"currently battling with my dear friend, the Silverstripe CMS" - 18 hours ago
"is thoroughly relaxed at another Irish farmhouse B&B, this time one run by a character and a half, Sharon Moore.... http://fb.me/Fd1zVe5z" - 1 day ago
"Is this the Nellie bunker you were talking about mate? Safely avoided I'm pleased to report http://fb.me/EHAvCmyU" - 2 days ago
Well what a day it has been, an amazing way to wrap up our first NZ leg. Today, quite simply, was the story of one man's generosity - and that man is Roy Boquiron. I'll get to Roy in a minute.
I should say first that our good mate, Ace - who charitably lent us his car for the past 50 days - got up at the crack of dawn to drop us across town. He also made a second trip across town, later in the day, after I left a few clothes hanging up at his place. A good friend indeed.
We arrived at Roy's house around 645am, to meet our new friend over a big kiwi breakfast, the perfect preparation for our golf at The Grange (of which Roy is a member, both of the club and of the committee). Roy contacted us some weeks ago to pass on his best wishes for our journey, and to ask whether we'd like to join him and his son - William - at The Grange during our Auckland leg. I remember being quite blown away by the enthusiasm and kindness in that original email, but even that could not have prepared me for the inspiration Michael and I have drawn from this chap today.
Roy's auntie and mother-in-law rustled up a sublime fry up, which lined hungry stomachs handsomely, and probably added another inch to my expanding waistline. Roy, Mike and I then made our way a few minutes down the road to The Grange, for an 8am tee time. We met up with Roy's good friend, Raybert (who after 5 minutes became just 'Ray') and were introduced to various of the local sheriffs - including the starter, the club captain and the pro. A south westerly was blowing pretty viciously across the course, and after a restless night's sleep I questioned how competently I would acquit myself in front of our new friends. Promisingly, I knocked my first tee shot straight down the middle, some 50 metres or so short of the green. Needless to say it all went downhill from there.
Roy and Ray are of Filipino extraction, and both have amazing stories to tell about how they ended up here. Ray wasn't meant to be joining us, but thankfully answered the last minute call when Roy's son William had to pull out due to school commitments. It was great that he did, because R & R fed off each other the whole way around. They are obviously great mates, and play a bit of golf together. In fact, both are members of the local Filipino Golf Society, which plays an annual Ryder Cup against their Wellington expat counterparts (as well as various warm up matches against, e.g., Thais, Vietnamese, Japanese). It's serious stuff! Roy's the President, and from what I hear he has introduced some discipline into preparations for what in the past has been a somewhat more 'social' event. He even sits down with each member of the 14 strong team (give or take) and talks through with them how they'll play each and every hole of the two courses on which the tournament is held. I don't think I've ever met someone so methodical.
Within 2 years of taking up the game - in his forties - Roy got down to a 7 handicap. Because that was his goal. He breaks the game down into compartments, and devotes each attention on a rotational basis. Driving; iron play; chipping; and putting. Mike and I couldn't help but be impressed. Roy backed it up on the course too, and (now on a 14 handicap, after falling ill last year) was 3 over at the turn. Which was a good few shots better than us. It was a real pleasure seeing a guy so thrilled to be out on the course enjoying himself, the fruits of his systematic labour clearly paying off. Ray played some effortlessly graceful golf too. And it got me thinking: these chaps don't hit the ball half as hard as we do, but they hit it a dam sight straighter. Maybe there's something in that? (A rhetorical question...)
The Grange itself was a strong course. It's tight. When the wind's blowing, and you're playing off the blues, it's even tighter. And the greens were pretty quick too. So we had our work cut out to make a decent score; but having said that our Filipino mates were tearing it up, so there were no excuses. I had particular difficulty on the par 3s, which are pretty dam tough. One of them - ironically one of the two I scored a par on - was nigh on impossible for a punter like me that plays a strong draw/hook. Tall pines form a natural chute through a rising gully to a narrow green surrounded by bunkers. The pin was on the far right; the wind howling from the right. Chances of Jamie hitting it on the green (with a 4 iron): NIL. A downhill bunker shot to 25 feet and a putt, though, was enough. Phew.
Roy and I won the haggle on the 15th, 4&3. My friend deserves the lion share of the credit, with his outstanding front nine setting up the victory. Poor Mike and Ray didn't know what hit 'em. I also managed to beat Mike again, with 31 points to his 27. (Roy presented him with his Weetbix later in the day, and enjoyed witnessing our daily ritual).
After the golf we retired - battered and bruised by the elements - to the plush clubhouse at The Grange for a nice lunch with Roy, some of his mates and the club captain, Phil. Great toasted sandwiches (kindly purchased by Roy on our behalf)!
Then came what was perhaps the most memorably part of the day, for me. Roy invited us back to his house for afternoon tea (I forget the Filipino term he used for it), over which we waxed lyrical about pursuing one's goals, contributing to society and all things in between. A couple of hours of philosophising to remember. It would be inappropriate of me to share publicly what Roy undoubtedly shared in confidence - suffice to say he's an incredibly intelligent, open, encouraging and generous man, and we were utterly inspired by his approach to life.
