Good morning golfers

 

What a special evening it was for the golf club last night.

 

Eight Kiwi were released on the course to join a number who had made their way to the course on their own steam after being released in the Makara Hills.

 

Thank you to Te Atiawa/Taranaki Whanui for their moving "mihi whakatau" in entrusting us with this taonga.

 

It was paricularly special for life member Keith Gaskin, 91 years of age and a founding (and life) member of the club who was genuinely excited at the release.  He had the honour of releasing the last of the eight to be released and Vice President Adrian Porter confessed to me this morning that he was a bit emotional at that moment.

 

It was also special for TK Ross our course supervisor who has some responsibility now for  kaitiakitanga for these taonga.  It was appropriate that he was able to release a Kiwi too.

 

 

 

For all we know we are the only golf course in Aotearoa/New Zealand to officially have kiwi on the course, so it is quite unique.  Roll on twilight and the opportunity that we can all have the experience of "spotting a kiwi".

 

I also want to acknowledge Paul Ward and Peter Kirkman of the Capital Kiwi project, as well as Adrian Porter for his legwork in bringing this about. 

 

The night had truly set in as Keith Gaskin released the last kiwi accompanied by a chanted karakia to conclude a wonderful evening.

 

 

If you haven't already, check out our Facebook page.  We have nearly eight hundred followers now and the page is receiving regular updates.

 

There is some brilliant social media up about last nights kiwi release.  (Thank you Adrian Porter).

 

 

An awesome turnout for our first event revitalising our youth/junior (Called Futures) program.

 

Many thanks to Clayton Willocks and Maurice Munro for all their efforts in getting this running again.

 

On Sunday there was a 9 hole event and an 18 hole event using the new Purple Course.

 

For the record Henry Allwood won the 9 hole event, and Ben Willocks the 18 hole event and set the course record of 78 for the Purple Course.

 

As well as that Maurice Munro spent time coaching a few beginners in the practice area.

 

Clayton reports that there were a number who could not make it on Sunday but are in the mix for the future.  And given the feedback from the free chips and a drink, I would think so!

 

Keep watching for a number of exciting new updates but for now I'm going to share a number of images from a great first day.

 

 

The First Tee Shot

 

 

It's tough having an audience.

 

 

The First of many Ben, appropriately presented by Isaac Henry.

 

Hoping to see you all again on Sunday, and bring your mates too!

 

 

Fiona Kearns and Helga Karau contested the final of the Sullivan Cup on Sunday in beautiful autumn conditions.

 

In what Fiona describes as a great game, she prevailed over Helga 5/4 which is an outstanding result as she had to give Helga 24 shots.  She tells me that a couple of birdies helped her a bit.  There were only four holes halved in the match as the rest of the holes were shared among the players.

 

Congratulations Fiona and well done to Helga for making the final of this prestigious women's event.

 

 

Eighteen teams contested the Makara Trophy on Sunday and the winners were David Comans and Peter Howman on 50 points, comfortably from Boyd Kenna and Gary Clarke on 44 points.

 

This was a revitalised event which has not been contested for a while and the entry levels were very encouraging.

 

The next event coming up is the Bertram Cup.  A call for entries will come out soon.  You may enter now through the website.

 

 

One of the next jobs that needs to be done is to rid the course of weeds. 

 

When Lawrence was course supervisor (a good decacde or so ago) he made this a focus of his work and also introduced the brown top which is still evident today.

 

During this autumn period TK intends to spray off the weeds to allow the grass the opportunity to come back.  This may result in some discolouration and bare patches but I'm mindful that we have one club length placing on our mown surfaces so it should not be too much of an inconvenience.

 

Once again as this work is done your patience will be appreciated.

 

While I'm about it, please remember to replace your divots in the rough too.  Using some sand to assist you in this process is also very helpful and, if you read your score card carefully, you will note that you get a free drop from a sanded divot.  I regularly sand divots in the rough as it occurs to me that as I spend a lot on time in the rough landing in a divot can be a game changer that I would not want to happen to any golfer.  Just be thoughtful of others.

 

And, for those of you who carry your clubs, Fergus McDougall has devised an ingenious way of carrying sand using a cloth bag which he attaches to his carry bag.  Others could do likewise.

 

 

Round 9 of the WGI Inter Club takes place this Saturday.

 

Good luck to Division 2 at home to Martinborough, Division 5 at home to Shandon in what can only be described as a crucial match for Division 5, Division 9 who are away to Masterton, and Division 12 who are also away to Manor Park.

 

All four teams are at the bottom end of their divisions so good points are needed, but Division 12 have the luxury of not facing any relegation pressure.

 

Round 9 of the Autumn Cup takes place this Saturday too with Chris Pearce the runaway leader, but, there is a chance a couple of late bloomers may cause an upset here.