bounced and ricocheted around before coming to rest in the ladies locker room !

• The first event of the 2011 Charles Tour tees off today with a full field competing in the Muriwai Open. 132 players will play the opening two rounds of the tournament with the top 60 players and ties progressing to the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Taranaki will be well represented with Grant Moorhead and Dominic Barson competing for the $40,000 professional purse and the New Plymouth duo of Brad Hayward and Sanjay Modgill part of the strong amateur contingent. Among the pre tournament favourites are touring professional Peter Fowler and NZPGA Order of Merit leader Richard Lee while New Zealand amateur champions Ryan Fox (Strokeplay) and Matthew Perry *Matchplay) will be looking to push the best of the professionals. Although the event will feature six women professionals 14 year old Lydia Ko looks to be a shoe in for the women’s title with arch rival Cecilia Cho, competing in the Korean Ladies Open.

• The competition in the Taranaki women’s mid week pennant competition is starting to heat up. After five rounds, Opunake have the lead on eight points in section one, with Patea and Kaitake equal second on six points. Section one matches will be played at Urenui on Monday.Waverley lead the way in section two on eight points, with Pungarehu (seven) and Te Ngutu (six) rounding out the top three.The next round at Inglewood on Monday features a clash between the top two teams.

• Taranaki’s number one amateur player, Brad Hayward will get a further taste of international golf when he competes in the Glenco Invitational tournament in Calgary, Canada next month. Hayward will be part of a three man squad attending the 54 hole strokeplay event through the support of the Ngaki Tamariki Charitable Trust.The 19 year old who competed in the Federal Open in Canberra in 2009 as part of a New Zealand development squad will be joined by Fraser McLaughlin (Royal Wellington) and Johnny Radcliffe (Akarana)

• A field of 39 pairs competed in the Tasman Toyota sponsored Taranaki Two Ball best ball tournament at Kaitake on Sunday. The father and son combination of Warren and Damien Powell (Manukorihi) shot a five under par round of 63 to take out the gross title from Robbie Sim and Jay Maaka (67), with the junior combination of Joseph Doyle and Brook Gray third on 68. The net section was won by the local pairing of Bryan Lewer and Frank Regan with a net 58, with Bruce Taylor and Dallas Farquar second on 59. 

4/05/11

• Well done Fitzroy Golf Club-winners of the Dow AgroSciences Men’s Handicap Pennant competition. The city slickers proved too strong for the country boys from Te Ngutu and were convincing winners of the final at Kaitake on Sunday. The writing was on the wall for the southerners when Fitzroy went to the lunch break with a 2 ½ – ½ lead after the morning foursomes. The Fitzroy side quickly closed out the match winning three of the opening afternoon singles, with the final score being 6 ½ - 2 ½. The winning team was; Trent Osborne, Jason Gilbert, Carl Diamond, Wayne Goldsworthy, Peter Christense n, Danny Manu and Dennis Reid.

•  Long serving New Plymouth Golf Club member Joy Urbahn was recently awarded life membership of her home club. Urbahn who also received life membership to the Taranaki Golf Association in December last year, has been a member at Ngamotu for 48 years. During her tenure with the club she has served on numerous committees but is probably best known for her prolific playing record both at club and representative level.She has won the Silver (senior) championship 12 times and represented Taranaki for 20 consecutive years. In addition to her championship titles Urbahn has also accumulated an impressive 51 LGU spoons. The 76 year old is still an active member playing on an eight handicap.

•  The annual Taranaki Veterans four day four course (Fitzroy, Inglewood, Kaitake and Westown) tournament attracted a field of 116 players with 38 clubs from throughout New Zealand participating in the event. The senior division was won by Waihi visitors Garry and Sandra Payne with a score of 283, two shots ahead of the Fitzroy duo of Alex and Fay Wright. The second division was won by another local combination with Albain and Julie Reid from Kaitake (280) finishing well in front of Howick visitors Mike and Viv Joblin (292). The third division went to the Kinloch duo of Tom and Trish Sawyer (282) with the Inglewood pairing of Paddie and Josie Keegan second on 289.

•  The next Taranaki Golf Come and Try days will be held on Sunday May 15th. Taranaki Golf professional John Garner will be hosting the free two hour coaching sessions at the Manaia Golf Club (10am -12 noon) and Opunake Golf Club (2-4pm). 

27/04/11

• An outstanding effort by former New Plymouth golfer Steven Heyes was thwarted at the final hurdle when the 19 year old was beaten 4/2 by Matthew Perry in the final of the New Zealand men’s matchplay championship on Tuesday. Heyes, who has been a regular member of Taranaki’s top five man team over the last three years, transferred to the Russley Golf Club last month following a move south to study commerce at Canterbury University. After finishing 16th in the strokeplay championship, Heyes (71-75-75-74-295) went from strength to strength in the matchplay event where his most notable performance was the scalp of New Zealand number one player, Ryan Fox.

