The rain over the past 2 days has meant that the course still has a number of boggy patches but otherwise the course is in great condition and looks fantastic. With the weather prospects for the weekend looking good hopefully many of you will be able to get out for a round. We will allow members carts on the course, but not hire carts, but all players need to be mindful that our slopes can be slippery when wet, and for those walking the course please stick to the grated areas when crossing bridges.
This weekend’s Events
Tomorrow our Saturday women’s club are playing Medley 15 which will be played on a Par basis. On Sunday it is the quarter finals of the Westward Ho. Best of luck to all players.
Other Upcoming Events
The India Cup will be played for next Wednesday 16th August This is one of the Karori Golf Club's long-standing trophies which has been transferred to Wednesday Club competition, so, with Indian Independence Day commemorated on the 15th August annually, we thought it would be appropriate to hold it on the closest Wednesday, which this year will be 16th August. It is a one round, single stableford competition open to all men members. As in previous years we plan to follow the round with some appropriate Indian cuisine. For those playing in the competition the total charge will be $10 covering the usual 18 hole competition, raffle, India Cup and snack, for others the cost of the snack will be $5.
The Ken and Rose Rigarlsford Tournament has been rescheduled for Saturday 26 August. A revised flyer and new entry sheet has been put up on the downstairs notice board – please re-enter your name on this or ring/email the club.
The men’s Stroke Play Championships and Qualifying Rounds for the Club Championships will be held over the weekend of 2/3 September. These will be held in 4 divisions, being Senior, Intermediate, Junior A and Junior B. A flyer is attached to this email with all the details plus it is on the downstairs notice board along with an entry sheet. Please add you name to this entry sheet or ring/email the club. Note that entries will close on Sunday 27th August.
Prodrive Professional Coach
The Holden Golf Show last week featured 1998 NZ Open Champion and former PGA professional, Matthew Lane, who is now a golf instructor at Prodrive’s driving range at Silverstream. Click this link to get Matthew’s tips for a back-to-basics golf swing and watch out for more Prodrive Academy golfing tips on future programmes.
Prodrive Academy
New Bench Seat
The “Shirties” who play together regularly on Sunday morning have donated another bench seat made by Laurie Cook, similar to the one he made for the 12th tee. It is currently positioned outside the clubhouse where 2 half-round seats used to be. These 2 seats have been taken away by the green keepers for repainting and once done, they will replace 2 other seats on the course while they in turn get repainted. Once all the on course seats have been repainted the last 2 of them will come back to the club house and the bench seat will be transferred out onto the course. Thanks Laurie and Shirties, the seat looks great and I’m sure will be very appreciated by all members.
Wednesday Club
Wednesday Club results for 9 August
Unfortunately no Wednesday Club play was possible this week due to the rain but we have our fingers crossed for better weather next week when we will be playing for the India Cup.
Men’s Bathroom Update
Good progress is being made with the upgrade to the men’s toilets/bathroom. The new urinals and basins are now in place but please do not use them until they have been released for use. We are hoping to have one of the basins available for use this weekend but the other 2 basins and the urinals will not be released for use until all the fittings and surrounding tiling etc have been completed. Please therefore do not use them until we have advised that they are good to go.
Air Compressor Update
This has now been fixed by the green keepers (thanks guys) so players should now be able to air clean their shoes after play. We take this blower for granted but we are apparently one of the few clubs in Wellington that has one, befitting a club that punches above its weight and has a reputation as the best country course in the greater Wellington district.
Bridge Update
The bridge in the middle of the 16th fairway that had developed a hole at one end has been repaired. However, its girders are rusting and our intention is to eventually replace the bridge with a wider one that can take carts as well as trundlers. Some of our other bridges are being threatened by erosion and we are currently exploring solutions as to how best to arrest the erosion and which bridges to retire/repair/replace.
50th Anniversary Feb/March 2018
Continuing the history of our club, as part of the build up to the 50th anniversary of the current club: Although golf left the valley in 1926 with the second incarnation of the Karori Golf Club shifting out to the Hutt Valley to become Manor Park, the suburb continued to grow as did the popularity of golf. In 1933 four enthusiastic entrepreneurs set up the Westward Ho Golf Company at Makara with a view to establish a golf course on South Makara Road on land leased from Mr J M Bertram (after whom our men’s pairs trophy The Bertram Cup is named). Arthur Duncan, a highly respected local and national amateur golf champion (and after whom the Wellington men’s interclub trophy the Duncan Cup is named) advised on the course layout and work quickly got underway using horse drawn rollers to prepare 9 holes in time for an official opening on 16 December 1933. Interestingly, and not really surprising to us advocates of our course, the Evening Post in its report of the opening in their 18 December edition reported that “Wind, a feature that troubles most courses in Wellington, was not evident while in the city it was most unpleasant.” Was golf in the western suburbs finally here to stay - read next week’s Friday Flash to find out, or purchase a copy of “Four to the Fore from the shop for $20
Happy golfing, play safely,
Your KGC Committee