CELESTE Sattler, one of the organisers of the 2023 Great Western Open, with one of her own golf trophies. FILE PHOTO
PIOPIO-ARIA Golf Club will clear the sheep off the course in time for an upcoming national tournament.
Word has it that Piopio-Aria Golf Club has a unique rule: if you hit a sheep, you get to the take the shot again. That won’t apply this weekend.
Around ten “top New Zealand golfers” will appear in the Great Western Open tournament at the Piopio-Aria golf club on February 4.
Professionals will include Richard Lee, who played on the Japan Golf Tour, and first-time entrant Henry Spring, who plays in the US for the University of Michigan. There will also be many strong amateur players.
The tournament would allow interested locals to learn more about the sport, organiser Celeste Sattler told the King Country News.
“It would give someone the opportunity if they are thinking about [playing] the game… they could walk a couple of holes on the side.”
There would also be opportunities to have questions answered by members up at the clubhouse, she said.
Entries were “already done and dusted”, so interested potential players would need to wait for 2024.
Celeste said the most significant thing about the Great Western Open was its scale, despite being hosted in the tiny community.
“It’s a small rural golf club putting on a tournament and being able to have professionals playing it,” she said. New Zealand’s other big tournaments were almost always hosted by larger clubs.
