Tournaments draw big crowds

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As visitor numbers swell across the Mangawhai area so do the number of rounds played at the highly-regarded Mangawhai Golf Club.

 “Already this year we’ve seen a noticeable increase in playing numbers,” states Golf Shop manager Kathy James.

“It’s probably a combination of more and more people coming to Mangawhai each summer and the fact that our holiday weather has been quite brilliant. We’ve been busy from sunrise to sunset every day and it’s really pleasing to see so many people enjoying our outstanding course.”

With membership numbers increasing through the past year the club is well structured to promote the growth of the game across all ages. Welcoming casual players and providing them with a rewarding golfing opportunity generates strong green fee income for the club and many of the casuals graduate to membership as they come to appreciate the quality of the course and the enjoyable atmosphere generated within the club’s environment.

Mangawhai has recently hosted two major tournaments – the annual Par 3 event on December 28 and the hugely popular I Shop New World Mixed Open on January 5. Both events drew strong fields.

Par 3 tourny tests short game
Sponsored by Brightshine Blinds & Shutters, the Par 3 tournament sees a special course set up to provide 18 par 3 holes of varying length and difficulty. This places an emphasis on accuracy and control and tests the ability of players with their shorter irons. With normal handicaps halved for this day most players found the challenge fairly tough, as the winning scores indicate.

Gross: Women Claire Hunter (60); Men Div. 1 Des Chitty (57). Nett: Women Jackie Wells (52); Men Div. 1 John Jones (52); Div. 2 Pete Southee (58). Stableford: Women Lesley Tolhopf (34); Sheila Gough (34); Barbara Chitty (33). Men Div. 1 Barry Brennan (37); Wayne Watts (36); Kerry Simpson (36). Men Div. 2 Richard Thompson (32); Clive Knauf (31); Vern Tolhopf (30); Russell Hill (29).

Other prizes: Nearest The Pin was won by Wayne watts, Lesley Tolhopf, Kevin Stephen, Roy Hyslop, Des Chitty. Longest Drive winners were Claire Hunter (Women); David Graham (Men Div. 1) and Brett Goodley (Men Div. 2). Margaret Brookes has a Two on the selected hole for Women.

Big crowd for I Shop New World event
The annual I Shop New World Mixed Open on Saturday 5 January drew a full field of 176 players, all out to enjoy magnificent conditions and a variety of foods and refreshments at hospitality stations on the course. The event is sponsored by Jeremy Ross and his team at Warkworth New World and features shotgun starts in the morning and afternoon.

The field comprised mostly Mangawhai members but also a good representation of other clubs from the Northland and Auckland areas, all attracted by the unique structure of the day and the impressive prize table. The weather was exceptional – hot, sunny and very warm – and the volunteers manning the various hospitality stops were inundated by players in need of sustenance.

Play progressed well and a full clubhouse celebrated an exceptional day thanks to the efforts of a great team of volunteers and a very generous sponsor.

Gross: Women Pam Sowden (75), Runner-up Jodi Leese. Men Div. 1 Thai Leng (74), Runner-up Scott Wightman. Stableford: Women Donna Thompson (43), Gillian Browne (41), Sharon Haslam (39), Anna O’Boyle (38), Robyn Currie (38), Heather Tobin (37), Jan Flavell (36), Liz McLeish (35). Men Div. 1: Greg Furnell (43), Gavin Jessup (42), Gary Colhoun 41), Jeff Smith (41), David Graham (41), Paul Ogilvy (41), Ian Jenkins (41), Tony Vale (40). Men Div. 2: Richard Elliot (43), Steve Corbett (43), Craig King (42), Paul Murphy (42), Bill Naish (42), Bill Mabey (41), Phil Nicholls (41), Richard Tuck (41), Mike Kitson (40), Rodger Flavell (39).

Other prizes: Nearest The Pin won by Kerry Simpson, Phil Nicholls, Sharon Haslam, Don McLean. Twos: Tarrin Rous, Phil Nicholls, Des Chitty, Kerry Simpson, Ross Allen, Craig King, Don McLean, Greg Furnell, Jamie Melanson, John van Rensburg, Steve Webby, Scott Wightman, Kevin Cox, David Hartles, Hugh Williams.
 

Coming attractions The club’s Opening Day for 2019 is scheduled for Saturday January 19 and will feature a members-only Ambrose – a relaxed way to start the season. The ITM Mangawhai Mixed Open is on Sunday January 27 (Auckland Anniversary Weekend) with morning and afternoon shotgun starts attracting big fields. Also coming up in late January is the start of ITM Mangawhai Business House Golf, a new initiative that is open to players of all levels. Teams of four will play a 9-hole Ambrose on Thursday evenings and the enthusiastic sponsorship of Rob Cook and his team at ITM Mangawhai will ensure good weekly and overall prizes. Any teams or individuals interested in playing in this not-too-serious, not-too-social event just need to call into the Golf Shop to get all details. Other major events through the coming year include the incomparable Howdo’s Fundraiser, the annual Ladies 2-Day event in February, the Partners Life Mangawhai Pro-Am in March, Easter’s Barfoot & Thompson Mixed Open and the prestigious Tom Bonnington Cup event in May