Schools Team Visit New Zealand
Last week saw the JNJG Schools Team make their way across the ditch to the land of the long white cloud. It was anything but cloudy! The juniors who made up this years team were: Nathan Barbieri, Xavier Kempton, Stefanie Hall, Brianna Robards, Lachlan Bill, Rhys Ballinger, Kara Williams, Pyper Hollis, Lachlan Jones, Dranza Hawe-De Thierry, June Song and Madeleine Laws-Farrell. Check out a full wrap up of the busy week in New Zealand.
Saturday 10th January
The team arrived in Auckland around 2pm and after collecting the mini vans we headed north towards Orewa and our first stop on the weeklong trip. Our accommodation for the first three nights was the Orewa Beach Holiday Park located on the beautiful Hibiscus Coast, north of Auckland. Upon arrival the team were quick to don their swimsuits and head for the water of Orewa Beach. After an early start the team (actually the managers, Mark and I) were keen for an early night. We headed to Burger Fuel (an iconic kiwi burger joint) for an early dinner and after a quick stop at the supermarket for breakfast supplies it was back to the holiday park.
Sunday 11th January
The sun was up bright and early on Monday and so was the team. After breakfast we departed northbound for our first team match. We stopped in at Te Hana Te Ao Marama Cultural Centre on the way. Here we had a guided tour of a historic Maori village. We learnt a great deal about New Zealand’s indigenous people (Maori) and were taught some of their language. It was certainly an eye opening experience and something most of the team had never seen before.
We continued on our journey north until we reached the Northern Wairoa Golf Club, the host club for our team match against Northland. It was a match play event with a twist. Half of the team played handicap match play while the other half play off the stick. Also different to regular match play the juniors played all 18 holes and were awarded 1 point for winning a hole and 0.5 for halving a hole. Each player’s points were added to a team total and the team with the highest number of points was crowned the winners. This format allowed the players to have a full round on a new course and also to play golf as a team rather than an individual. Schools often have sports teams but most of the time the students don’t see golf as a team sport. This trip gives them the opportunity to travel away as part of a team for the sport that they love.
The day was a stunner and the course was in great shape especially considering they only have one full time green keeper. Due to dry conditions since Christmas the course had dried out quite a bit and so the players had to adapt to the firm fairways. Unfortunately the home team from Northland was just too strong for us and we went down in the match 113 points to 103. Despite the loss we still had an enjoyable day and finished it off with a quick trip to the beach before making our way back to Orewa.
Monday 12th January
We were greeted by another stunning day and luckily enough a little bit of a sleep in. Today was our match against North Harbour at Gulf Harbour. We arrived at the beautiful Gulf Harbour Country Club rearing to go. It is a gorgeous golf course with million dollar views of the Hauraki Gulf and it certainly did not disappoint us. This match was scored a little differently with a win being awarded 2 points while a half gained the player 1 point. Unfortunately we went down to the tough North Harbour team 233-199. The JNJG juniors need to be commended on their efforts on the course because there were a few matches with big handicap differences and no shots being given. It was pleasing to see our juniors put up a great fight against the lower handicapped kiwis.
After another hectic day on the golf course I thought it would be appropriate for the juniors to relax in the afternoon and have some fun at the Waiwera Thermal Resort. We managed to get some great photos of everyone on the water slides and enjoyed the naturally heated pools. Another great day and lots of fun had by the whole team.
Tuesday 13th January
Our time at Orewa had come to an end and after a relaxing start we got on the road to Hamilton and our final destination for the week. We arrived at our hotel just before lunch and got settled in before we headed to the golf courses for our practice rounds in the North Island Under 19 Championships. The girl’s championship was taking place at Ngaruawahia Golf Club while the boys were at St Andrews (Hamilton) Golf Club.
It was a very hot day and we needed to reapply sunscreen often to ensure we didn’t end up like beetroots. After a good look at the course it was time to head back to the hotel for a much-needed dip in the pool and a relaxing evening before the start of the tournament. Mark and I were on cooking duties for the evening but made sure it was the juniors on washing up.
Wednesday 14th January
The girls were off early this morning and made the most of the cooler conditions before the sun made the afternoon another scorcher. It was our very own Stefanie Hall (The Australian) who sizzled on day one with an unbeatable 4 under par 69 to lead the event. The girls played some steady golf with some coming away knowing what they needed to do to play better in their next round. Our youngest member of the team Madeleine Laws-Farrell (Port Macquarie) certainly won in the attitude competition. You could not wipe the smile off her face as she teed it up in her first major championship. It is definitely an attitude that I hoped the rest of the team would adopt for the week.
