After two long year’s it seemed like we would never get our National Tournament off the ground we can now “finally” say that we have concluded our 54th Nationals at the Otago Golf Club. Sadly the Middle Districts Association who attempted to hold our event in 2020 and ‘21 with constant uncertainty, decided to hand over the tournament to next in line Otago who provided us with another fantastic Electrical Trades Golf Nationals. A great deal of appreciation should be extended to Matt Pickering and the team from Middle Districts for their willingness to make tournament arrangements for the 2020 and ’21 years, a massive shame that their event did not take place. Many thanks to Michael, Trevor, and the Otago Association for all their hard work, Club Manager Shelley Duncan, Golf Services Manager Michael Henderson, Course Superintendent Craig Parata, the Catering Staff, along with all their support staff for providing a fantastic course setup and post golf organization that would rival any of the great tournaments we have been privileged to attend.
The Balmacewen Course proudly holds the mantle of the oldest golf course in the Southern Hemisphere. For those that have been fortunate enough to visit and play this course, they will attest to the amazing memorabilia that adorns the clubhouse walls, photos of some of the greatest golfers of their time who would play in NZ Amateurs Championships “the first NZ Amateur staged in 1893” along with seven NZ Open Championships.
For our own Championship, this would be our fourth such visit to the Balmacewen Course.
Arriving at the golf course the writer is reminded why we do these events on a ten-year rotation!!
Excerpt from 2011
For future reference NOTE: “do not play this golf course in the wind ……!! Don’t expect to make any putts of any length over 2 feet in the entire round unless you have a misread ……!! Book a cart if you intend to play with a hangover…..! Book a cart anyway …..!
Update to that now that the 2022 tournament is completed “don’t expect to make any putts” 😊
Perhaps the state of the body may play a significant part in the results recorded this week however the enjoyment of an excellent week put on by our hosts makes up for any failures in the golf department.
SPONSORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
With overwhelming support from our sponsors this year’s event was able to be attended with minimal costs to all of to our provincial teams, to all our players, and to our supporters of the local events please consider this when making your purchasing decisions.
Gold Sponsors: Schneider Electric, Master Electricians, J.A. Russell Ltd, Radcliffe Electrical, ABB, Apprentice Training Trust.
Silver Sponsors: ETCO, Ideal Electrical Supplies, Philips Lighting, simPRO
Bronze Sponsors: Clevertronics, First Flex Cables, Simx Brands
So on to the festivities, some of the teams traveled early this year notably Waikato and Middle Districts and Hawkes Bay, not choosing to play a practice round but to enjoy the hospitality of some of the local pubs, The Baaa Sports Bar & Grill proving to be the best option later in the day for viewing the many games that NZ teams were involved in over the weekend, success in the games adding to the overall enjoyment of the day.
The local Mcdonald’s franchise by all accounts was very pleased with the attendance of a couple of Waikato members late in the evening 😊
Sunday would see all the other teams arrive at the Balmacewen Golf Club to take up the more serious task of the week “practice for the tournament commencement on Monday”
The weather played its part and would continue as such for the rest of the tournament, providing excellent golf conditions but not so much in the excuse department!!
Otago provided a light meal after the golf as everyone enjoyed catching up with friends from tournaments past, then heading off to their motels to prepare themselves for the serious part of the week to come.
Tournament Day One
After the formalities of group photos and comments on play from our hosts, everyone headed out to allotted tees for a shotgun start, the course was in fantastic condition and proved to be so for one Scott Applegate from Hawkes Bay who recorded possibly his best round in 30 something years of attendance (43 Stableford Points), other not so much, Derek Todd recording best Gross of the day with a “local knowledge” round of 76.
Putting was the main topic of conversation with many greens proving to have interesting breaks that many could not read.
The interprovincial rivalry was however the winner on the day with the individual golf results put aside with the after-golf shouts proving more important.
Otago carried out a Calcutta using the top eighteen qualifiers with great rivalry in the bidding spreading the support amongst the provinces, results on the winners would come from the player’s day two performances.
Day one concluded with an excellent meal by the hosts and all retired to prepare for the big day ahead with the second and final round deciding team and individual glory.
Tournament Day Two
Again the weather played its part and bright sunshine and light winds greeted the players for their final day of play, some looked ready for play others not so much.
Many thanks to the team from Klein Tools Richard and Evan from their South Island contingent for providing amazing fare at their on-course BBQ stop, the writer is all in on their fantastic tool range, a quality product at reasonable prices.
