It wasn't a great weekend as far as the playing conditions and the results went, but Northland's top female golfers were glad of the competition at the annual quadrangular held at the Whangarei Golf Club.
Northland's eight-strong squad didn't win any of their matches over the weekend against provincial powerhousesAuckland, Waikato or North Harbour, who among them have won the past four Toro Interprovincial tournaments.
Northland veteran Sam Dangen, who played at No 3, said that while they didn't manage a win they did get a pretty good idea of where they need to be if they want to be competitive when they go to Dunedin to play at the national tournament starting on December 11.
"It's a good tournament for us in many ways as we get to play three of the top teams in the country, who always finish at the top at the interprovincials, and that helps to give us an idea of where we sit and where we need to go with our golf," Dangen said.
The tournament began on Saturday with a match against Auckland, the eventual winner of the tournament.
With many of the players nearing the end of their matches, a torrential downpour sent players scampering for cover and resulted in a lengthy delay.
After the rain eased, a few of the individual matches went to the 18th but only the team's juniors Jodi McAlister, at four, and Brooke Kingi at eight halved their matches to record a 1-7 loss to Auckland.
"When the downpour hit, there were a couple of matches on the 18th and when both of us went back afterwards to finish we both lost - so I guess it didn't help us then ... but it was the same for both teams," Dangen said.
The afternoon's match against Waikato was shortened to a nine-hole contest, which didn't suit Northland, with the entire team beaten to record a 0-8 loss.
After that, Sunday's effort against North Harbour was a great improvement with the team recording a narrow 3.5-4.5 loss.
No 2 Kylie Jacoby won her match, with Margaret Aston at six and Rachael Williams at seven also beating their opponents, while No 1 Sjanna Bonnington halved her match.
Dangen said the team now has until the beginning of December to prepare for the interprovincials at the St Claire Golf Club.
Five golfers and a reserve will be selected for the tournament in early November.
The Northland squad's junior players will be playing at the national U21 tournament at Mangawhai, starting September 5, with the rest of the team likely to start at the Bream Bay Classic on September 15-16.
