Adcroft won twice in the 1970s, three times in the 80s and in 1990; Collier won from 2008 to 2010, in 2015, 2024 and 2025.
The senior men’s honours board on the clubhouse wall starts at 1965, and since then, no one has won the title more than these two. However, the history before that for a club that dates back to 1936 is a little unclear.
Whatever the history, Collier continues to be a major part of it and added another chapter with what ended up a comfortable 9 and 8 defeat of Bailey Matoe in the 36-hole final after easing past Pete Stewart 5 and 4 in his semifinal.
“I got off to a good start [against Matoe],“ he said. ”Won the first four holes, but once he got going, we had a tight middle period of back and forths.
“After lunch, I threw three birdies at him [and] sealed the deal on the 28th.”
Steve Phillips overcame health issues, history and a warm favourite to become the intermediate men’s champion.
Phillips beat three-time champ Tom Reynolds (2015, 2021, 2023) 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final to add it to the junior title he won in 2023 and the intermediate crown he won at Queens Park club in Invercargill 10 years ago.
Both Phillips and Reynolds played more matches than any other player in the champs. They were 17th and 18th respectively in the 20-man field for qualifying, so had to win play-in matches to make the top 16, where Phillips knocked out No 1 seed Shaun Pahina and Reynolds ejected No 2 Damian Pilitati.
Phillips has ongoing health issues and history was not on his side … he lost to Bo Huhu in the 2018 final and was beaten by Anthony Pahina in the 2020 final.
Phillips won three holes on the trot in the opening nine holes of the 2025 final, but by the halfway mark he led only 1-up.
He was 2-up after 27, won the 28th and after an exchange of holes, Phillips won the 31st.
The pair shook hands on the 32nd after Reynolds had bunker problems.
Mat Greeks rode a rollercoaster in a high-quality junior men’s final that went to extra time.
Greeks overcame a back-nine fightback by Dave Harrison to win on the 19th.
Top qualifier Greeks was cruising at 3-up after nine holes only for 2020 junior champ Harrison to win the next four, including holing out of the bunker for birdie on the 12th.
Greeks won the 15th to square the match, they halved the 16th and 17th, and it was advantage Harrison when he put his second shot on the par-4 18th to 2m from the pin.
Greeks made an up-and-down par after getting into trouble off the tee, but Harrison missed his putt for the title.
The pair played 18 again in sudden death, and a Greeks par earned him his first Park club championship honour.
SUNDAY – Men’s Stableford: G. McKinnon 37, M. Christophers 36, M. Bond 36, L. Hayes 36.
Twos: J. Hayes 2, M. Henwood, G. McKinnon.
COMING UP: THURSDAYS, Novus Glass twilight golf, 3pm to 6pm.
Tolaga Bay’s men’s club champions for 2025 are (from left) Zane Boyle (senior), Tere Lincoln (intermediate) and Dan Maitai (junior).
Tolaga Bay
Zane Boyle capped a sporting year to remember with his first senior men’s club championship title on Sunday.
And he did it in Ryder Cup style … birdies on the 36th hole and first extra hole to beat Bruce Yates in an epic duel.
The year 2025 will be more memorable for 33-year-old Boyle for rugby – the High School Old Boys stalwart racking up his 100th Poverty Bay premier club game for the blue and whites.
But having won a junior club championship at Gisborne Park in 2016 in a family double (father Danny won the intermediate crown that year) and losing on the 19th to Anaru Reedy in round 1 of the Park club champs last month, Boyle was keen to go all the way at his other club, Tolaga Bay.
He had to get through a solid, no-nonsense golfer in Yates to do so. The pair traded blows throughout the match. Yates was 1-up at the halfway stage and led 1-up with one hole to play, only for Boyle to put his approach from the rough to a metre from the pin for a birdie.
That sent them into sudden death, and the big-hitting Boyle pounded his second shot on to the 503m par-5 first green for two and two-putted for birdie and the win.
In a potential repeat of the Boyle 2016 Park double, Danny was in the intermediate final, but his opponent, Tere Lincoln, blew that to smithereens. Lincoln charged to 9-up in the morning round and went on to win 13 and 12.
The junior final was also one-way traffic. Dan Maitai led Gary McLean 5-up after 18, and the pair shook hands on the 27th.
