In the Men's Championship Final between Canterbury's Reid Hilton and Otago's Tom Lee at Bottle Lake it was birdie mania on the back nine. Lee got off to a hot start birdieing the first four holes and when they turned for the back nine Hilton was three down and wondering how he was going to come back. An eagle on the par 5 10th, then two more successive birdies got him back to square. The pair halved the 13th, Lee birdied the 14th, then Hilton birdied the very difficult par 4 15th, and followed up with another birdie at the par 3 16th to go 1up with two to play. Not to be outdone, Lee holed a 30 foot bomb for birdie on the 17th while Hilton missed his 8 foot birdie putt. They would halve the 18th, and two extra holes later Lee finally finished the match with a birdie on the par 3 first hole! What a great match for the privileged few who were able to witness such stunning golf. In the morning semis, Hilton played well and was four under when he bought to an end the steady run of Scott Manyweathers. Lee had to go to the 18th to beat Auckland's Joshua Bai.
Canterbury Golf is excited to share our refreshed Young People in Golf Plan and Talent Development Plan. Our role at Canterbury Golf is to lead the development and promotion of golf in Canterbury with our goal being to foster golf as a sport of choice for young people.
We aim to help young people fall in love with the game and this refreshed Young People Plan creates a clear pathway for their engagement – from beginner to performance golf, focussed on creating positive experiences that meet the diverse needs of the young people within our region.
The Final round of Canterbury Men's Over 50's & 60's Interclub was played at Rangiora Golf Club last Sunday in fine conditions with the course in great order after overnight rain.
The Annual Captains Day Tournament was played at Bottle Lake Golf Club on Friday with 18 clubs represented from around the Canterbury region.
It was the McLeans Island pairing of Warren Davis (33 pts) and Sue Collins (36 pts) who handled the testing conditions best to win the Captains Day trophy with a combined 69 stableford points. We were fortunate to hold the event after rain earlier in the week and heavy rain again immediately after the even
In the last two weeks, there has been several changes to the composition of the Canterbury Golf Executive Committee. Debbie Scott (Harewood) and Kevin Hughes (Waimakariri Gorge) have resigned from the committee due to personal commitments. Both have given several years of their time and we thank them for their contribution. Debbie Scott remains involved as Chair of the Women’s Committee. We welcome onto the committee Margaret-Mary Coughlan as a co-opted member. Margaret-Mary’s professional background is as a Chartered Accountant, and she is a keen golfer playing off a four handicap out of the Clearwater Golf Club.
The first Futures Team Trophy Event took place at McLeans Island Golf Club. Members from the North East Hub and Selwyn Hub battled it out for the Team Trophy. The event was not only for young golfers who have played match play before but all so for those wanting to learn more and gain experience, it was great to see new faces taking part in the event. The Selwyn Hub took home the 2022 Team Trophy, winning 3 and a half to 2 and a half.
Coming up for Futures!
On Sunday 20th March we are looking forward to our Team Golf Bring a Friend Event at Ellesmere Golf Club. This will be a free event encouraging all our young golfers who are just getting started to come out with a mate and have some fun! Following next weekend we have an event at Hororata Golf Club then heading into the school holidays x2 Futures Opens Events.