• The final of the Taranaki men’s handicap competition at Kaitake on Sunday promises to go to the wire. The Dow AgroSciences sponsored event started with 24 teams three months ago and is now down to the top two- Fitzroy and Te Ngutu. The classic north-south clash should be a hum dinger with the Fitzroy team proving the pundits wrong over recent weeks with some good wins in the knockout phase of the competition while Te Ngutu have been one of the form teams throughout the competition. For my money, Te Ngutu look likely to take the trophy home for the winter.

• Poor final rounds cost Taranaki’s leading golfers any chance of progressing to the matchplay phase of the New Zealand championships last week. Tim White (78-70-73-81-302) and Brad Hayward (75-76-74-78=303)both just missed the top 32 with Hayward one shot outside the qualifying mark while White missed out in a sudden death play-off. Taranaki’s other participants, Sanjay Modgill (74-83-157) and Zach Lewis (81-79-160) both missed the 36 hole cut in the strokeplay championship.

• Fitzroy golfer Jamie Reid was in scintillating form at the Easter Open tournament played on his home course last Friday. The 19 year old recorded a personal best score of seven under par 61, a round that included an eagle, seven birdies, eight pars and two bogeys. Reid’s scorecard was: 3(4)3(4)4(4)4(3)4(4)2(3)3(4)3(4)4(4)30(34) 4(4)3(4)3(3)2(4)4(4)3(3)5(4)3(3)4(5)31(34)-61(68).

• The Taranaki junior boys development team finished third in the annual lower North Island quadrangular tournament at the Marton Golf Club last week. The 10 strong team had narrow losses to Wellington (6 ½ - 3 ½) and Manawatu-Wanganui (5 ½- 4 ½) before beating Wairarapa (6 ½ - 3 ½). Opunake’s Corbam Hill was Taranaki’s stand-out player with three convincing wins while Des Wilcox ( 1 win and 2 halves) and Hayden Chamberlain ( 2 wins and 1 half) were also unbeaten. 

• In the junior girls matchplay event Vanessa Bouvet finished tied for third and Holly Winter finished fifth. 

20/04/11

• Hawera golfer Tim White (70-70-140) made the most of his home course advantage to take out the Harcourts South Taranaki Strokeplay championship at Hawera on Saturday. White shot a four under par total for the 36 hole event to edge out Manaia’s Caleb Symes (71-70-141) by a single shot. Westown golfer Jay Maaka (77-69-146) came home strongly to claim 3rd place while the New Plymouth duo of James Malone (76-71-147) and Bernie Smith (75-73-148) rounded out the top five. Westowm’s Rochelle Keegan (77-74-151) blitzed the 12 strong women’s field with an eight shot win over Melissa Hill (84-75-159) from Manukorihi,

• There was a nail biting finish at the semifinals of the Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant competition at Stratford on Sunday. In the first semifinal Fitzroy Two continued their great post section play run with a hard fought 5-4 win over Manukorihi One while Te Ngutu Two prevailed in a sudden death play-off against Westown One after both teams were tied at 4 ½ all after regulation play. Te Ngutu’s number one player Ray McCall was the hero of the day when he ,holed a clutch putt from off the green to clinch a final berth for the southerners. The final will be played at Kaitake on Sunday 1st May.

• A field of 66 women competed in the Telford Retirement Village Taranaki Women’s Veterans tournament at Inglewood last Wednesday. The participants enjoyed excellent playing conditions with some very good scoring on the day. Former professional Glennis Taylor (72-8-64) from New Plymouth took out the silver division while Manaia’s Agi Poole (84-23-61) and Lorraine Mills (98-36-62) won the Bronze One and Two divisions respectively. Other leading scores were: Siver- Pamela Ross (82-17-65), Barbara Rawlinson (84-17-67); Bronze 1- Shirley McClutchie (86-21-65), Margaret McCallum (89-24-65); Bronze 2- Ann Meads (91-29-62), Sue Dodunski (94-30-64

• The apprentice prevailed over the master in the Crowded House Wednesday Club competition at New Plymouth last Wednesday. Apprentice professional Blake Cowley shot his best round at Ngamotu, recording an eight under par round of 64 to beat head professional Grant Moorhead by four shots. Cowley’s round was bogey free and included eight birdies. His scorecard was: 3(4)4(4)4(4)4(4)3(4)3(3)4(5)4(5)2(3)31(36) 5(5)3(4)3(3)4(4)3(3)3(4)4(4)4(4)4(5)33(36) 64(72),

