Competitors in the next New Zealand Golf Men’s and Women’s Mid Amateur will experience a shift in time and place when it is held north of Auckland early next year.
For the past two years, the scenic Wairakei International Golf Course in Taupo has hosted the popular tournament during November. However, the event is having a ‘gap year’ in 2015 and is scheduled for January 15-17, 2016 at Mangawhai Golf Club.
The new, mid-summer dates will avoid clashes for low handicappers aged 30-plus who wish to compete in other mid-amateur tournaments throughout Australia and the Pacific.
Mangawhai last hosted a national event in 2013 when it staged the New Zealand Women’s Senior Foursomes. That was the same year the coastal course was ranked 19th in the top 25 courses in New Zealand by a panel of NZPGA Professionals and Golf Travel operators.
Only 90 minutes north of Auckland and minutes away from Mangawhai beach and township, local and international visitors alike consider Mangawhai a must-play experience – often ranking it higher than the published 19th spot.
The course opened in 1979 after local residents endorsed the formation of a golf club and course, and the first nine holes were constructed in record time. Titirangi member Mr N. Edwards set the first record for that first par-34 course at 36. Almost 10 years later, the 18-hole championship course was opened with a special ceremony marking the occasion on the May 1, 1988. A new course record was soon set by Kevin Billington, at 70 and one under par, and bettered by Phil Hunter in 1989, with a 68.
The club history records the opening of the clubhouse in 1992, at a cost of only NZ$265,000 thanks to much volunteer labour, and well-known professional Ted McDougall took up residence in 1995. The club instigated a change to the course layout in 1997, with the first nine holes effectively becoming the back nine and the addition of new bunkers and remodelled greens making the course even more challenging.
The club hosted its inaugural pro-am in 1999, the New Zealand Women’s Autumn Foursomes in 2002, and celebrated its 25th Jubilee in 2004.
Though there have been many changes and enhancements over the past 36 years, the vision and skill of the original course architect, Harry Dale, lives on. A designer of more than 60 courses, Dale presented the Mangawhai course on natural terrain with spectacular views of neighbouring coast, countryside and natural wetlands that are home to a wide range of bird life.
Set out in a typical links setting, Mangawhai is a wonderful all-weather course on a free-draining sand base. Natural hazards abound, demanding finesse rather than raw power from players. The par 72, 5924-metre course from the blue tees winds along wide and narrow fairways, and its par 4 second hole is considered one of the toughest in the country. The large, undulating greens are ranked among the best in New Zealand for their quick pace and true roll.
The 2016 Men’s Mid Amateur will be the tournaments 11th, and the concurrent women’s mid-amateur tournament, the NZ Women’s Trust Shield, will be the eighth such event. Mark Bolton from Australia is the current men’s champion, and defending women’s champion Kathy Olsen, a well-known Hawkes Bay representative, is expected to defend the title she has won a record three times.
Handicap limits are set at 14 for men and 24 for women. Entries are expected from throughout New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific – and are welcome from further afield. Last year, a French player competed in the men’s tournament.
ENDS
