NZ Mini Golf Open 2023 Results

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33 minigolfers of all skill levels teed off at The Golf Warehouse mini golf course in Lower Hutt on Saturday to compete in the 7th New Zealand Mini Golf Open.

Players came from Napier, Tauranga, Whitianga, the greater Auckland and Wellington regions, and as far south as Timaru (South Canterbury Mini Golf Champs winner Michael Broadhead) to compete in the Pro Womens/Mens (8 rounds), Amateur Womens/Mens (3 rounds), Senior (3 rounds), Youth (2 rounds), and Mixed Pairs (2x2 rounds) categories.

The NZ Mini Golf Open, organised by the New Zealand Mini Golf Federation, was also the penultimate event on the World Mini Golf Federation’s (WMF) World Adventure Golf Tour (WAGT), with the overall “Pro” winner qualifying for the WAGT final to be held at Bowling Brno in Czech Republic, April 2024.

The Course

Golf Warehouse’s mini golf is based on 18 famous holes from around the world and a more “adventure golf” style course with hills and slopes instead of the more novelty styled courses. The WMF categorises these under the Minigolf Open Standard (MOS). The venue was freshly landscaped in 2022 and turf re-laid by Golf Technologies Ltd to make it one of the top mini golf courses in the Wellington region. Par is normally 54, with most holes a par 3, although for the purposes of the World Adventure Golf Tour, each hole is treated as par 2 (total 36.)

Amateur and Pro: Rounds 1-3

Saturday’s weather delivered sunny but windy play, with youth winner Hunter Broadhead (Timaru) putting 90 after two rounds (18 over par) and in second place, Hamish Kerr (Wellington) on 99 (27 over par).

Ian Forsyth and Milan Vidovic (Wellington) took the cup for mixed pairs champions by a good margin with a combined score of 189. In second place was Rochelle and Alan Swinn (Paraparaumu) on 275 and 3rd place went to Nikki Shaw and Angus Shaw with 280.

After three rounds, Golf Warehouse’s own George Goodwin (Wellington) took first place Mens (125, 17 over par), followed very closely by Brayden McDonald (Lower Hutt) on two strokes more (127, 19 over par) and Kyle Krievs (Wellington) in 3rd place on 132 (24 over par). The Women’s division saw Emi Steedman (Lower Hutt) of the Wellington Mini Golf Club winning with 137 (29 over par), separated only by a single stroke from fellow club member Rochelle Swinn (Paraparaumu) on 138 (30 over par). In Senior, Shane Eagar (Carterton) took out 1st place with 131 (23 over par) and Angus Shaw in 2nd place with 139 (31 over par.)

The Pro Divison: Rounds 5-8

The Pro Division continued into Saturday afternoon for a further two rounds, before starting round 6 on Sunday morning. The overnight weather changed the course and most of Sunday’s mini golf was played in rain and northerlies.

Despite the downpour, spirits were still strong: tough competition and a suspenseful final round between Cameron Couper (Auckland), Matt Ansley (Auckland) and James McCarthy (Auckland) culminated in only a single stroke separating the top two placings. After the full 8 rounds of mini golf, Cameron Couper (Auckland) won first place as the New Zealand Mini Golf Open 2023 Pro Mens and Overall champion with 296 (8 over par) and 2nd place Matt Ansley (Auckland) on 297 (9 over par), followed by 3rd place winner James McCarthy (Auckland) with 301 (13 over par). 4th overall winner was Darren Prole (Whitianga) on 308 (20 over par) and 5th place James Goatley (Tauranga) with 309 (21 over par). 2023’s Pro Women’s winner is Faye Ansley on 325 (37 over par).

Cameron’s win this year extends his 1st place streak to three - winning each Mini Golf Open Pro division since 2021, and also marks his fourth win of the title from his first back in 2019.

Day 1 & 2 on-demand coverage available on the WAGTour YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@wmfworldadventuregolftour/streams

Full results are available at https://www.wmfwagtour.com/scores

The New Zealand Mini Golf Federation is proud of the excellent sportsmanship and passion shown by all players and congratulates all winners from the weekend, this year’s mini golf events, and we look forward to more New Zealand mini golf in 2024.