• Taranaki under 19 champion Damien Powell has been in sizzling form around his home course Manukorihi in recent weeks. The 18 year old Taranaki representative has recorded rounds of 65 (seven under par) and 63 (nine under par). His personal best round of 63 included an eagle, eight birdies and a solitary bogey. His scorecard was: 4(4)4(4)3(3)4(4)3(4)4(5)3(5)3(4)4(3)32(36) 3(4)2(3)4(5)3(3)3(4)4(5)4(4)3(3)5(5)31(36) 63 (72)

• Two golfers have scored their first hole in ones in the past week. Playing in the Harcourts South Taranaki Strokeplay championship on Saturday Te Ngutu golfer Ross Glover used a seven iron in windy conditions to ace the 115 metre par three 16th hole. Westown’s Jay Maaka matched the feat on Monday when he used a gap wedge to hole out on the 115 metre par three ninth hole at Manukorihi during the first round of the Cameron Scaffolding and Rigging Taranaki Age Group championships

13/04/11

• The semifinals of the Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant competition will be played at Stratford on Sunday. The quarterfinals produced a couple of surprises last Sunday with defending champions Inglewood trundled out by Te Ngutu and Fitzroy Two beating the fancied Westown Two side. In the other quarterfinal clashes, Manukorihi One edged out Fitzroy One while Westown One were impressive winners over Manukorihi Two. In this weekend’s semi final matchups Manukorihi One should maintain their momentum to head off Fitzroy Two while the additional length of the Stratford venue should favour Westown One in their clash against Te Ngutu.

• A field of around 60 players will compete in the Harcourts South Taranaki Strokeplay championship at Hawera on Saturday. The 36 hole event has attracted Taranaki’s top male players with Hawera club champion and current Order of Merit leader Tim White likely to start as a warm favourite. Others likely to be in the mix include Brad Hayward, Aarun Langton, Jay Maaka and Zach Lewis. Only four women entries have been received to date.

• Four Taranaki players will tee it up in the New Zealand men’s amateur strokeplay championship which starts at the Russley Golf Club in Christchurch next Wednesday. Brad Hayward, Zach Lewis, Sanjay Modgill (New Plymouth) and Tim White (Hawera) are part of the 129 strong field seeking to make the 36 hole cut for the top 60 plus ties and then the top 32 for the matchplay championship which will take place after the strokeplay championship.

• Twenty teams from six clubs competed in the inaugural Players Scramble tournament at Stratford on Saturday. The three person ambrose format event attracted teams from Westown, Manaia, Opunake, Strathmore, Wanganui and Stratford. In excess of $11,000 worth of prizes were up for grabs with the Opunake trio of Aarun Langton, Rex Langton and Snoz Hamilton recording a seven under par 64 for a net 58.5 to edge out clubmates Hayden Langton, Troy Forsyth and Chook Hohaia (net 58.83) with the Westown team of Trevor Simpson, Grant Lester and Stuart Cruickshank third on 59.33.

• Over Queens Birthday weekend in June, a group of Stratford golfers are having their 40th annual trip to the Wairakei International Resort course. The annual pilgrimage started way back in 1972 with eight keen golfers playing two rounds for the Tombstone trophy. Since then over 1100 golfers have participated in the event, with 52 being the biggest number in any one year.There are still some original members from the first trip, with many participants playing at various courses throughout Taranaki. All former members are invited to play in this year’s anniversary tournament and those interested should contact Tony Cawley (06) 7657580 (work) or (06) 765 7740 (home).

• New Plymouth golfer Graham Goldsworthy had two shouts for his playing partners last Saturday. On the par four 13th, Goldsworthy ‘topped’ his tee-shot and failed to make the ladies tee to incur a compulsory round of drinks for his playing mates, a feat he repeated on the next hole when he used a seven iron to hole out on the 116 metre par three 14th hole.

6/04/11

• Three clubs have double the chance of progressing to the semifinals of the Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant competition on Sunday. Fitzroy, Manukorihi and Westown all have two teams competing in the play-off stage while Inglewood and Te Ngutu round out the top eight. In Sunday’s quarterfinal clashes at Manaia, Westown Two should be too strong for Fitzroy Two while Manukorihi Two look to have the edge over Westown One. Inglewood could eliminate the only southern qualifier Te Ngutu, who will be looking to make the most of the southern venue to upset the defending champions while the final rubber between Fitzroy One and Manukorihi One could go either way.

• After two events of the 2011 Crowded House Taranaki Golf Tour Hawera golfer Tim White (114 points) has a narrow lead over a trio of players –Kerry Otene, Brad Hayward and Aarun Langton, who are tied on 88 points. In the women’s Order of Merit, Svala Garner (Urenui) and Chris Wilson (Inglewood) are tied for the lead on 100 points, with Manaia junior Celeste McLean five points adrift in third position. 12 year old Fletcher Broderick leads the Net Order of Merit on 100 points with Graham Win and Brad McLachlan tied for second on 88 points. The next tour event is the 36 hole Harcourts South Taranaki Strokeplay championship at the Hawera Golf Club on Saturday 16th April. 

