HBHS Elite Golf Team finish second in New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships

So, so close to the ultimate goal… It has been an outstanding year for the HBHS Elite Golf team. We were undefeated in all exchanges and won the Waikato Intercollegiate champs for the first time in a long time which meant we had the opportunity to represent the district in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Golf Championships.  We met in Nelson on Sunday for a practice round and a team dinner which included 8 boys and a parent. Our top team consisted of Tyler Wood (the HBHS Senior Champion), James Fellows-Ford (Captain of Golf), Sam Brinkworth and Luke Kidd (the HBHS Junior Champion). The competition was over two rounds with the best three scores counting.  The favourites going into the competition were Burnside High School, as they had two of the best girls in the country and they get 2 shots off  due to the slope of the course, as well as Nelson College and St Peter's. Round one was solid for our team, with my favourite moment coming on the first hole of the day with Tyler losing a ball off the tee, then regrouping and getting an eagle with his second ball thus finishing the hole with a par. He went on to shoot the equal lowest round out of the 52 players of 72 and this combined with James on 73 and Luke's 75 gave us a team score of 220 which put us in second place behind Burnside.  Round two was all about who could hold it together in gale-force conditions. We did not cope well but fought to the very end. Tyler showed a lot of character to score 76 and Sam showed why he was in the team with a gutsy 77 after struggling on the morning round. Both James and Luke struggled with the conditions and both carded 81 so we finished with a total of 234 for the second round. It was then a nervous wait to see how other schools would fare. Having Tyler Wood top of the leader board whilst we sat in the clubhouse made the wait a little easier. He was top boy in the field and best overall but because girls get two shots off their actual score we had to settle for second. The final results came in and we were four shots short of winning the National title. For obvious reasons we cannot have girls in our team, but we are even more determined than ever to go back next year and finish that one place better.  I would like to say thanks so much to the boys for making me so proud to be the Teacher in Charge of Golf at HBHS.  All the boys stay on in Nelson now to compete in the New Zealand Under 19, Under 17 and Under 15 stroke play championships, so stay tuned for what I think will be some more outstanding individual results.  I wish all of our boys the very best of luck.  Kia kaha.