One of Roy's current goals - which I can share - is to play the Old Course at St Andrews. After being told by his mates that it's impossible to get on there (what with the ballots and everything they have there), Roy made it happen. Carpe diem, is his motto (embossed on his personal stationary, no less). On August 6 Roy will pick up his sticks and tee off on the famous links; and on the 18th he'll get his photo taken walking across the Swilken Bridge. We are very excited for him, and can't wait to hear about his experience.
I could go on about memories of today, but it's late in the evening and I've got an early flight to catch. To Sydney. To begin the next leg of our odyssey.
Day 50 has been an incredible day. As I said earlier, for me I will always remember it as the day we met Roy Boquiron, one of life's genuinely good people. And his friend, Raybert. The pair have pledged their support for us, and have each donated a dollar to The First Tee for every course we played this year. It has been a privilege to spend our last day in NZ with them. No doubt our paths will cross again; hopefully they'll be available to play at one of the events we hold in December upon our return home.
Thanks also to The Grange for hosting us today - a very challenging course, and a welcoming club too.
The alarm's going to go off in 4 hours 40 minutes, so it's time to bid you farewell, and finish my packing.
See you on the other side of the ditch...
With our Australian leg looming - and plenty to sort out before we hop on a plane Saturday morning - it was nice today to have a low key one. Just the 9 holes. All of which were par 3s. Most of which were pretty short. Nice.
The morning was spent sorting our lives out - writing to golf courses in the US, running errands, and the like. Driving around Auckland in 100% humidity provided its own challenges, and tested the limits of my patience. How do the locals cope? I swear the washing hung out this morning had absorbed, rather than shed, water throughout the day. Bring on that dry Aussie heat.
At The First Tee we hooked up with Shane and Stu, a couple of the coaches, who joined us at next door Firmount for a hit. They're both pretty handy. Very handy, in fact. And top guys too. On our way around they shared a few of their experiences at The First Tee, and gave us a better understanding of how the program runs at a micro level. Shane and Stu are passionate lads, and it's pretty inspiring hearing them talk about what they teach. There was a sincerity in their words that I wouldn't have thought comes through when many speak about their work.
Stu and I won the haggle, 2up. Mike lost the puregolf2010 haggle too, with 31 shots to my 28. Because the course was short, we managed a few birdies too (M:1; J:3), to keep the counter ticking over. (This is one of the counters that will appear on our soon to be constructed stats page - keep an eye out for it).
After walking off the 9th we dropped our clubs and joined in with a lesson. These particular kids had only recently come into the program, and were about 7-10. What struck me initially - and this is something that still sticks in my mind - is how proficient these wee fellas were at introducing themselves. Without a shadow of hesitation they came up, one by one, to shake hands; look me in the eye; and tell me their name. Pretty incredible really. If only I had been so courteous as a wee tyke...
Stu then took the kids next door to the range, to hit a few balls. The group decided they would hit 2 balls each, then rotate; and that's what they did - no gripes, moans or arguments. Two deliberate blows and then some encouragement for their mates. One or two were particularly forthcoming in telling me about their (limited) golfing experiences, and about themselves generally. A wee chap by the name of Conor (whose name my brother shares) was especially chatty.
In the classroom - where they played "Who Wants to be a Millionairre" - the good behaviour uncannily continued.
It's now late in the evening, and the rain is pouring down. The wind is howling too. And in the morning we're getting up at the crack of dawn to play our last round in New Zealand.
We have had another good day playing at Akarana golf club. The members and management welcomed us to their course and kindly raised $230 for The First Tee NZ. Pretty awesome stuff from the "most social golf club in Auckland".
Akarana is a fine course. We have heard it is very boggy in the winter, but today it played as a very solid course. Had a few great par threes with water hazards around the greens. And a number of challenging par fours, particularly the stretch 13 thru 15. The course was in good nick so congrats goes out to the greenstaff.
Fortunate enough to play with Geoff Burns and Peter Williams today from the First Tee NZ board. Apologies to Geoff for losing the match, and having him suffer the consequence of chowing down on a couple of weetbix.
Check out the short video below: a final 'farewell' NZ video will follow tomorrow so stay tuned!
The Muriwai links, west of Auckland, is renowned as a pretty stern test of links golf. The course is a tale of two halves in my mind. The front nine is open and sparse and there is very little trouble, either tee to green or around the flat greens. It is a nine that is very much subject to the wind, which meant that on a calm day like today it was uncharacteristically easy. The scoring on the front nine reflected the benign conditions. In particular from one of our playing partners, Robert, who shot a spectacular 34 (2 under par) off a 10 handicap. Epic.
Rob’s golf also combined well with JP and it was a tough ask for Craig Batty (our other playing partner) and I to keep up. By way of introduction, Craig is a good guy and golfing enthusiast that we met while in Christchurch. He is in the insurance game and has the flexibility to get out for a round or two of golf midweek which is the way to go! Both Craig and Robert are proud members of Titirangi where Craig is also a member of theit an interclub (pennants) team. This matchplay experience proved handy as we turned to play the 10th hole 5 down…
The back nine was much more challenging with tee tree and scrub catching misdirected shots and more undulations on and around the greens. This nine is set amongst the sand dunes and is more of a typical links. Shots to elevated greens, shutes off the tee between the sand dunes and gnarly pot bunkers made it a better test of golf.
