FROM THE PRESIDENT
I hope you've had a relaxing Christmas and New Year break and have been able to enjoy some summer golf. The course is looking and playing particularly well, and it's been great to see strong holiday numbers and so many visitors out enjoying what we have to offer. The feedback from visitors continues to be overwhelmingly positive - particularly about the quality of the course, our unique setting among the trees and beside the sea, and the friendly welcome they receive both in the clubhouse and out on the fairways.
The club's 2026 Opening Day was on February 7, with a good turnout playing an American Foursomes. The year is now fully underway, with all regular fixtures back on the calendar and our tournament programme kicking off with the Anchorage Wines Open on Saturday February 21.
During the summer period, Jon Gammon made the decision to step down from the Management Committee. As our inaugural Golf Convener, Jon played an important role in establishing the structure and processes that now support our golf programme, and we thank him for that contribution.
Following his resignation, committee responsibilities have been reallocated. Rex Edwards has taken on the role of Golf Convener, with Paul Hay stepping into the House Convener position. Pete Cederman continues as Grounds Convener, and Chris McGowen remains in the role of Financial Convener.
As we begin the year, the Management Committee's priorities remain clear.
First, delivering a quality golf experience. Supporting our greenkeepers and hospitality team, along with the many volunteers who contribute to the work on the course, is essential to maintaining the quality of golfing we have come to expect at Motueka. The condition and presentation of our course remain at the heart of everything we do.
Second, ensuring that we continue to be a club that people enjoy belonging to and contributing to. A club that new members are proud to join. We don't just want people to join our club, we want members, new and old, to feel a sense of belonging and ownership, to enjoy the golf and to enjoy the company of fellow members.
Third, governance and sustainability. With the new constitution and management structure now established, the Management Committee is sharpening its focus on ensuring that the club is well-managed, financially responsible, and positioned for the long term. Doing that well requires a clear and agreed direction for the future - one that is understood, shared, and supported by the membership.
Talking with members on the course and in the clubhouse quickly confirms what you would expect in any healthy club - we hold a range of views, and at times those views reflect different or even competing priorities. The role of the Management Committee is to represent the whole membership and to make decisions that advance the long-term interests of the club and the widest possible cross-section of members.
To help guide those decisions, the Committee will be actively leading the development of a refreshed Strategic Plan. The work is only just beginning, but our clear intention is to produce a plan that positions the club strongly for the future and reflects what matters most to you - what we should protect, what we should improve, and where we should focus our time and resources. Achieving that will require meaningful input from across our membership, and we look forward to hearing your views as the process unfolds.
A word about our sponsor, and some good news:
NBS Motueka is well known to our members as a long-standing and highly supportive sponsor of the club. As our naming sponsor, their support and commitment to the club's ongoing success is consistently generous.
Last year, NBS introduced a new initiative as part of their sponsorship - the recognition of a Club Member of the Year. This award takes the form of a fully paid annual subscription, a very generous gesture that acknowledges outstanding contribution to the club. The inaugural recipient of this membership subscription was Barrie Walker.
This year the Club Member of the Year is Shona Johnson. Shona's contribution touches almost every corner of our club. Out on the course, in the clubhouse, working with our staff, ordering supplies, sorting out the many practical jobs that keep things running smoothly for us all, Shona's commitment is always unfailing and generous. The award is a very fitting recognition of her willingness to step forward, contribute time and skills, and support the club wherever needed. Congratulations Shona!
And lastly from me, a word of caution:
Recently, members of another golf club in our region were stopped and breath-tested as they were leaving their club. Unfortunately, a number were found to be over the legal limit. While this has had obvious consequences for those members, it has also resulted in the club's liquor licence coming under review.
On a hot afternoon after a long round, it's easy to follow one nice cold beer with another. If you think you may have had one more than intended, please do yourself - and the club - a favour and don't drive home. Our car park is covered by cameras, so leaving your vehicle overnight is a sensible option. Arrange a lift with a friend or take a taxi. Dave and Linda are very happy to phone one for you, and the club will even subsidise the fare by $5.00 to help ease the cost.
Enjoy the clubhouse and the camaraderie - just make sure you get home safely.
Ron Noordijk
Club President
FROM OUR GREENKEEPERS
The work we carried out adjacent to No 3 green late last year with the removal of trees, is slowly working and we can already see recovery of the green. Maintaining the green has also become less problematic.
In a similar vein we now plan to proceed with the felling of up to 4 redwoods on the left of No 16 near the big blackwood which have been impacting/shading the green and causing damage, which we are sure you have all noticed. Our contracted arborist (and new member) Tainui Kotua will be undertaking this work in the next few weeks, weather permitting. We will endeavour to limit any impact on play while the work is being carried out, but Health & Safety may restrict movement around the trees in question. Restrictions, if any, will be well marked.