• Auckland golfer Ryan Fox (65-67-65-70-267) blitzed the field to win the North Island Men’s Amateur Strokeplay Championship at the Whitford Park Golf Club in Auckland last weekend. Fox fired an impressive 17 under par total for the 72 hole event to win by a massive 11 shots. New Plymouth golfer Brad Hayward (75-72-66-71-284) finished ninth while clubmates Sanjay Modgill (73-71-72-79-295) finished 34th equal and Zach Lewis (75-75-75-74-299) 47th equal.

• There were 64 starters in the latest Taranaki Veterans Golf Association event at Te Ngutu. New Plymouth member Ian McKillop was the winner of the Washer Armitage Tray with a combined two round total of 79 stableford points while the men’s monthly button was won by Ernie Sutton with 42 points with Ann Braithwaite winning the women’s button with 31 points. Other leading scores were: Senior men- Brian Sutton 39, Duncan Elliott 39; Intermediate- Ron Klenner 40, Martin Rice 39, Hugh Taylor 39; Junior-Ian McKillop 43,Ern Sutton 42, Don Betts 38, Ron Scott 38

• A field of 90 players competed in the Bruce McCallum memorial tournament at Te Ngutu recently. Local players dominated the top prizes with Murray Smith recording the best net score of 65, while Vernon Cleaver won the best net by a Te Ngutu player with 66 and David McCallum the best gross with 74. POther leading scores were: Senior men- Ray McCall 40, Shane Rowe 40, Tony Gray 38, Bruce Gyde 38; Intermediate- Grant Crawshaw 40, John McCarthy 40, John Hockley 39; Junior-Allan Bennett 39, Brian Eccleshall 39, Des Beaven 38,; Ladies – Marie Bunker 41, Elwyn Robins 39.

29/03/11
 

• Opunake golfer Aarun Langton (69-73-142) won the second event of the Crowded House Taranaki Tour at Manaia on Sunday. Langton beat fellow Taranaki representative Brad Hayward (70-72-142) on the second hole of a sudden death play-off to claim the Waimate Plains championship. The women’s title went to Svala Garner (78-80-158) who finished three shots clear of Nicole Keegan (79-82-161). Juniors dominated the net section with 12 year old Fletcher Broderick (67-65-132) winning the men’s net off a nine handicap and 14 year old Claudia Munro (60-83-143) winning the women’s net off a 28 handicap. A total of 66 players competed in the 36 hole event. Other leading scores were: Men-Gross- 143-James Malone (70-73), 144-Bryan Martelletti (73-71), Kerry Otene (73-71), 146-Tyla Otene (70-76), Neil Bryant, 147-Caleb Symes, Bernie Smith, 148-Joseph Doyle, Damien Powell, 149-Tim White, Jay Maaka, 150-Zach Lewis, Fletcher Broderick; Nett-Q Symes (65-68-133), C Hawkes (62-73-135); Women-Gross- 162-Rochelle Keegan, 163-Eleanor Hodson, 166-Celeste McLean,170-Holly Winter; Net-147-F Ford

• There will plenty to play for in the last round of section play in the Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant series on Sunday. In section one matches at Inglewood, Te Ngutu have already qualified for the play-offs and they will be joined by either Inglewood One or Eltham who play Te Ngutu Two and Waitara Two respectively. Section four will also play at Inglewood with Westown Two and Manukorihi One having already qualified as the top two teams in the section. Section two and three matches will be played at Westown. In section two Inglewood Two need to beat Patea to qualify while the winner of the Westown One and Kaitake One match will also progress. In section three Fitzroy Two should beat winless Stratford to make the top eight while the outcome of the Manaia One versus Manukorihi Two clash is likely to determine the other qualifier. The quarterfinals will be played at the Manaia Golf Club on Sunday 10th April.

• Auckland professional Richard Lee (64-66-70-200) took away the winners cheque of $18,000 in the $100,000 Brian Perry Classic which concluded at the St Andrews Golf Club in Hamilton on Saturday. Rookie professional Nick Gillespie (63-71-70-204) finished four shots behind Lee on 12 under par with former New Zealand Open champion Mahal Pearce (70-69-67-206) in third position. Dominic Barson (73-68-71-212) was the best of the Taranaki professionals finishing tied for 11th, while Grant Moorhead (70-70-76-216) slipped to 22nd equal with a poor final round and Craig Owen (71-74-75-225) finished 35th equal

• 49 juniors competed in the Junior Tiger tournament at Inglewood on Sunday. The category winners and qualifiers for the national final to be held in Palmerston North on Sunday April 17th were: Boys 11 and under –Nico Hill (Opunake) 46; Girls 11 and under- Tyla Winter (Manaia) 48; Boys 12-14-Ethan Jones (Manaia) 36; Girls 12-14- Celeste McLean (Manaia) 36