Day Two would see some players improving on their first-day effort in particular Haydn Morgan posting a creditable 73 that would see him overtake overnight leader Derek Todd and take out the 36 Hole Gross title.
The majority however did not fare so well with many of the team trophies going to “rather large” totals in all categories.
Immediately following the golf all gathered in the clubhouse for the running of the Melbourne Cup “not even the great wars or covid have stopped the Great Race from taking place”
Sweepstakes were held with most winners’ funds finding their way to the bar over the course of the evening.
While the results were being formulated talk would move to the Interprovincial rivalries that are contested between many of the provinces, shouts to be confirmed from the losers, and bragging rights to the winners.
Many thanks go to the General Manager of the Otago Golf Club Shelley Duncan for her amazing assistance in helping with the results.
Prize giving would be preceded by another impressive meal from the club caterer, just the right mix for hearty golfers enjoying a “little bit of the amber liquid”
Prize giving as always contains a fair bit of banter and ribbing for the winners and losers alike, and this evening is no different.
After a few kind words from our sponsor’s representatives Aaron Johnson Regional Manager Radcliffe Electrical, Megan Peterken ATT, Leigh Blade ABB, and Greg Johnson from Clevertronics it was on with the official presentation to the winners.
Sincerest apologies for overlooking the newly appointed National Sales Manager for Schneider Electric Automation Matt Pickering for his invaluable role in our relationship with Schneider Electric and the management of the Middle Districts team.
The trophy winners were as follows:
In the team’s category the following (Awarded to the team with the best 7 of 8 scores total over the two days)
The Corys Cup for Best Par on the night went to Tasman on -52 with Runners Up announced as Aorangi.
HERE WE GO AGAIN THIS TIME TO APOLOGISE TO MIDDLE DISTRICTS WHO IN FACT WERE THE WINNERS OF THIS TROPHY!!!
The official count for the Par Trophy has been incorrectly totaled Tasman actually recorded a Par total of -62, not -52.
Middle Districts on -56 one point better than Aorangi on -57 Auckland, Canterbury, and Wellington are also unlucky on -58.
Middle Districts should have taken the official award if this mistake had been noticed on the night.
Sorry to Middle Districts and a bar shout coming their way at the next Nationals in Hawkes Bay.
The trophy will be engraved correctly with a “sorry for raising your expectations” to Tasman.
For full results please consult the result sheets below.
Philips Cup Winners using a total combined Stableford for three selected team players who have attended five or more Nationals won by Auckland represented by Michael Leggoe, Brian Cronin, and Ken Tyree on countback from Hawkes Bay by virtue of second day total.
In closing again many thanks to the Otago Association and the invaluable support from our sponsors, as always please consider them all when making your purchasing decisions.
The Singles winners are as follows: Gary Lamb (0) on countback from Andrew Peacock won the ETCO Cup for Best Par on 0 Presented by Callum Wardell from ETCO
Stableford – ECANZ Cup – Chris Martin (73 points) – Presented by Megan Peterken, ATT
Nett – BJC Cup – Scott Applegate (140 Nett) – Presented by Greg Johnson, Clevertronics
Gross – GTS Cup and 2022 Individual Champion – Haydon Morgan (150 Gross) Presented by Leigh Blade, ABB
Day One Winners Derek Todd Gross 76 – Peter Vaughn Nett 70 – Richard Newman Stableford 36 – Tim Abrahams Par +2
Day Two Winners Riegardt Du Plessis Gross 74 – Tony Harrison Nett 71 – Jacques Volschank Stableford 36 – Steve O’Sullivan Par 0
Special Event Results are as follows:
Kournikova Trophy Total best 7 0f 8 Nett Scores – Auckland 1087 Canterbury 1093 James Anderson (Canterbury) left awarding the trophy to Brian Hemingway Regretfully James and the Canterbury contingent there was yet another mix-up in the format for the awarding of points for this trophy, instead of losing Auckland actually winning the right to hand over the trophy to Canterbury, Anna will be on her way home over the coming weeks!! James looks so pleased as well 🙂
Jim Beam Cup Total Eight Stableford – Aorangi 427 Canterbury 417 Paul Clemens (Aorangi) right receiving the trophy from James Anderson
Vynco Cup Total Eight Stableford – Wellington 462 Tasman 410 Jamie Dempster (Wellington) left receiving the trophy from Bryce Currie
Applegate Cup “Bone of Contention” Total Eight Stableford – Hawkes Bay 495 Middle Districts 454 Matt Pickering (Middle Districts) left presents the trophy to Chris Martin