The fairways have held up pretty well during the hot weather, apart from No 16, and despite the large amount of rain that has fallen on the course. We are hopeful that the Autumnal growth will cover some of the bare patches that have materialised.
Currently we are exploring options for the screening of sand. You will likely have heard, and perhaps even been annoyed/distracted, from time to time by the banging of the front end loader on the sand screen adjacent to the No9 fairway. Being able to continue with this method is drawing to a close and we are looking at alternatives which will be more effective and improve the quality of the sand in our bunkers and on our greens. This will hopefully see the last of most of those annoying little stones we find our greens and your putts will run straighter too.
FROM THE GOLF CONVENOR
It's been a pretty busy start to the year with the course well filled with green fee players and members alike. It was most pleasing to see the uptake in the use of the tee booking system and general compliance with the "All off No1 Tee" requirement. It appeared to make a much smoother and pleasant playing experience for all.
The annual NBS Motueka Open kicked off our Open Tournaments for 2026 and was by all accounts most successful. There were 188 entries, the course was presented in excellent condition, the catering was outstanding and with strong volunteer support tournament operations ran smoothly.
Approximately $14k in prizes were distributed to the lucky prizewinners, with the majority of the prizes either purchased or in-kind coming from local retailers. There is little doubt the success of this, our Premier tournament, was due largely to Sharon McGeown whose steady hand, unflappability and previous experience were put to good use. Well done Sharon!
Our Ladies have had a bit of a stuttering start to their new season, with rain stopping play on consecutive Tuesdays impacting on their planned Opening Day. 9 Hole ladies completed their Summer Trophy competition with Lynne Hardie, Linda Chew and Colleen Irwin winning.
On Saturday 28 February we are scheduled to run the New World Mug Medal and LGU for Ladies plus we will host the District Left Handers tournament. Previously, when we have done this it has resulted in a long day of golf. In an attempt to ease the pressure, we will as a once only, offer a morning tee off (8am) for Mug Medal and LGU. If we can get upwards of 30 members starting at the earlier time, this should make afternoon playing numbers more like a normal Mug Medal/LGU even with the inclusion of the Left Handers.
We have some interesting golf in prospect.
On Sunday 8 March the second Kiwis vs Rest of the World will be played.
On Saturday 14 March we have scheduled a Greenkeepers Challenge. This quote from the web of all things probably sums up what might be in prospect for us. "Golf is hard enough, but if you want to make it harder, find yourself a Greenkeepers Revenge Tournament." Well, we have found one and some willing Greenkeepers to make it memorable.
The next day on Sunday 15 March we will host the Rotary Club of Motueka Ambrose Tournament to raise funds for the Motueka Aquatic Centre Project. The tournament is limited to 32 teams, and already 20 slots have been filled. Details on our Open Tournaments page if you are interested.
Then make sure you have your diary marked and your pairs sorted for the Motueka Foursomes on Saturday 21 March. A fun tournament, with great sponsors and excellent prizes.
FROM THE WOODIES
Another busy month for us. Our aim was to start working our way round the course removing low hanging branches, processing firewood and delivering orders. However, Mother Nature had other ideas, and our priority had to change to removing fallen branches from the course! They have been falling with regular monotony. We had a large branch fall out of a Willow between the 15 and 18 fairways. Then a second Willow, not 30 meters away, decided to go one better and dropped two of its branches the following week!
One of the advantages of the regular rain we have been getting is that the natives we planted along the right of the 10th fairway in May last year are doing really well with most of them poking their heads well above the protective covers. We think they will make a great feature of the course in another year or so.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
In the next week or so you will be receiving your invoice for the 2026/27 season subscriptions. (you can find the table of subscriptions on our website in the Members Area) Please remember that your subs must be paid by 31 March and you must be displaying a shiny new yellow bag tag to show that you are financial. The tags will be available from the Clubhouse staff, once you have paid your subs and our staff will be checking for non-payers/displayers from 1 April.
If you wish to take the option of paying by instalments then please contact Rex on subs@motuekagolf.co.nz with your preferred plan (ie weekly, fortnightly or monthly) Subscriptions being paid on instalment must by fully paid by 31 August this year.
If you are not going to renew please let Rex know asap. He prefers not to do unecessary work.