The standard of golf remained high on the back nine, but the format we played - best ball, but second ball counts if it is a tie - made a comeback easier for Craig and I. We quickly started gnawing away at the lead and by the 17th had it back to 1 down. At that stage our combined score for the back nine was level par, with Jamie and Robert not too far behind. Then Craig came to the fore, sinking a 12 footer to keep the match alive on the 17th, and then an incredible double breaker for birdie on the last to win that hole and halve the match. High fives all around. And no weetbix punishments for the match.
I think that playing golf with guys who are scoring really well makes you compete with them and subsequently score better. That was the case for both Jamie and I at least until the last when I bottled it for a triple. The scores ended 78(38 points) and 83 (34 points).
Final thoughts on Muriwai are that I would love to play it again in the wind to get a better feel. It has some awesome holes, like the 100m par three 17th sitting on the highest point on the course and completely subject to the elements. And the 13th where you hit to a narrow and elevated green with three tiers and trouble both sides. The course was very green and the kikuyu grass was very spongy which made it not play like a typical hard and fast links. There were good sandy and scrubby lies off the fairway which required some creativity, particularly around the greens. But for me, the course could have been much better – it does not capitalise on the natural terrain enough, particularly to give it the wow factor around the ocean, the par fives all run the same direction (a pet peeve of mine) and there are few holes that require decisions off the tee – there are no risk reward par fours or ‘three shot’ par fives. That said, I think Jamie rated it as one of his favourite in the country.
The day ended with a good chat on the drive home, and a very nice meal with Geoff and Jill Burns where the banter for tomorrows round begun..
M
This morning started promisingly with a meeting with Air NZ at the coffee shop underneath their flash offices in downtown Auckland. Hopefully another convert to the puregolf story, and potentially they could be a real help in overcoming the logistical (and financial) challenge involved with our year. Touch wood.
The golf today was at North Shore golf club. North Shore is unique in that is has 27 holes separated into three different nines, and any two of the nine holes can be combined depending on the day and the mood of the green staff. Today we played two nines which together formed the “Red course”. The golf was slow and combined with my less than bubbly mood, the opening holes seemed quite tedious. It was no surprise then that my frustrations flowed through to my putting and a number of three putts did neither the score, or the mood, any favours.
However, we were on the golf course and a mighty fine golf course in that so it only got better as the round went on. A couple of long putts always help – a relatively easy task when the greens are running at a good speed like today.
On the 10th tee we were joined by two affable chaps, Alan and John. Both these guys have been members of North Shore golf club for at least as long as I have been alive, so their local knowledge did not go amiss. By this stage JP and I were both starting to hit the ball with some (but not a lot of) conviction so our haggle (JP and I against the locals) was always going to be a close one. John just about made eagle on the 10th (with a shot) and things were looking ominous. John continued to play like a dream and hit it really well to break 80 off a 13 handicap – great golf. But Jamie and I stayed there or thereabouts (largely thanks to Jim’s play) and I managed to sink a four footer on the last to halve both the haggle with the locals and the stablefords for the day against Jamie. So there were no weetbix consumed today! scores 84/85 for 32 points each.
North Shore golf club impressed me today. There are some interesting holes wandering around the river and a few lakes that keep the ball manufacturers in a job. The fairways, greens and bunkering were all in great condition – which for me is starting to become a must for any course in the top bracket. One hole was particularly gnarly – the par 4 15th measuring in at 430+m off the black tees. It did not help that when we stood on the tee today it was pouring with rain (and without my wet weather gear I was drenched).
The day finished with dinner at distant relatives of mine, two of whom I had not met, but live a mere 5 minute walk from where we have been staying in Auckland. We had a beautiful dinner (featuring kiwi lamb and some spectacular chocolate meringues) with Tony, Shona and Bill. We traded notes with Bill, particularly re Royal Auckland which he has been playing around for many many years. It is pretty inspiring that at 90 he still gets out once a week and scores ‘about 100’. Tony has been involved with Millbrook so it was interesting to hear some thoughts that have been behind the developments there.
Finally, whilst on the family note, it has been great to have spent a couple of days with my Auntie Jane and Sarge, along with my folks and Jo (lil sis) who travelled to Auckland for a couple of nights to join in the puregolf experience. I think that the olds saw puregolf as just a big yarn when I first talked about it with them back in October but now they are some of our biggest supporters. Both mum and dad are avid golfers and it was cool for them to see what we get up to, how we get received at the various golf courses, and all the admin that goes on behind the scenes. The family thing will continue this coming week as we head into Sydney. In the meanwhile it was goodbye to the olds for another year or so, but you will be pleased to know I endeavored to ‘keep in touch’.
Mike
Shinnecock
auckland dodgy donald ross links mackenzie melbourne mornington mornington peninsula new york queensland rain royal sandbelt scotland sunshine coast sydney the first tee tpc us open wow
