Putting Tour 2024's March Events

The 3rd putting tour event of 2024 at Kiwiana Leisure Park in Ōtorohanga saw some loyal minigolfers brave some rough conditions, looked like the rain would cause some issues, but thankfully it stayed away.

The course can be really tough at times and can punish any mistake you make, so it rewards consistency, So it was no surprise to see Matt Ansley leading after the 1st round with a 44, Darren Prole was 2 shots back with a 46, and Paul O´Connell in 3rd place with a 50, with 4 players one shot behind on 51.

Matt Ansley and Prole repeated their scores from the 1st round to create a buffer between the rest of the players. Richard Pittam and John Ansley both scored 45s to put themselves back into consideration.
Meanwhile over in the Amateur division Nikki Shaw showing she is one of the top female minigolfers in Aotearoa with another victory with a total of 112, with Angus Shaw in 2nd with 118 and Lyn Wylie in 3rd with a 134.

Back to the Pro Division, Ansley Jr opened the door for Prole to catch him by scoring a 49, but Prole couldn't capitalize and only managed a 50, Pittam caught up a few shots on them by scoring a 47.
With one round to go Ansley Jr held a 5 shot lead over Prole with Pittam one shot further back.
The leading group of Ansley Jr, Prole and Pittam went shot for shot on the first 8 holes, Pittam caught up by 1 shot on hole 9, but Ansley Jr had too much of a lead to be caught, and he had a great final round score of 43, with a 4 round total of 180. Pittam and Prole couldn't be separated so they ending up tying with both scoring a 4 round total of 187.

Well done to James Goatley for finishing in 4th position (known in the NZ minigolf community as the John Ansley position ) in his first tournament at Otorohanga.  Ansley Jr got the win which made it 5 putting tour events in a row which he has won. Can he make it 6 at Prodrive Hamilton?

Special thanks to Aaron at Kiwiana leisure park in Otorohanga for being such a great host.
- PK

Event 4 - Pro Drive, Hamilton

24th March 2024

The fourth event of the 2024 Putting Tour took place at Prodrive Golf in Hamilton in fine weather where 17 players competed in either the Amateur or Pro division. Players made the trip from Napier, Tauranga, Whitianga, Tirau and Auckland along with one local player.

Teams were drawn and Round 1 got underway in a shot-gun start ending with only six strokes separating the only Pro players to shoot in the 40s - Matt Ansley (Auckland) on 41; Richard Pittam (Auckland) on 44 and relative newcomer to mini golf James Goatley (Tauranga) on 45; Darren Prole (Whitianga) and John Ansley (Auckland) on 46 and Cameron Couper (Auckland) on 47. Everyone else was determined to chase the leading bunch!

After two rounds, the Amateur division winners were decided and Angus Shaw (Napier) on 117 managed to pip his wife Nikki (121) at the post to take out #1 position with Lyn Wylie (Tauranga) on 128 taking out third place. Well done to these three players having never played the course before!

After a slight shift in placings in Round 2, the third round produced the lowest score in tournament history at Pro Drive with Matt Ansley (38) toppling James Astrop’s long-standing (6 years) Pro Drive record of 39. Congratulations Matt!

The Pros ended their third round with Matt in first place; Darren (42) in second place and Richard Pittam (43) close behind in third place with the rest of the field chasing hard.

In the final round five players managed to shoot in the 40s with Darren (45) chasing hard to pin down Matt (50). The final result saw Matt take out the competition on 174; Darren on 176; and Cameron on 181.

The Waikato event ended the weekend of mini golf with Matt Ansley claiming first place prize overall; Darren Prole (Whitianga) was second with Richard Pittam third based on lowest round scores over both tournaments of the weekend.

Aces were few and far between for some players but Matt, Cameron, Richard and Paul O’Connell (Hamilton) scored their fair share!

The overall winner of the Amateur division was Nikki Shaw (Napier) followed by husband Angus in second and Lyn Wylie (Tauranga) in third based on lowest round scores over both tournaments of the weekend.

Thanks to the team at Pro Drive for their hospitality; this course being a favourite for many players.
A great weekend of mini golf. We now look forward to Wellington on the weekend of 4/5 May playing at Golf Warehouse in Lower Hutt and Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf in Porirua.
- JA