Golf: Boy shows nett worth to men

Zac Swanwick (left) and Cosmo Graham who were intermediate men's nett winner and gross runner-up, respectively, at the 72-hole Wairarapa Open last weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor

Every so often a boy steps into a man's sporting domain, leaving his beer-sipping seniors pondering "what-ifs" had they started playing much younger.

Zac Swanwick, of Napier, did just that when he tamed the course at the Masterton Golf Club last weekend to become the nett champion in the intermediate men's grade of the annual Wairarapa Open.

The 10-year-old carded 81, 83, 81, 81 in his four rounds of the 7-15 handicap segment of the 72-hole tournament.

"My putter and my driver worked really well," says Swanwick who boasts a 9.8 handicap.

The right-hander from Napier Golf Club was competing in his second Wairarapa Open after not "doing so well" last year.

The Taradale Primary School Year 6 pupil picked up a club at the age of 4 with encouragement from his six handicapper father, Vinnie Swanwick.

Two years later he was ready to push his boundaries.

"I went to Sharpies [Driving Range in Hastings] where they had an open day," says the youngster who at 7 won his maiden junior competition.

While meeting people and having fun are on his agenda, Swanwick practises three to four times a week in hour-long spells.

His father, and professional Andrew Henare, help hone his skills.

That consistency is prevalent in his junior rounds during the club champs for the member of the Golf Hawke's Bay Junior Academy.

"My goal is to become a professional golfer. I want to play in the par 3 Masters with my dad in America when I'm about 22 years old," he says.

Another Bay junior academy member, Cosmo Graham, was runner-up in the gross division of the Wairarapa Open.

Graham, who competed in the recent Maori Open tourney in Taupo, carded 75, 82, 84, 81.

Vinnie Swanwick says a contingent of Bay amateurs competed in Masterton so such trips away from home offer the youngsters the opportunity to build a rapport.

"They mingle with each other and it's good because they come from different clubs."

For the record, Zac Swanwick, who sometimes eats good food, won a Nutribullet last weekend and will, no doubt, put it to good use.

In the Wairarapa Open section, Brad Truesdale, of Dannevirke, was runner-up.

Fellow Bay senior men's rep, Dallas Williams, was fifth.

Guy Harrison, of Napier GC, was the last day's stableford winner among the intermediate men.