124 players from 49 golf clubs throughout New Zealand and Australia enjoyed wonderful weather and playing conditions during this year’s tournament.
The Nelson region is renowned for its fabulous sunshine hours, and we did not disappoint the visitors. Not only did we have sunshine every day, but snow-capped mountains mornings too.
Many of the visitors were here for the first time, and I think it’s safe to say that they were impressed with what we had to offer them in the way of great golf courses and weather.
The tournament committee of Derek & Jeane Drysdale, Euan Milne, Sue Schofield and Allison O’Donnell were thrilled to have a full entry list two months ahead of the event, a terrific compliment to everyone involved. The committee would like to thank everyone who played in the event this year and trust that they will be spreading the word to all their club members on their return to their home courses.
As in previous years, the tournament generated a terrific atmosphere. Everyone was having a fun time, no matter whether their golf was good, bad or indifferent. The clubhouses were full to brimming after each day’s play and the sound of laughter could be heard from a distance.  Tournament Director, Derek Drysdale, is somewhat known for his sense of humour - keeping everyone in jovial mood with his wealth of funny stories!
All three golf clubs involved played their part, as all the courses were presented to a very high standard. The organizing committee received many compliments on the wonderful state of the courses, so all three green keeping teams should be congratulated for their fine efforts.
Thanks also go to Motueka Club President, Peter Johnston and his wife Shona for all their help with the day at their course. Likewise, thanks go to Manager Stuart Anderson and club member, Elaine Allan for arranging all the volunteers at Greenacres Golf Club.
Having that number of people in each clubhouse after play is a daunting task, and the tournament committee would like to extend their thanks to all the catering staff at each golf club, who kept everyone fed and watered to a very high standard. We had a daily prize giving for all four divisions (2 ladies and 2 men’s) with top 4 places in each division collecting a prize.
The Friday evening gala prize giving saw 150 people attend, as we had some non-playing partners and tournament sponsors along as well. Nelson Club caterers, Sophia & Jamie Morris along with their staff presented the gathered audience with a delicious meal before we went on to the major prize giving event.
The evening’s prize giving saw major sponsor TSB Bank, represented by their local manager, Brent Williams, giving out the prizes to the winners. The overall champion golfer for the week was, Greg Ryan from Takaka Golf Club in Golden Bay. Greg had been struggling with his golf in the run up to the tournament, so he signed up for a series of lessons with Nelson professional, Glyn Delany. Glyn’s work obviously paid off as Greg won by a good margin.
The mood throughout the Tournament was particularly buoyant this year proving yet again that the TSB Festival of Golf truly deserves its reputation as New Zealand’s “friendly” tournament.
As with any golf tournament, we could not do what we do without the tremendous support from our sponsors, so please make note of these generous companies, and use their services and products whenever you can:
TSB BANKLTD
NRDA & NELSON CITY COUNCIL
SEIFRIED ESTATE WINES
TAYLOR MADE GOLF
THE LION FOUNDATION
HELLO WORLD TRAVEL, NELSON
MS FORD, NELSON
BLUEBERRY IT, NELSON
SHELLEY CARPPE, MIKE PERO REAL ESTATE, STOKE
FINAL RESULTS FROM THE 2017 TSB BANK NELSON FESTIVAL of GOLF
TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: GREG RYAN, TAKAKA, on 118 points
MEN’S DIV 1:
1. Place: Keith Roberts The Dunes 107 points.
2. Malcolm Buckley Tokoroa 102 points.
3. Philip (Tuk) Sheehan Te Aroha 101 points. 4. Neill Bauld Huapai 101 points.
LADIES DIV 1:
1. Janeyann Boreham Mangakino 101 points.
2. Judith Henderson Southland 94 points.
3. Judy Fullerton Hauraki 94 points.
4. Kat Hall Featherstone 94 points.
MEN’S DIV 2:
1. Paul Peckston Windross Farm 103 points.
2. Mike Tapp Mt Nessing 100 points.
3. Chris de Ridder Boulcotts Farm 99 points.
4. Gary Henderson Southland 98 points.
LADIES DIV 2:
1. Helen Verry Piopio Aria 102 points.
2. Raewyn Bainbridge The Grange 98 points.
3. Jill Harding Fielding 95 points.
4. Idrean Conning Hukanui 93 points.