Golf: Academy planned for Waikato

1.00pm

Six of New Zealand's top golf coaches plan to open an academy near Cambridge.

Mal Tongue, who resigned from his position as national coach in March, is close to signing a deal with the privately run St Peter's School.

St Peter's principal Steve Robb said the contract was dependent on more than $400,000 being raised, but indications were that funding would be available.

The school has agreed to provide land valued at more than $500,000 for the academy. Tongue has agreed to provide the coaching.

Waikato and Lincoln Universities are also linked with the golf school.

The academy would run along similar lines to the school's existing equestrian centre. More than 25 boarders attend the school because they can keep their horses, ride them while at school, and get coaching.

The school has a 225ha dairy farm. A section of the farm would be cut off and converted into a driving range. Three holes would be built which could be expanded into a specialised nine-hole training course.

Tongue yesterday said he and his five partners in New Zealand Golf Academy Ltd - Murray Macklin, of Wellington, Shane Scott, of Christchurch, Bob McDonald, of Auckland, Simon Thomas, of Dunedin, and Hamilton's Brian Boys - all favoured Waikato after searching the country for a suitable site.

"It's probably one of the most awesome locations you would want," Tongue said.

"It's the one I want to do. Our goal is to establish a centre of excellence ... we drove through the gates (of the school) and we straight away felt this was where we wanted to be."

Tongue said he would move from Wellington, where he has coached for more than 17 years, to the Waikato "lock, stock and barrel".

The academy could be up and running by February next year.

Tongue quit as Wellington provincial coach last year after guiding the capital to seven interprovincial men's titles.

He resigned from New Zealand Golf after he fell out with then chief executive Peter Dale. The other five coaches quit in support of him.

Tongue said he and the other coaches had no working relationship with New Zealand Golf despite the fact they all worked with most of the country's top amateurs.

He coaches No 1 amateur Brad Iles and Eisenhower Trophy representatives Josh Geary and Riki Kauika.

Waikato's Mathew Holten lives and works in Wellington to be close to Tongue while fellow Waikato representatives and Titleist Academy members Mark Purser and James Gill use Boys for their coaching.

Robb said scholarships to St Peter's would be offered to the most promising recruits.

He said golf would be offered in the curriculum for year seven (aged 10). and up.

- NZPA