RULZ RULZ RULZ
There are 24 Rules of Golf but countless sub-sections, clauses and exceptions. For most of us there are far too many to remember without reference to a rule book either in hard copy or on-line. However, we should all have a fundamental knowledge of the rules to ensure fair play and maybe even help toward winning that haggle. The R&A has structured their rules education program into four levels. Until recently, Golf clubs ran their own Level One course, which covers the most commonly occurring rules situations, before it was moved on-line. What we have found since is that fewer and fewer members are bothering to study the rules so that the level and understanding is becoming quite diluted.
Starting on Monday 30th March, we are running a basic information rules course which will be held in the Clubhouse. Kevin Armstrong, our resident Rules expert, has offered to take the course. So, if you are involved anyway in running our golf competitions or just want to gain a basic understanding of the Rules of Golf, this course is for you. There is no charge, there is no exam and its just three consecutive Mondays. Further details will be provided by email in March.
LOCAL RULES
While we have your attention on the Rules we wanted to let you know that we have established a Rules Committee whose purpose is to:
1. Ensure that the Rules of Golf are applied correctly and consistently at the club.
2. Be responsible for establishing the Club's Local Rules and setting competition
conditions.
3. Promote understanding of the Rules of Golf among members.
The first task of the Rules Committee was to confirm the Local Rules, which are now displayed on the notice board adjacent to the Matchroom entrance and are as follows:
Note: These Local Rules supercede any Local Rules printed on the scorecards provided by the Club
1: OUT OF BOUNDS
1.1:Out of Bounds is defined by White Stakes at the edges of the Course except for on the right of the 12th hole, where Out of Bounds is defined by the wooden fence posts in the fence on the outside of the ditch running down the right of the hole.
1.2:A ball played from a hole on one side of Harbour Road which crosses Harbour Road and comes to rest on a part of the Course on the other side of Harbour Road is Out of Bounds.
2: YOUNG TREES
Young trees identified by stakes are no play zones. If a player's ball lies anywhere on the course and it lies on or touches such a tree or such tree interferes with the player's intended stance or area of intended swing the player must take relief under Rule 16.1.f.
3: PLACING
When placing is in force if any part of a player's ball touches part of the General Area cut to fairway height or less, or any Teeing Area, the player may take free relief once by placing the original ball or another ball within one club length and no nearer the hole than its original position.
4:GROUND UNDER REPAIR
The following areas are Ground under Repair from which relief may be taken under Rule 16.1b provided the player's ball lies in the General Area:-
4.1:Any area defined by white lines or marked with a GUR sign.
4.2:Any area where drainage work has been undertaken or where a tree stump has been removed or covered and where the place in which the player's ball lies has not been fully repaired to or fully recovered to the condition of turf in the immediately surrounding area which has not been subjected to such works.
4.3:Broken ground resulting from root trenching.
4.4:The practice bunker next to the practice chipping green (which is deemed to be in the General Area).
5:PERMITTED PRACTISE AREAS (STROKE PLAY)
Rule 5.2b is modifed to permit practise where such practise would otherwise be forbidden before or between rounds from the following areas:-
5.1:The designated practice area between the 1st green and 18th fairway; and
5.2:The practice putting green including an area of five metres surrounding the practice putting green; and
5.3:The practice chipping green including an area of ten metres surrounding the practice chipping green (this includes the practice bunker).
6: RELIEF FROM AERATION HOLES
For a period after greens have been aerated if a player's ball lies in or touches an aeration hole on a Putting Green the player may take relief under Rule 16.1.d. The implementation and duration of this temporary local rule will be determined by the green keeper and its enactment will be displayed outside the Match Rooms.
NEW AND RETURNED MEMBERS
We welcome the following new and returned members to our club. I know that you will make them all very welcome.
Full Playing: David Cairns, Dom Cole, Sam Gordon, Mike Hannaway, Luke Marsden, Geoff Moffett, Edward Morris, Jamie Peterson, Brad Sturgeon, Andrew Young
9 Hole: Aaron Smith, Adrienne Thompson, Shannon Thompson
Junior: Kaleb Elisara, Jack Gregge, Bryce Harden, Zeke Mannering, Baxter Marsden, Cooper Marsden, Calix May-Bouffandeau, Josephine Peterson, Penelope Peterson, Claudia Warner
Summer: Anna Greer, John Greer, Hilary Jaeger, Beth Kavanagh, John Kavanagh, Margaret Kavanagh, Liz & Alan Maiden, Patrick Meikle, Christopher Thurrott, Steve Vessey, Suzanne Vessey
Country: Matt Barnes, Donna Brooke-Taylor, Matthew Brooke-Taylor, Tom Nelson, Gary Spence, Shirley Wisnewski
She Loves Golf: Megan Blair, Marcela Bloomfield, Rebecca Kristoffersen, Carolyn Steele
Social: Jenny Smith
© Motueka Golf Club