• Urenui golfer Ian Siffleet was in sizzling form during a multi sponsored 27 hole tournament at his home course recently. Playing the second hole, Siffleet pushed his second shot high and wide towards the hospitality tent. One bounce later and Siffleet had put enough action on his ball to find it resting in the middle of the onions on the hot plate ! Leading scores in the tournament were: Senior men –Net-Dennis Mills 100.5, Stableford-Peter Hermann 58, Intermediate- Net-Raymond Jacobsen 98.5, Stableford-Warren Sutton 59, Junior-K Hancox 99.5, Stableford-Richard Singleton 59; Ladies-Net-Arora Mattock 103, Stableford-Maureen Sutton 54

23/03/11
 

• The hunt is on for Taranaki’s Junior Tiger golfers this weekend at the Inglewood Golf Club. Regional qualifiers, including the Inglewood event are on this Sunday (March 27) at the 14 districts of New Zealand Golf with two categories available for entry: 11 and under (girls and boys) and 12 – 14 (girls and boys). Junior Tiger is a New Zealand Golf initiative designed to promote the game of golf to young people as an affordable and accessible sport. The Junior Tiger has proven to be a very popular initiative since it was introduced last year. The feedback New Zealand Golf received from the kids in 2010 was that golf is a fun game to play and the Junior Tiger series enabled the whole family to be included. All kids who participate need a caddy, which is often one of their parents, and this makes for a great family day out. This is also a rare chance for junior golfers to meet other budding young golfers from around their region or just an opportunity to try to play the game. The Regional Qualifiers for Junior Tiger is the first qualifying stage for kids to earn their way to the final to be staged at the Manawatu Golf Club on April 17.  All golfers who participate in the Junior Tiger series will go in the draw to win a trip to Disneyland and the overall national winner also gets the opportunity to compete in the World Junior Championships in the United States plus take a family member to Disneyland. Juniors can register online (www.juniortiger.co.nz) or assemble at the Inglewood Golf Club at 4pm on Sunday-the entry fee is $15 per player.

• There were upsets aplenty in the fourth round of the Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant series on Sunday. In section one Te Ngutu Two were pushed hard by Fitzroy One but their 5 ½ -3 ½ win was enough to maintain their perfect run of four wins. In section two, previously unbeaten Inglewood Two were pummelled 9-0 by Westown One, while Kaitake One edged out neighbours Tumahu 5 ½ - 3 ½ to move into contention for a play-off spot.

• In Sections three home course favourites Opunake were rolled by Manukorihi Two (6 ½ - 2 ½) while Fitzroy Two moved closer to a quarterfinal berth with a win over Te Ngutu One. In section four, Westown Two continued their march to the finals with a comfortable win over Kaitake Two while Manukorihi One put paid to Urenui progressing with a 6 ½ - 2 ½ win. The final round of section play will be held on Sunday 3rd April.

• Westown professional Craig Owen (74-71-76-221) finished tied for 15th position in the $30,000 TV 3 Rebel Sports Legends Pro-Am at the Lakes Resort in Pauanui last week. The 54 hole tournament was the final event on the New Zealand leg of the 2011 Australasian PGA Senior Legends tour and was won by American David Hill (66-66-71-203) who romped to a 10 stroke win over Australians Lucien Tinkler (74-69-70-213) and Hugh Dolan (68-72-73-213). The best of the Kiwi’s competing were Jim Lapsley (76-69-70-215) and Martin Webber (72-73-70-215) who finished tied for fifth.

• Manukorihi golfer Andrea Fraser scored her second hole in one when she was competing in the Taranaki women’s weekend pennant competition at Inglewood on Sunday. Fraser used a seven iron to ace the 109 metre par three 10th hole.

10/03/11
 

• The Taranaki men’s golf team finished a disappointing 11th at the Southland Invitational tournament played at the Otatara Golf Club in Invercargill last weekend. Debutants Jay Maaka (81-78-77-81-317) and Jamie Reid (80-76-82-82-320) failed to fire while Brad Hayward (73-72-74-76-295) ,Tim White (72-74-76-73-295) and Aarun Langton (77-76-71-75-299) saw Taranaki through to a team total of 1203, with the four best individual gross scores in each round contributing to the team total for the 72 hole event. The 2011 title went to Auckland on a total of 1142, with Manawatu-Wanganui finishing 20 shots behind in second place. The individual title went to Ryan Fox (70-69-69-72-280) from Auckland.