SUNDAY – Stableford: B. Yates 38, D. Maitai 38, Tere Lincoln 35, P. Stevenson 35, Z. Boyle 34.
Twos: Z. Boyle.
Mahia
It has been described as “a passing of a torch” after Wade Wesche took down prolific club champion Pete Bremner on finals day.
Wesche started strong and went on to beat half-centurion Bremner 4 and 2 in the senior men’s final.
The senior women’s final featured two first-timers. The superior composure and consistency of Maraea Wesche saw her beat Lee Steel 4 and 2.
Other finals – intermediate men: Bruce Maher bt Rusty Smith.
Intermediate women: Paipan Denigan bt Elaine Westwood.
Junior men: Bernie Crowley bt Grant Hornblow.
Junior women: Jill Smyth bt Lil Morgan.
Junior B men: Waitama Crowley bt Peter Trow.
COMING UP: SATURDAY/SUNDAY, Nov 1-2, Fiordland Lobster Company Mahia Men’s 36-hole Open, contact Maraea Wesche 027-229-2342 or mwesche@gmail.com
Pretty in pink … Waikohu’s Andrea Reeves and Alexine Reeves were among those who got behind the breast cancer kaupapa at the Birdies for Boobies Women’s Pink Ribbon Golf Tournament at Patutahi Golf Club on Saturday. The players and men helpers dressed up in pink for the pairs event, which was reduced to 12 holes after a hair-raising storm rolled in, complete with thunder and lightning. The overall winners were Electrinet Park members Raukura Chesley and Ash Tuari, and about $1000 was raised.
Pink ladies … a great time was had by all at the Boobies for Birdies fundraising tournament at Patutahi Golf Club, despite the bad weather that rolled in.
Patutahi
The “Green Machine” led from the top in Sunday’s competition.
Club president Tony Green fired 76-11-65 to win the Division 1 men’s net by one shot from Korban Harrison-Allen.
Teenager Hori Hawea slashed five off his handicap index and broke 100 for the first time in winning division 2 with 98-37-61. It followed a 26-point winning haul in the Friday meat pack Stableford.
SUNDAY – Women’s net: D. Johnston 70.
Men’s net, Division 1: T. Green 65, K. Harrison-Allen 66, T. Hindmarsh 68, G. Brown 70, E. Brown jnr 70 on c/b.
Division 2: H. Hawea 61, P. Summersby 68, J.Blair 69. B. Tietjen 69, C. Harris 71.
Eagle: R. Hindmarsh.
FRIDAY – Meat pack 9-hole Stableford, Division 1: A. Nimmo 23, P. Johnston 21, K. Harrison-Allen 21, A. Hindmarsh 20, P. Summersby 20, G. Brown 19, T. Hindmarsh 19.
Division 2: H. Hawea 26, D. Quinn 26, G. Maude 22, B. Tietjen 21, D. Niven 20, D. Dodgshun 19, C. Harris 19, C. Hindmarsh 19 on c/b.
SATURDAY – Birdies for Boobies women’s pairs breast cancer fundraising tournament: Raukura Chesley/Ash Tuari 1st; Shelley Robertson/Sheree Gray 2nd; Maraea Wesche/Lynne Holmberg 3rd; Lee Steel/Paipan Denigan 4th; Wai Miller/Kath McLatchie 5th; Marg Colebourne/Debbie Kirkpatrick 6th; Alexine Reeves/Andrea Reeves 7th.
Birdies: K. Sarich/C. Hindmarsh, W. Miller/K. McLatchie, R. Hiko/V. Kyle.
Approach: R. Chesley.
Long drives: P. Denigan, N. Bezuidenhout.
Twos: R. Chesley/A.Tuari, L. Steel/P. Denigan, A. Reeves/A. Reeves.
Poverty Bay
Summer is coming.
The temperature is rising, and so is the scoring at Awapuni Links, even after recent coring.
John Williams and Dirk Bullivant led the way last week.
Williams won the Division 2 men’s Stableford on Thursday with 94-29-65, for 43 points. It included a 5-point birdie on the 12th and a run of 32 scores over 100, and was his best official round since an 87 in June 2021.
Bullivant also had 43 points in winning the Division 1 men’s Stableford on Sunday. His 76-11-65 was his best round since August of last year.
Second-placed Brent Colbert had four birdies and a triple bogey in his 75-9-66, for 42.
