MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Mangawhai Golf Club celebrates 40 years in styleMORE IMAGES AVAILABLE HERE!WORDS/MIKE HOWARD
PHOTOS/MELODY TITO As much as an anniversary, it could well be seen as a reunion. Five months ago, the Mangawhai Golf Club 40th Anniversary organising committee starting scratching heads. The challenge? How best to celebrate their first 40 years. Thanks to an army of volunteers, it all came to fruition on October 12. Mangawhai – the real East Coast gateway to Twin Coast Discovery – welcomed a very special guest in Sir Bob Charles on his first visit to the area and Greg Turner, another NZ golfing icon. By mid-morning Saturday both guests were being introduced to their playing groups and also spending precious moments signing gloves and answering enthusiastic questions from young players, who were simply in awe. Sir Bob played a superb 18 holes. For part of his round he played with fellow leftie club member Don McLean. Don had been there in 1963 when Sir Bob won The Open Championships. He also played with the Club’s oldest regular player, Colin Carley. Meanwhile Greg Turner teed off with the clubs number one player, Scotty Wightman. In the same group was member John Merrick, who happened to meet Greg years ago and ended up having dinner with him during one of Greg’s European Tour events. Later over drinks Greg was introduced to Ray Snooks, a current member who had played on the European and Australasian tours as a pro in the early 70s. Ray had finished 8th in an Italian Open. Coincidentally Greg won the Italian Open in 1993 – the same weekend as three other Kiwis won international golfing events around the globe. The decorated clubhouse looked sensational and the anniversary atmosphere was buzzing as arrivals renewed old acquaintences. The first of the speeches began with club patron Jim Wintle recounting the colorful early life of the golf club and its evolution to a top 20 ranked course today. New Zealand Golf CEO Dean Murphy followed local identities Diane Dunlop and Claudia Dawson to the microphone. With a beautifully presented dinner out of the way the feature of the big event commenced. Sidestepping likely tedium of more speeches, Michael Glading – longtime caddy for Sir Bob, and NZ Open tournament director – hosted a delightful and insightful question and answer session with Sir Bob and Greg Turner, both regaling stories and offering compelling insights and engaging much laughter to a captivated audience. The guests answer questions from the floor, with one of Mangawhai’s favorite sons, Ted McDougall, a former world amateur champion, chipping in from the sidelines. An accolade too for the three-remaining Founding Committee members and all their colleagues. The joy the event brought them, their friends and all members on the night will resound for a long time. The following morning, with volunteers commencing clean-up, those involved found time to reflect on how a small group of like-minded and committed, positive people together with their expanded group had exceeded their wildest dreams. Did it really happen? It most certainly did. It was a great experience, created locally. A wonderful event created from that ‘moment of madness’ five months earlier. |