“That‘ll be close,” a playing mate said as Mackie’s ball flew straight and a little left of the pin cut halfway up the green."
He didn’t see it from then on, but knew it was plenty of club.
“I initially thought it might be through the back,” the 9-handicapper said.
Seeing his pitchmark (but no sign of the ball) three-metres short of and in line with the hole raised his hopes, but he still decided to look beyond the green.
He found nothing and when he turned back, two others in his playing group were standing at the hole and gave him the good news.
“It was a big thrill...it was on the top of my bucket list [so] it was a big relief to get that one,” said Mackie, who went agonisingly close several years ago at the Wanaka course - a third of his ball left hanging over the hole.
Mackie parred nine of the next 10 holes after his ace shot, but faltered on the last six to shoot 82.
Golf runs in the Mackie blood. He recalls looking for and hitting golf balls as a young kid at Waipukurau while his parents played.
Father Dick and mother Mitty (nee Fryer) were accomplished players - Dick representing Wellington and Hawke’s Bay, including a Freyberg Rose Bowl national interprovincial win for the Bay in 1961; Mitty - the daughter of nine-match (1907-08) All Black, South Island and Canterbury winger Frank Fryer - also wearing Hawke’s Bay colours.
Dick, a lawyer, was also heavily involved in Hawke’s Bay and New Zealand golf administration up to international level for more than 20 years, including non-playing captain of the New Zealand team at the 1966 Eisenhower Trophy amateur team championship. He was a life member of NZ Golf up to his death in 1999.
Mackie has an extensive sporting background in rugby, cricket and golf over his years at Hereworth School, Wanganui Collegiate and Canterbury University.
In rugby, he represented Canterbury at Under-19 and U20 level in the early 1970s, was in the Canterbury University team who played the All Japan national team during a five-week tour in 1975, and was second-five (inside All Black Stu Wilson) in Grizz Wyllie’s All Black selection team who played Canterbury in Ashburton in 1976 as part of Mid Canterbury’s 50th jubilee.
In cricket, he scored 133 for Wanganui Collegiate First XI against a John Wright-led Christ’s College in 1971, represented Canterbury University, and played for and captained Poverty Bay during the 1980s.
Mackie’s early golfing years included winning the Wanganui Collegiate foursomes four times, the last of those with his East Coast mate and now fellow Poverty Bay member Andy Jefferd.
He joined Poverty Bay Golf Club on coming to Gisborne in 1979 and has been a member of Te Puia Hot Springs - he has a house at Waipiro Bay - for about 20 years.
His golfing highlight quality-wise was making the championship 16 final at the 2010 East Coast Open at Te Puia - losing 1-down to 17-year-old William Brown.
From 2000 to 2010, Mackie predominantly managed but also played a couple of years for Poverty Bay-East Coast at the Freyberg Masters national interprovincial, and as PBEC’s delegate, he was on the NZ Golf Council for several years.
At club level, Mackie won Poverty Bay’s intermediate club championship three years in a row (2017-2019); won the prestigious Barns-Graham Cup men’s pairs with Paul Mullooly in 2017; is a member of the exclusive club of players who have had twos on all par-3s at Poverty Bay - having achieved it twice; and has a personal best round of even-par 72 at the Bay, including eight birdies and a quadruple bogey.
Mackie’s wife Chic and son Charles both play, as does older brother Tim, a long-time supporter of the Poverty Bay and East Coast opens.
Tim last year broke his age, which is next on Mackie’s “to do” list.
Two months out from his 72nd birthday, few would bet against the man some refer to as the “Bernhard Langer of Gisborne golf” achieving that in the next few years.
