Whanganui’s Castlecliff Golf Club gears up for 100th anniversary

Castlecliff Golf Club manager Rodney Donaldson (left) and president Alistair Ross. Photo / Mike Tweed

Castlecliff Golf Club is “ticking along well” as its 100th anniversary looms but there is still room to grow.

President Alistair Ross said there were about 590 members at the Whanganui club, up by 300 from a few years ago.

“Since Covid-19, membership has really taken off,” he said.

“There are 130 juniors – kids still at school – and we’ve had big movement in the 30s and 40s age groups too.

“Those are the guys who’ve finished playing rugby or cricket.”

Ladies' captain Winnie Clark was doing a great job recruiting new female members, Ross said.

“She has run a couple of ladies' days and we want to keep that growing.”

He said the course was once farmland but the days of sheep on the fairways were long gone.

The club employed two fulltime greenkeepers and the commitment of volunteers was also “crucial”.

“We’ve got two people coming out to mow the rough and about 10 on the bunker raking list.

“Brian Gibson does a lot of mowing, repairs and engineering and does the same stuff at Tawhero [golf course].

“Volunteers probably put in the equivalent of three or four fulltime staff.”

Club manager Rodney Donaldson said the club kicked off its 100th anniversary celebrations with its first Pro-Am tournament since 1979.

Castlecliff Golf Club's ladies' captain Winnie Clark (left) with teammates (from left) Lorette Heibner, Marlene Gray and Judy Jensen.

He said a key figure in the club’s history was the late John Means “who did a bit of everything”.

“John was the greenkeeper and the club pro at some stage.

“We also had Roy Pollard who was manager for 20-odd years.

“A quick look at the honours board shows a lot of people who shaped the club.”

Donaldson was part of a five-man team who completed 151 holes in a day for charity in 2023.

Life member Bob Bristol joined the club in 1964, a year after sheep were banished from the course for good.

“[The sheep] used to go over to Waitai St on a Friday afternoon and got brought back on a Monday,” he said.

“There would be roughly 300 ewes on the course during the week.”

Castlecliff’s men’s team has won the A Grade Pennants competition four times, with Bristol involved in victories in 1968, 1979 and 1981.

“Back then we had just about the best players in the country – John Means, Murray Osman and Simon Owen,” he said.

“Every tournament was full-on and it was a real battle to get into that team.”

Bristol said Whanganui used to shut down at midday on a Saturday and it was sport for the rest of the weekend.

“You went back to work for a rest.”

In 2022, he achieved a goal 49 years in the making – getting a hole-in-one on all four of the course’s par threes.

Former greenkeeper and club professional John Means in 2010, holding the flag for Owen brothers Paul (left), Simon (middle) and Craig. Photo / NZME

Ross said the club was “ticking along well” but there was always something to work towards.

“The greenkeeper needs more water so we’re investigating putting down another bore. There is fairly big money for that,” he said.

“We’ll keep tidying up the clubhouse and obviously keep the club growing.

“At some point, we might have to say ‘enough’s enough' but we’re a long way from that. We’ve got plenty of capacity.”

He said Castlecliff was becoming more of a destination for golfers, particularly those from Wellington.

The club has a campground for those wanting to play multiple days.

“We want bums on seats and people playing, that’s the biggest thing.”

Bristol, who attended the club’s 50th anniversary celebrations at the War Memorial Centre in 1975, said Castlecliff was his club for life.

At its peak, there were 800 members, he said.

“I put the [lawn] bowls away and pull out the clubs come winter time and I’ll need to have a couple of swings before the Easter tournament.

“There will be three days of that and I don’t want to make a chook of myself.”

Castlecliff Golf Club’s centenary tournament is on April 18-20, with a dinner at the Wanganui Function Centre at the Racecourse on April 19.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.