Craig star of the show

Andrew Craig wore the widest smile after Waahi Taakaro's closing day ambrose and annual prizegiving on Saturday (Nov 14).

Not only was he a member of the winning team in the ambrose event, but he was announced as Player of the Year at the prizegiving that followed an excellent day of entertainment.

It was a fitting finale to a superb winter season for one of the club's keenest golfers who currently plays off a 20.9 handicap.

It started well with Andrew teaming up with Phil Sellers to win the Cap-it-all Trophy. He then followed it up by winning the coveted Individual Matchplay title. 

He accumulated further points by finishing second in the Junior B Stroke and then captured the Junior B club championship after surviving extra holes in his semifinal.

He also played for our Sloan Trophy team which finished fourth and was a member of one of our Country Clubs teams that went within a whisker of winning the tournament.

The other major award went to an unsung hero, Phil Brennan, who won the prestigious Rangiriri Kohe Memorial Trophy for club member of the year.

Unfortunately, family responsibilities prevented Phil from attending the prizegiving, but greenkeeper James Dale accepted the award on his behalf, praising Phil's unstinting and tireless contribution to looking after the course and keeping it in top condition. Twice weekly Phil volunteers his time and his own resources helping out James and other Green by Nature staff doing a myriad of tasks to keep the course tidy and in between times he regularly goes round repairing pitch marks on greens.

Another multiply prizewinner was Peter Watson, who finished second in the Player of the Year race after winning the Intermediate club championship for the third year running and the season-long Barkman Trophy for the second successive year. He also finished second in the Intermediate Stroke. He also showed good summer form in winning the Stubberfield Trophy for third time in four years and being runner-up in the Burns Philp Cup.

Marg Parfitt shone in the women's contests, winning both the 9-hole matchplay and 9-hole winter competition, while Donna Dawson got one of the biggest cheers after being crowned the 9-hole net champ.

Others to enjoy strong showings were Gareth Edwards (Junior A club champion and Burns Philp Cup winner), Andy Isle (Six-Hole Challenge champ and second in both the Cap-it-all Trophy and Brebde Senior/Junior), Nick Riddell (Senior club champ and runner-up in the Senior Stroke, Paul Tunnicliff (C&F Legal Stroke winner and second in the Junior A Stroke), club captain James Campion (Senior Stroke winner and runner-up in the Senior club champs and the Stubberfield Trophy), Bryan Ramsey (winner of both the Penketh Plate and Summer Fedex), Gabriel Tijsen (Intermediate Stroke winner and second in the C&F Legal Stroke) and Ian Hanford (Pat Melville Memorial Trophy winner and second in the Penketh Plate).

Earlier in the day, a full field of 16 four-person teams had plenty of fun in the sun vying for bragging rights in our annual closing day ambrose. The Weapons of Grass Destruction team of Andy Isle, Doona Dawson, Lewis Wilson and Andrew Craig took it out with a sharp net score of 57.75 from The Greenies (Warren and Andrew Green, Mike de Veer and Richard Pearson) on 58.85 and Bec's Ball Bashers (Rebecca Gibson, Andrew Dodson, James Dale and Blair Joliffe) on 59.72.

Jarrod Huss was closest to the pin on No 14, coming within centimeters on a hole-in-one, while Kieran Stamper was closest on No 2.

Our thanks go to the two James, Heather Carey and all the other volunteers for their efforts in making it a great way to finish the season.

The full list of prizewinners for the 2026 was:

WOMEN

9-hole net: 1st Donna Dawson, 2nd Barbara Kotua

9-hole matchplay: 1st Marg Parfitt, 2nd Barbara Kotua

9-hole winter comp: 1st Marg Parfitt, 2nd Susan Albert

9-hole Twilight: 1st Julie Sellers, 2nd Heather Carey

SUMMER MEN

Burns Philp Cup: 1^st Gareth Edwards; 2^nd Peter Watson

Penketh Plate: 1^st Bryan Ramsey; 2^nd Ian Hanford

Pat Melville Memorial Trophy: 1^st    Ian Hanford, 2^nd Jason Lee

Stubberfield Cup: 1^st Peter Watson; 2^nd James Campion

Summer Fedex: 1^s Bryan Ramsey; 2^nd Gareth Edwards

Nine-hole Summer Champ: 1^st Warren Green; 2^nd Andrew Green

WINTER MEN

Cap-it-all Trophy: 1^st   Andrew Craig & Phil Sellers 2^nd Andy Isle & Lewis Wilson

Brebde Senior/Junior: 1^st Craig Barron & Lewis Wilson; 2^nd Andy Isle & Phil Sellers

Individual Matchplay: 1^st Andrew Craig; 2^nd Jarrod Huss

Six-Hole Challenge: 1^st Andy Isle; 2^nd Graham Eggers

C&F Legal Stroke: 1^st Paul Tunnicliff, 2^nd Gabriel Tijsen

Senior Stroke: 1^st James Campion, 2^nd Nick Riddell

Intermediate Stroke: 1^st Gabriel Tijsen, 2^nd Peter Watson

Junior A Stroke: 1^st Harry Ambrose, 2^nd Paul Tunnicliff

Junior B Stroke: 1^st Dave Huntley, 2^nd Andrew Craig

Senior Champion: 1^st Nick Riddell, 2^nd James Campion

Intermediate Champion: 1^st Peter Watson, 2^nd Andrew Bosselmann

Junior A Champion: 1^st Gareth Edwards, 2^nd Harry Ambrose

Junior B Champion: 1^st Andrew Craig, 2^nd Jack Denton

Barkman Trophy: 1^st Peter Watson, 2^nd= Dave Huntley/Phil Sellers

Shootout: 1^st Aaron Kotua, 2^nd Graham Eggers

9-hole Winter Champ: 1^st Paul McCrae, 2^nd Mike De Veer

NBS Player of the Year: 1^st Andrew Craig, 2^nd Peter Watson

Rangiriri Kohe Memorial Trophy for Club Member of the Year: Phil Brennan