• New Plymouth professional Grant Moorhead was back in action last weekend competing in the 36 hole Hawkins Construction Omaha Pro-am at the Omaha Beach Golf Club. Moorhead missed the opening four events on the 2011 NZPGA tour due to the birth of his second child, a baby daughter Olivia . Moorhead (72-68-140) finished ninth equal in the $15,000 Omaha event which was won by Hawkes Bay professional Leighton James (65-69-134) who finished 10 under par and two shots clear of Michael Hendry (69-67-136), Dale Clarke (74-62-136) and Pieter Zwart (70-66-136).

• The Dow AgroSciences men’s handicap pennant series has reached the mid way point of the round robin series with the completion of round three matches last Sunday. In section one Te Ngutu Two maintained their unbeaten run with a hard fought 5 ½ - 3 ½ win over Eltham while Fitzroy One moved into outright second position with a home course 6-3 win over Inglewood One. In section two, Inglewood Two consolidated their position at the top of the table with a comfortable 6-3 win over Manaia Two, while Kaitake One and Westown One share second place on four points. Sections three remains wide open with four teams-Fitzroy Two, Manukorihi Two, Opunake and Te Ngutu One log jammed on four points, In section four Waitara One failed to make the most of their home course advantage ,going down to Manukorihi One 6-3 while Westown Two remain at the top of the section after sneaking a draw against Urenui.   

• Rookie professional Peter Hayes has been the outstanding player over the last week of the New Zealand leg of the 2011 Australasian Legends PGA Tour. Hayes has picked up two wins and a second placing while Westown professional Craig Owen’s best performance was a tie for third in the Gleniti Legends event in Timaru. Results over the last week have been:
  
  March 1st- $10,000 Gleniti Pro-am: 69-Peter Hayes, John Clifford; 70-Craig Owen (3rd).
  
  March 2nd-$10,000 Ashburton Pro-am; 70-Ken Tarling, 74-Peter Hayes, Stuart Reece, Garth Domigan, 83-Craig Owen (30th=)
  
  March 4th and 5th- $20,000 Pegasus Pro-am: Peter Hayes (73-72-145), John Griffin (76-70-146), Craig Owen (75-76-151-9th equal).
  
  March 7th- $20,000 North Shore Pro-am: 70-Martin Webber,72-Ken Tarling, Mike Zilko, Ian Peters, 75-Craig Owen (13th =)
  
  March 8th-$10,000 Gulf Harbour Pro-am-67-Jim Lapsley, 68-Graeme Cheshire, 77-Craig Owen (25th=).
  
  The $50,000 New Zealand PGA Championship starts at the Wairakei International Resort in Taupo today.

• Hawera High School, Opunake, Francis Douglas Memorial College and Spotswood College will compete for the Taranaki Secondary Schools Twilight golf title at the Stratford Golf Club tomorrow. The four strong teams will play an 18 hole final with the best three stableford scores counting for the team.

 

02/03/11
 

• Move over the Players Championship and bring on the Players Scramble. A group of enthusiastic Stratford Golf Club members are launching a ‘big bucks’ for ‘big prizes’ tournament early next month. The three player ambrose format tournament will be played over 18 holes and carries an entry fee of $200 per player. The entry fee includes a starters pack, on course food and beverages, a meal after the round and a chance to take home some impressive prizes. Providing the base number of 20 teams is achieved prizes up for grabs include a Queenstown golf package, 42” flat screen televisions, I pads, chainsaws and much more. The organisers are looking to give participants in the event ‘more bang for there buck’ with 95% of the entry fees going back into prizes. So if you are sick of your $5 Saturday haggle or monthly medal entries are now being taken (phone Chris at Central Tryes 06-7656306) for the Players Scramble which will be played at the Stratford Golf Club on Saturday 9th April.

• The Taranaki men’s golf team will be looking to improve on there 10th placing last year, when they compete in the Southland Invitational tournament at the Otatara Golf Club in Invercargill this weekend. Taranaki number one, Brad Hayward finished 2nd in the individual title in 2010 and will be looking to repeat his performance in the 72 hole tournament this year. Other members in the five strong side are Tim White (Hawera), Aarun Langton (Opunake), Jay Maaka (Westown) and Jamie Reid (Fitzroy).

• Round three matches of the Dow Agrosciences men’s handicap pennant series will be played on Sunday. Sections one and two are in action at Fitzroy. In section one Te Ngutu Two lead the way with two wins to date but they will face a stern challenge from Eltham while in section two, Inglewood Two are the outright leaders and they will be looking to extend their unbeaten run when they meet Manaia Two. Sections three and four are at Waitara with section three being wide open at this stage with no teams unbeaten. In section four Waitara One and Westown Two remain unbeaten, with Waitara favoured to beat neighbours Manukorihi One this weekend while Westown Two will face an uphill battle against Urenui  

• New Plymouth golfer Brad Hayward (76-76-71-73-296) finished in 25th position after firing an eight over par total in the South Island Strokeplay Championship in Timaru last weekend. The 72 hole event was won by Vaughan McCall (74-69-67-71-281) from Gore.