Lee “Pikey” Hewson took consolation in his beloved Liverpool’s wretched recent English Premier League run by winning Division 2 with 93-16-67, for 41.
Bill Simpson (41pts, Saturday), Glen Udall (41, Thursday), Stefan Andreassen (41 and the jackpot of two twos, Thursday), Brian Read (41, Thursday) and Darren Patumaka (40, Sunday) were also in top form over the week.
WEDNESDAY – LGU, silver division: A. Witters 89-18-71, M. Colebourne 90-18-72.
Bronze I: M. Francois 89-20-69, D. Kirkpatrick 97-23-74.
Bronze II: F. Allen 102-32-68.
Twos: J. Muir, F. Bagley.
9-hole net, division 1: S. McLaughlin 29.
Division 2: J. Newman 39.
Putting: S. McLaughlin 18 (div 1), V. Meade 21 (div 2).
MONDAY – Russian roulette women’s pairs winners: M. Shanks/R. Willock 84.
SUNDAY – Men’s Stableford, Division 1: D. Bullivant 43, B. Colbert 42, D. Patumaka 40.
Division 2: L. Hewson 41, R. Chalmers 39, J. Leaf 37.
Twos: J. Finch, D. Croskery, A. White, B. Colbert.
Nearest to pin: J. Finch.
SATURDAY – Men’s Stableford, Division 1: N. Hansen 38, A. Hayward 35.
Division 2: B. Simpson 41, J. Leaf 39, K. Marshall 37.
Twos: D. Bush.
Nearest to pin: D. Bush.
THURSDAY (Oct 2) – Men’s Stableford, Division 1: G. Udall 41, S. Andreassen 41, N. Mackie 38.
Division 2: J. Williams 43, B. Read 41, Reid Fletcher 38, B. Croskery 38.
Nearest to pin: H. Johanson.
Twos: S. Andreassen 2, A. White, H. Johanson, N. Mackie, G. Udall, M. Lewin.
Jackpot: S. Andreassen.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, Eagles Charity Golf Tournament for Halberg Disability Sport Foundation, two-tee start 9am to 10.45am, 18-hole and 9-hole sections, men’s and women’s gross, net and Stableford, team event for Bob Grierson Memorial Trophy, approaches, twos, enter at pro shop.
Te Puia Hot Springs
Ken Lewis doubled his money success-wise in Sunday play.
Lewis won his junior men’s club championship clash against James Forrester jnr on the 18th and his 39 points topped the Stableford.
James Forrester snr moved into the last four of the intermediate men’s club champs with a 3 and 2 victory over Mikaera Aurupa.
SUNDAY – Stableford: K. Lewis 39, I. Ngarimu 38.
COMING UP: SATURDAY, Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust Ambrose Golf Fundraiser, 10am to 12 noon, teams of four (must include one non-golfer), contact Dick Cook 021-371-364.
Waikohu
Blair Crawshaw has yet to show how good he is playing the course forwards … but he certainly knows how to play it in reverse.
The new Waikohu member outshone the field in round 1 of the course backwards competition.
Crawshaw posted 43 points to top the men’s section, six ahead of Tairāwhiti Golf president Peter Hakiwai.
Andrea Reeves and Val Grace compiled 41 points apiece to be the best of the women.
Round 2 is on Sunday.
SUNDAY – Course backwards Stableford, round 1, men: B. Crawshaw 43, P. Hakiwai 37, R. Reeves 35, I. Ruru 35, L. Green 35.
Women: Andrea Reeves 41, V. Grace 41, C. Te Rito 38, E. Wynyard 36.
SUNDAY (Sept 21) – Baty Cup drawn mixed pairs Stableford: I. Ruru/P. Rutene 67, K. Tamanui/E. Wynyard 66, S. Ritchie/A. Tamanui-Nunn 65, P. Milner/A. Reeves 60, R. Reeves/C. Te Rito 50.
COMING UP: SUNDAY, course backwards, round 2.
Veterans
The Ryman Healthcare Gisborne East Coast Veterans’ Open is being held at Awapuni Links from November 19-23.
It is open to men and women players aged over 50.
The men’s competition features a net round on the 19th, followed by handicap matchplay in groups of eight.
The women’s competition is gross, net and stableford over three days.
Entries close on October 13.
Inquiries to GisborneECVGA@gmail.com