Over at the boy’s course it was a late start for our juniors so they had to battle not only the course but the weather as well. The sun was beating down on them and they all had to ensure they were well hydrated. Nathan Barbieri (North Ryde) led the charge for our team with a 4 over 76. Despite not getting the results they wanted on day one the boys were certainly learning all about the life of a professional player. Playing different courses and adjusting to different greens was difficult but an excellent opportunity to learn.
Another home cooked meal by Mark and Sheridan meant it was another relaxing evening.
Thursday 15th January
The boys had the early mark today and it was again Nathan who returned the best score for JNJG. A 3 over par 75 meant Nathan made the cut and was heading into the final round. Unfortunately for Xavier, Lachlan B, Rhys, Lachlan J and Dranza this was their final round of the NZ tour but all walked away knowing their golf would benefit from the experience. It also meant that they could get a much-needed sleep in the next day.
Stef Hall continued to fly the flag for JNJG backing up her first round with a fantastic 3 under par 70. Stef now led the Championship by 5 shots with 18 holes to go. A stellar round of 94 for Pyper Holli (Harrington) gave her a phenomenal nett 62!! Luckily at the girls championship there was not cut so all six girls would play on the final day of the tournament.
Mark and I decided to take the team out to St Peters School in Cambridge and visit the golf academy they have on site. It was great to visit the facility and see just how lucky the students are to be able to practice there on a daily basis. While there the team also got the opportunity to looking inside the Velodrome, the home of NZ cycling. It certainly was an amazing facility.
Dinner back at the hotel again and a good rest was needed by all as we headed into the final day of the tournament.
Friday 16th January
Mark and the boys headed out to watch Nathan in the final round at St Andrews while I took the girls out for their final round at Ngaruawahia.
The weather was amazing again as the players headed out. Nathan closed his campaign with another 4 over par 76 to finish the tournament in a tie for 29th overall. After Nathan’s round Mark and the boys came out to watch the girls finish up.
Unfortunately Stef didn’t play as well as she had hoped and her opponent Brooke Hamilton made the most of the day and surged to the lead with a stunning round for six under par 67. It was a great event for Stef and she can be very proud of her runner up placing. The experience is definitely something that will assist her development in the future.
Pyper Hollis fired another excellent round and was crowned the overall Nett Champion. It was also Pyper’s 13th birthday and her win was a great way to celebrate her special day. June Song (North Ryde) finished with her best round over 1 over par 74 which meant she was runner up in the Under 13 division. Kara Williams (Avondale) was the most consistent of our girls with credible rounds of 80,81,80. She was hitting the ball so well and no doubt will move ahead in leaps and bounds after this week.
It was great to see the whole team out there supporting each other on the final day. Their behavior on and off the course was excellent and they represented JNJG with pride. After presentation and a few team photos we decided to stop off for a bit of retail therapy.
To cap of an excellent trip the team went out for a celebratory dinner. After a long week the juniors still wanted to attempt to stay up late to enjoy their last night as a team. Not surprisingly they didn’t last that long as the busy week caught up with most of them. Nevertheless they had an enjoyable time.
Saturday 17th January
Departure Day! With plenty of time up our sleeves it was nice to take our time to pack up and check out of the hotel. We headed back to the shopping centre for some more retail therapy before making our way back north to Auckland.
After dropping the vans off and having some lunch we checked in for our flights and cleared security. We were through with plenty of time so were able to get our last minute souvenirs for friends and family.
Sitting in the departure lounge it was obvious to see it had been a busy week for the juniors but they were all happy and a bit sad that their experience was coming to an end. We landed back in Sydney at 8pm and said our goodbyes before heading home for some much needed rest. I have to say after a week of six girls singing out load in the mini van I was looking forward to a peaceful night at home.
All in all the week was another huge success. Our juniors had a wonderful time but more importantly they learnt a lot from the experience and we hope this assists them in the future golfing endeavors. A special thank you to all of the parents that supported the team. Also congratulations to all 12 of the juniors. You were a great group of golfers to take away and I hope you all enjoyed it and learnt lots. You made JNJG proud and I hope you share your experience in NZ with all our other JNJG juniors.
Sheridan Graham-Tupaea
For a full list of results from the North Island Under 19 Championships click the links below:
Also make sure you visit our Facebook page to see all the photos from the trip!
