Double delight for Old Hickory champs

Waahi Taakaro are the Old Hickory champs for 2025 after storming to victory at the final round of the year at Greenacres yesterday (Dec 4).

A tremendous team performance saw us capture not only the Old Hickory trophy for December but also the shield for the Club of the Year.

It is the second time in three years that Waahi Taakaro has done the double.

With Totaradale leading the race for Club of the Year by one point from us going into yesterday's showdown, we needed a big effort and our players turned it on to win convincingly in ideal golfing conditions.

Led by top individual of the day Graham Eggers with a stunning 43 stableford points and Dave Huntley with a fine 40 points, we totalled an imposing 159 points for our top four scores to win the Old Hickory by 15 points. Jack Denton (39) and Mick Leggett (37) provided excellent support, while our two non-scorers, Barry Rhodes (31) and captain Ian Hanford (31)  also returned useful scores which counted when it came to the Club of the Year standings.

In the end, Waahi Taakaro won the Club of the Year race comfortably, amassing 1547 points over the eight rounds, with Totaradale fading to second on 1501. Motueka and Tasman shared third on 1499. They were followed by Takaka (1452) and Nelson (1449), with Greenacres trailing on 1419.

Ian paid tribute to not only yesterday's team members, but all those who had represented the club during the competition.

``It was truly a team effort.

``The Old Hickory trophy will look good in the clubrooms until February (when the competition resumes) and the Club of the Year will be with us on display until this time next year.''

Helped by 38 points from Brian Murray, home team Greenacres finished second on 144 in the Old Hickory match, while Mike Hay's 38 propelled Motueka into third on 142. Nelson - with John Henley leading the way with 39 - was next on 137. Tasman finished fifth on 136. Graeme Bradley's 38 helped Takaka total 130 and avoid the popgun, with that dubious honour going to Totaradale with 121.

Twos were scored by Totaradale's Ross Dalley, who got two, John O'Neill (Tasman), Brian Biggs (Totaradale) and David Ward (Nelson).