Thursday greeted us fine and mild with just a hint of that winter nip in the air.  The Haggle competition was Hidden Holes, the format was Stableford.  A big turnout of 34 players showed up with new and returning players bolstering our numbers to make up for those who have fallen by the wayside.

The Haggle was split between Front and Back. The Hidden Holes were carefully selected by our very pleasant and accommodating canteen assistant. I’m sure her selection was very impartial.

The Hidden Holes were: Front - 1, 3 & 6. Back - 11, 13, & 15

The Haggle money went to:
Front 9:
Bob Duckworth                            32
Horton Schofield                          28
Allan Hoskins                               27
Francoise Richter Visser              26
Murray Wills                                 25

Back 9:
Phil Stanbury                               31
Bruce Blair                                   28
Mike Holibar                                 27
Frank Baggenstos                        26
Bruce Baggenstos                        26

Raffle prizes were won by:  Vic Sterling, Ken Hartley and Francois Richter-Visser

Next week we return to our 2022 Competition Programme with the first of two Strokeplay rounds.  These rounds are important because they determine the seedings for the Matchplay Competition to follow.  9 Hole members who complete both Strokeplay rounds gain automatic entry into the Matchplay Competition.  Those players who complete only one Strokeplay round go into a draw for any unfilled Matchplay slots.  I will send out more comprehensive information before next Thursday.

Strategic Planning
A working group has been formed to start the process of developing and updating our Strategic Plan.   The group had a really positive workshop with Sport BOP earlier this week.  We have a bit more work to do, then over the next few weeks we will be engaging with the membership to get your thoughts on where we should be going as a club.  This is a plan for everyone, so I encourage all members to engage in the process as we look to the future of our club together.  The group members are: Myself, Christine Millward, Lynda Smith, Ben van den Borst, Vaughan Anderson, Adam Ross, and Hayden Nganeko.

NZ Golf Forum
Myself and several Board members attended a presentation from NZ Golf on Tuesday night.  They had some very interesting insights into how golf is growing and changing.  We are at an exciting time in our sport and club. The new partnership between NZ Golf & BOP Golf seems to offer more suppoort for clubs and hopefully we as a club will benefit from it.  I am keen to engage closely with them and see how they can help us to improve things for everyone.