Two months of winter done, and only one month to go! We are starting to see the encouraging signs of spring all around the course.

Just like last month, we have good news to start the newsletter:

Pennants

The final round was held on August 5^th and Hastings Bellbirds began the day leading the competition by a very tense 1 point. The Bellbirds were playing Napier Rimu, sitting in third place and the Hastings Tuis were playing the second-placed Maraenui team. The day didn’t go according to script for the Bellbirds with a loss for the day, however the Tuis came to the party beating Maraenui to enable the Bellbirds to take home the trophy. The Tuis finished in fourth place overall for the season. So, while the Bellbirds are fortunate to get their name on the trophy, we must thank the Tuis for making it a Hastings win.

Players who have represented interclub teams during the 2019 season are:

Hastings Bellbirds: Deb Hewitt, Liz Wood, Robyn Stallard (captain), Annabelle Absolom, Alison Graham, Jo Allen, Marie Hope, Phillipa Cook, Anne Bibby, Gayle McLennan, Maxine Reeks and Jenny Scotland.

Hastings Tuis: Martha Manaena (co-Captain), Fiona Ellis, Sally Bush (co-Captain), Rahira Ellison, Patsy White, Jo Wheater, Robyn Bell, Trish Macklow, Judy Farquharson, Betty Ward, Denise Walsh, Emma Cadenhead, Maxine Reeks, Nora Priest, Fiona Marich, Nicky Dallas, Claire Turner.

Crossman Cup: Martha Manaena (Captain), Fiona Ellis, Rahira Ellison, Lynne Roberts, Vicki Small, Wendy Nicol, Leyth Martin, Diane Jones, Jane Howie, Trish Macklow, Andrea Percival, Julie Brangwin.

Thanks to all players for their contribution in representing the club so well.

As you can see, we do need a lot of players in order to field an 8-member team each time we play. So please don’t be shy when we call for players in early 2020, even if you are only available for one or two games, having a large pool of reserves helps the captains to easily make up a team.

Mona Hunter Tournament

There is still room for more players for this tournament next week. This is a long-standing annual tournament played between Napier, Hastings and Waipukurau and this year it has been scheduled for Monday 19^th August at Napier Golf Course. Please add your name to the start sheet in the ladies’ locker room or give me a call. It is an 18-hole stableford tournament with team scores being averaged to decide which club wins the trophy for the year.

Match Play Day

The next designated match play day is August 27^th. If you have a match to play, this is obviously a good day to play it. For everyone else, it's a good opportunity to experience a match play situation but in a fun environment. Anyone not playing an official match will be divided into two teams and then paired with an opponent to play a match. The emphasis here is giving everyone a match play experience in a non-serious situation. Experienced match players in the group should share their wisdom with other players in their four. To make it more interesting, Brett and AJ will be the team captains, so you will either be playing for “Team Head Pro” or “Team Assistant Pro”. Brett and AJ will also be competing for their respective teams. There may even be a trophy we could dust off to make this a regular occurrence on match play days.

Elizabeth Horne Tournament – September 24^th

This tournament has been a part of the women's calendar for many years. Sadly, due to ill health the Elizabeth Horne team are unable to commit to the tournament this year. With Brett's help we have found a company who have agreed to fill in this year, and we are close to finalising details. Watch this space for an announcement.

Interzone

Hawkes Bay golf will soon be asking us to nominate players of all handicaps to represent HB Central for the annual interzone tournament. This year it is being held at Waipukurau on September 16^th. If you are available to play 27 holes please add your name to the noticeboard so that you can be included in our list of nominations. Zone representatives from HB Golf will make the final decision on the playing team for the day.

Events coming up

Entry sheets are now on the notice board for the following events:

September 3^rd: Captains vs Presidents. Stableford competition 8:45am shotgun start.

September 10^th and 14^th: Foursomes competition (alternate shot stroke play). Choose your own partner, or we can pair players if you don’t have a partner.

Please add your names to the lists on the notice board.

Happy golfing.

Liz