• Kiwi professional Gareth Paddison (67-67-62-66-282) picked up his third Australsian PGA title when he won the Queensland PGA Championship at the City Golf Club in Toowoomba on Sunday. Paddison birdied the last two holes to secure the winners cheque of A$17,250 plus an exemption onto the PGA tour of Australasia until the end of 2012.

• Westown professional Craig Owen has made a mediocre start on the New Zealand leg of the 2011 Australasian Legends PGA Tour. Owen shot a four over par round of 76 to finish 8th equal in the $10,000 Queenstown Legends Pro-am which was won by fellow Kiwi professional Jim Lapsley who fired a three under par round of 69. Owen (74-75-71-220) then finished 15th in the $45,000 City of Dunedin Pro-am played at the Otago and St Clair Golf Clubs. The event was won by Ken Tarling (68-71-69-208) with Wanaka professional, Garth Domigan (69-69-72-210) the best of the Kiwi’s, finishing in third place while legendary Sir Bob Charles (72-73-71-216) finished tied for 10th.

 

24/02/11
 

• Bravo to this week's decision by New Zealand Golf to run the New Zealand Open following Australia's two major events-the Australian Open and the Australian PGA. The BMW New Zealand Open will be held at the Clearwater Golf Resort in Christchurch from 1-4 December. Our national Open has been pushed from pillar to post in recent years, having been part of both the European PGA tour and most recently the United States Nationwide tour. Some pundits will argue that the move away from the mainstream tours is a backward step but the move is likely to give Kiwi professionals a better chance of getting a start in our National Open and that is huge plus for home grown talent.

• The Dow AgroSciences Taranaki men's handicap competition teed off last weekend. In section one matches at Manaia, winners were Fitzroy One, Eltham and and Te Ngutu Two while in section two the winners were Tumahu, Manaia Two and Inglewood Two. In section three matches at Manukorihi, the winners were Fitzroy Two, Manukorihi Two and Manaia One. In section four the winning teams were Westown Two, Manukorihi One and Waitara One. Round two matches on Sunday have sections one and Three at Stratford while sections two and four are at Kaitake.

• There were 60 starters in the latest Taranaki veterans golf event held at the Te Ngutu Golf Club last week. The winner of the men's monthly button was Reg Woodfield from Kaitake with 43 points while Maureen Stannard from Te Ngutu took out the women's button with 39 points. Other leading scores were: Senior men; Trevor Jones 41, Marty Reeves 40, Nigel Preston 38, Ron Edgecombe 38; Intermediate men: Colin Wheeler 42, Frank Nielsen 38; Junior men- Trevor Hughes 41, Ted Bennell 39, Ron Scott 38; Women- Helen Beaurepaire 39, Anne Braithwaite 39, Margaret Bishop 37

• The 272 metre 11th hole at the Fitzroy Golf Club played a little longer than usual last weekend, in fact the club could be approaching the Guiness Book of Records for having the longest par four in the world. Members arrived on course on Sunday morning to find the flag stick missing. However the mystery of the missing pin was resolved later in the day when club member John Parkes reached the summit of Mount Taranaki to find the missing flagstick and three red faced would be golfers !

• New Plymouth golfer Brent Gray notched up his first hole in one recently. Playing in the Cobb and Co / Peter Hensley twilight series at New Plymouth , Gray used a pitching wedge to ace the 116 metre par three 14th hole.

• Former Port Taranaki Open women's champion Caroline Bonn (70-70-75-71-286) finished 15th at last week's Pegasus New Zealand Open but not before surviving an interesting last hole- “I have to tell you about my last hole! Imagine the wind 40 knots, par 5 to finish, water on the left and the wind is going strong left to right. My first two shots leave me with a 90m pitch into the pin, I hit a great shot into the green that is surrounded by bunkers and water with the green sloping back to front and the wind going that direction too! So my pitch lands but because of the wind releases more the expected and from where I was standing I thought it had rolled into the water at the back of the green. But I get to it and find its 1inch from the water's edge. In front of a gallery of 200+ people I take off my shoes get into the water and make the up and down of my life to save par!” said a relieved Bonn.

 

16/02/11
 

• Taranaki's premier interclub competition tees off on Sunday with 24 teams competing in the Dow AgroSciences men's handicap pennant competition. The round robin series will feature four sections of six teams with the top two teams from each section qualifying for the quarterfinal play-offs. Manaia (section one and two) and Manukorihi (section three and four) will host the first round of matches with the round robin matches scheduled to be completed in early April. Teams competing are; Section one- Fitzroy 1, Waitara 2, Inglewood 1, Eltham, Te Ngutu 2,Waverley; Section two-Manaia 2, Westown 1, Kaitake 1, Inglewood 2, Tumahu, Patea; Section three-Manukorihi 2, Stratford, Opunake, Fitzroy 2, Te Ngutu 1, Manaia 1; Section four-Manukorihi 1, Kaitake 2, Waitara 1, Urenui, Pungarehu, Westown 2.

