Golf: Wedding on the green

Penny Newbrook met some resistance when she qualified for men's pennants. Picture / BoP Times

Men's and women's golf at the top level in New Zealand should be run by one body within a matter of a few months.

New Zealand Golf and Women's Golf New Zealand have been discussing the move for some time and both are confident the marriage can be consummated early next year.

Martyn Turner, acting chief executive of the women's association, hopes that most stages can be accomplished by March.

Both bodies need approval from their constituencies and the women will have their input in February. The men have already confirmed the initial go-ahead.

"The trick is to have two willing partners and we've had that all the way," says Turner.

"One administration will allow us to concentrate on growing the game. Women, who are outnumbered three to one, have a lot of growth potential.

"As one single body it should be easier to attract funding and commercial support for the sport."

The executive director of New Zealand Golf, Larry Graham, will head the new body and Turner will step aside.

"I had been on the board for six years when our chief executive resigned and I agreed to step in to ensure that the new constitution put in place protects the interests of both men and women."

Turner says the men's and women's games will continue separately as before. High-profile excursions by women professionals into men's tournaments are the exception rather than the rule.

The amalgamation will be only at the top level at this stage. Provincial administrations and individual clubs will decide their own constitutions.

"We can't enforce amalgamation on individuals," says Turner, "but hopefully the advantages will trickle down."

North Harbour was set up as a unisex province 10 years ago and on Monday Waikato made history by becoming the first golfing district in New Zealand to amalgamate existing men's and women's golfing organisations.

The Hamilton meeting approved the constitution and rules that had been drafted by a subcommittee made up of personnel from Women's Golf Waikato King Country and the Waikato Golf Association.

The association re-appointed Doug Atkinson as president to lead an interim council until March 31, when elections will be held for total integration on April 1.

Clubs throughout the country have varied constitutions, ranging from full integration to steely-eyed segregation.

Isolated instances of discrimination have occurred over the years. New Zealand representative Penny Newbrook met some resistance this year when she qualified to play in the Bay of Plenty men's pennants but the matter was quickly resolved.

Lemon and Paeroa is world famous in New Zealand, so the advertisers tell us. Which rather equates to golf's use of the word "world".

Tiger Woods this week won the Target World Challenge, which is a made-for-TV tournament involving the top 11 players in the world rankings (if they accept the invitation), the previous year's winner and four players invited by the Tiger Woods Foundation.

The charity that benefits is a worthy one and who wouldn't accept an invitation to compete for squillions of dollars in the Californian sun?

To be honest, the event has more right to use the word "world" than many other pretenders.

Last month, Hamilton professional David Smail won the Casio World Open in Japan, where 95 per cent of the players were Japanese.

Rotorua amateur Jae An played immaculate golf to win the Aaron Baddeley world junior championship in Fiji this month, but the entries were restricted to four or five countries. And wasn't there a world junior championship in California in July won by outstanding Australian teenager Jason Day?

Presumably there is nothing to stop the Muriwai Golf Club deciding their February tournament will be the West Coast World Open.

Should be good for a Government grant.