Captains Chronicles – December 2025
Wow, that went fast! It has been a very busy last few months, and don’t relax too much, because things ramp up pretty quickly once the new year kicks off.
Men’s presentation day this Saturday
This Saturday is the Xmas Cheer event, and the men’s trophies will be handed out at the end.
I realise this is not ideal given that I feel it takes away a bit from recognising the achievements of the trophy winners, and next year we will look to separate out the two (that is Christmas Cheer and the presentation day). But if you can make it, even if you aren’t playing this Saturday, come along to the presentation afterwards to join in the celebrations.
Greenwood Cup
The Greenwood Cup was once again brought back to our club after Onga had it for the last two years in a row. The Greenwood Cup is Hawkes Bay’s premier inter club event contested by 8 clubs (Hastings, Hawkes Bay, Napier, Maraenui, Onga Onga, CHB, Karamu and Dannevirke) in a 10-man, individual match play format, played over two weekends. Hastings and Onga had both lost only one match going into the final match, where we faced Dannervirke. We needed to win at least 6.5 games to secure the win and managed to beat Dannervirke 8/2. It was very tense, and a huge amount of fun. I urge any of you thinking about competitive golf to give it a go next year if you can make the team.
Pennants
If you can’t make the Greenwood Cup team, then an alternative where you can represent your club is Pennants. This will start in Feb next year and we’ll soon be calling for interest. We’ll have two teams where you play without handicap (Champs 1 and 2) and two handicapped teams. We’ll send more details soon.
Course Patrols
I’d like to extend a big thank you to the gents, led by Wayne Yule, who have started doing course patrols in the evenings, to check that players have paid their green fees. They have found a number of players playing on our course without paying, so it is paying dividends. Brett lends them a cart, and Tony and Trish Lythgoe have donated a new “Course Marshal” sign for it, thanks Tony.
New Series – Kaweka Health
I’m pleased to announce the addition of a new series next year. We are still nailing down dates, but the idea is that we have a comp in each season, starting in Summer, then Autumn, Winter and Spring next year. In each event there will be points available like FedEx Cup or Race to Dubai. At the end there will be a finale. The events will be net and gross medal. And we have a sponsor – a big thanks to Kaweka Health. So, each event will have nice prizes. The idea is to have a shotgun start, so we all finish in the clubhouse together to celebrate.
Wallace Development Hastings Open
For those of you keen to test yourself in a stroke play event, the Wallace Development Hastings Open is being held on the 24th/25th Jan next year. There is a stableford, gross and junior division. Go here to register: CLICK HERE
I used to come down and play this event when I lived in Rotorua and continue to this day. It’s at a great time of year, the course is in mint condition, and it’s a shotgun start so everyone finishes at the same time giving it a nice festive vibe at the end.
Club Champs Next Year
The Club Strokeplay Championship for 2026 will be played over two rounds on Saturday 21st Feb and Saturday 28th Feb. You need to enter, then there will be a seeded draw for Round 1 where you play in your division. This is to give it a distinct competition feel, rather than playing with your regular mates. The top 16 in each division will qualify for the Club Matchplay Championship later in the year. Go here to enter:
https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/12125010826310481404
Finally, I wish you a wonderful festive season with plenty of good golf (not the frustrating kind).
Nicholas
menscc@hastingsgolfclub.co.nz
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