• Taranaki golfers Tim White (75-72-72-75-294) and Brad Hayward (73-77-77-70-297) finished 21st equal and 27th equal respectively in the Grant Clements Memorial tournament at Mount Maunganui last weekend. The individual title was won by Auckland’s Ryan Fox ((68-66-67-75-276) while the Canterbury duo of Shaun Jones (67-72-71-76-286) and Tom Turner (69-74-78-67-288) won the teams event with a total of 574. The Taranaki duo of White and Hayward finishing sixth equal on a total of 591.

• Taranaki junior representative Brook Gray (69-37-106) took out the 27 hole Coastal championship at Pungarehu recently. Other results: Senior men: Net-John Gilligan 111, Stableford-Alan Cowley 59; Intermediate: Gross-Mark Vanderpoel 120, Net- S Murray 100.5, Stableford-L Frost 54; Junior- Gross- Robert Billing 127, Net- Brian Gilberd 95.5, Stableford- Kevin Billing-59; Limit-Gross-Laine Davies 132, Net-Chad Knowles 88.5, Stableford-Geoff Knowles 63; Senior ladies: Gross-Sharon Adamson 123, Net-Bev Robinson 105; Junior ladies: Gross-Jo Kennedy 149, Net-Lyn Hamill 110

• Eltham golfer Keith Stanners equalled his home course record on Waitangi Day with an impressive six under par round of 65. Stanners, who plays off a nine handicap recorded five birdies and an eagle in his record breaking round which gave him a net 56-15 under for the 18 holes.To cap off a memorable day Stanners won the club competition-the Peter Bodie Memorial with a net score of 121 for the 36 hole event.

• Kerry Otene broke the Inglewood Golf club course record on Saturday, shooting a seven under par round of 61. Otene’s round included seven birdies, an eagle, two bogies and eight pars. His round also included an impressive run of nine consecutive threes from the fifth through the 13th. His scorecard for the record breaking round was: 4(5)3(3)4(4)5(4)3(3)3(4)3(4)3(3)3(4)31(33); 3(3)3(4)3(3)3(4)5(5)3(4)2(4)4(3)4(4)30(35)61(68).

• The annual Clytie Vine ladies tournament was held at the Mania Golf Club last Wednesday with 17 teams taking part. The winning team of the 18 hole event was the Manaia team of Margaret Putt, Jackie Higgins, Dinny Gibbs and Michelle Furness with a combined total of 115 stableford points, six shots clear of the Opunake team comprising Diane Williams, Patti Smith, Kath Williams and Margaret Wellington. A highlight of the day was a hole in one scored by Patea golfer Gareth Hughes who used a seven wood to ace the 127 metre par three 15th hole.

• One of golf's gentry was lost last weekend with Quentin Horne passing away. Horne (85) was a member of the New Plymouth Golf Club and served in a variety of roles including the club committee and handicapper. He was also served as the auditor of the Taranaki Golf Association for a number of years and was a member of the Taranaki Eagles Golf Society. He was fondly remembered for his contribution to major Taranaki Golf events at Ngamotu where he and his wife, Elizabeth have been involved as starters for the last 40 years.

 

10/02/11
 

• A slice of history goes out of bounds this weekend with the a change in format for the Westown Classic. The Classic, which was established in 1987, was the brainchild of former Westown professional Denis ‘Yogi’ Clark who wanted to host a high profile event to attract young and promising golfers. The 72 hole championship has been changed to a 36 hole event in an effort to attract a larger field, with 18 holes to be played on Saturday and 18 on Sunday. The Classic has had some prestigious champions over the years including current professionals Philip Tautarangi, Michael Campbell and Grant Moorhead

• Manawatu golfer Josh Munn (67-71-67-69-274) made it back to back victories with a win in the Lawnmaster Classic at the Manawatu Golf Club last weekend. Munn, who won the Hastings Open the preceding week shot an impressive 14 under par total to head off Tyler Lock (67-67-75-67-276) by two shots. New Plymouth golfer Brad Hayward (71-73-67-77-288) was the best of the Taranaki players finishing in a tie for 8th position. Other Taranaki scores were: 295-Jay Maaka (75-74-73-73-tied 16th), Bryan Martelletti (71-71-77-76); 296-Tim White (74-74-77-71-tied 21st), aarun Langton (70-74-77-75); 297-Jamie Reid (72-74-75-76-tied 23rd); 300-Tyla Otene (76-79-71-74—26th); 301-Sachin Modgill (74-75-80-72-tied 27th); 306-Caleb Andreoli 976-74-79-77-tied 37th); 307