The inaugural Spirit of Mangawhai Charity Golf Tournament, held earlier this month at Tara Iti Golf Club, drew 60 local players and raised funds of $75,000 that were donated to 19 charities and non-profit organisations serving the greater Mangawhai community.
Recipients included the Mangawhai Museum, Mangawhai Beach School, St John Ambulance, Mangawhai Volunteer Fire Brigade, Mangawhai Activity Zone, Mangawhai Heads Volunteer Lifeguard Services, Mangawhai Football Club, Mangawhai Tennis Club, Mangawhai Golf Club, Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Northland Emergency Services, Mangawhai Tracks Charitable Trust, Mangawhai Kindergarten, Plunket, Zonta, Mangawhai Fishing Club, Mangawhai Harbour Restoration Society, Kaiwaka Sports Association and Te Arai & Mangawhai Shorebirds Trust.
Opened in October 2015, Tara Iti Golf Club celebrated it’s two-year anniversary with the event. The private club also had something else to celebrate: In September, its golf course was ranked number 29 in the world, according to Golf magazine.
“We thought this event would be an ideal way to both mark the occasion and further partner with friends, neighbours, members and business associates within our community,” said Matt Guzik, Tara Iti general manager.
“It also provided an opportunity for local individuals to enjoy a game of golf in this beautiful setting, while at the same time affording us this platform to financially support the well-being of our community at large. We’re tempted to judge this first Spirit of Mangawhai Charity Golf Tournament a resounding success – certainly something we may consider doing again.”
Guzik added that this 2017 event would not have been possible without the co-operation and generosity of the Club's membership and staff. Tara Iti Golf Club currently employees more than 80 local men and women, in addition to a largely local caddie corps that numbers 150.
Nearly all of them were deployed on October 6 as the entire property was given over to visiting players, in the spirit of world-class golf (an 18-hole ‘Two Best Ball’ tournament with Stableford scoring), mobile nibbling (tea, snacks and beverages were served on hole 13 from the club’s converted Airstream caravan), and a post tournament lunch in the clubhouse.
Further networking and revelry were had during a post-tournament awards and cheque-presentation ceremony, where gourmet pizzas were served from the club’s travelling pizza oven, bolted to the bed of a vintage 1937 pickup truck.
“The weather was superb and the golf course was in spectacular condition on the day,” Guzik said.
“I think I speak for everyone at Tara Iti when I say, it gave us all a great feeling to host so many fellow locals and openly support the tremendous work that’s going on in our area. A terrific cause that yielded a very special occasion.”
PARTNERSHIP: Tara Iti Golf Club and playing team representatives are all smiles at prize giving, where a cheque for $75,000 was presented to local charities and non-profit organisations.
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