Age no barrier for man with the Goldie touch

69 at 68: Tene Goldsmith shot 3-under 69 at Gisborne Park on Sunday, just a few weeks out from his 69th birthday. His efforts won the Judy O’Rourke Memorial Trophy at the Gisborne Thistle AFC annual golf tournament. Picture by Paul Rickard

THERE’S not too much left for Tene Goldsmith to achieve in his 30-year golfing career. From representing Poverty Bay-East Coast to five holes-in-one to a course record, the leftie known to many as Goldie can reflect on his years with satisfaction.

But he’s not. Not yet, anyway.

As modest, easy-going and affable as Goldie is, there lurks inside him an insatiable appetite to play well and to achieve. And the next tick he wants to apply to his “to do” list could be one of his most challenging . . . breaking his age.

That’s some feat for someone under 70 but last Sunday Goldie went irresistibly close to it. Just over a month out from his 69th birthday Goldie shot 3-under 69 during the Gisborne Thistle AFC annual tournament held at the Gisborne Park course.

Playing off a 10-handicap, Goldie had four birdies — the first, ninth, 13th and 18th holes — and a sole bogey on the 14th, one of Park’s easiest holes. It fittingly won him the Judy O’Rourke Memorial Trophy for best overall stableford — 49 points in Goldie’s case.

Goldie was a little miffed over the bogey and the timing of his round — he turns 69 on February 21 — but delighted to put together another sub-par round on a course he has regularly burned up.

Goldie was a member of Park before shifting to Poverty Bay. Over the past 14 years he has compiled an impressive list of scores highlighted by a special round on January 11, 2003. He shot a flawless 7-under 65 during trials for the Park team to play in the Montana interclub district final. It equalled the course record held by Brian Sexton and now held jointly by three players — Daniel Collier also shot 65 in club championship qualifying last year.

Goldie got to as low as a 2-handicap in the mid-2000s, and even played off a 1 at a tournament at Waikohu.

He has broken par on multiple occasions at the Bay, including a low round of 4-under 68 in January of 2014, and has dipped into red figures at Napier (3-under 69 at the 2013 Hawke’s Bay left-handers tournament) and Warkworth (2-under 70 in December of 2009).

Such a history, not surprisingly, has featured the perfect shot — four times at Park and once at Tolaga Bay — amid other memorable moments.

One of those was inflicted on this golfing reporter during a match at the East Coast Open. Goldie put his drive on the par-5 seventh hole behind a tree on the left side of the fairway. He could only pitch out then proceeded to sink his next shot — using a driver — for eagle-3.

One thing that is lacking on his CV is a PBEC “major “ crown — victory in the East Coast Open, Poverty Bay Open or King of the Coast.

If Goldie could reproduce the form of last weekend at one of these tournaments this year, who knows?