Off the tee: Fresh look to tough challenge

Carrington club was the course that proved too tough for ordinary Kiwis. Now the Far North resort is within three months of unveiling the full 18 holes of its "friendlier" redesign.

Sited on the Karikari Peninsula, east of Kaitaia, the resort course was opened in April last year and was hailed as one of the most scenic and challenging in the country. It was 6605m long and built to USGA standards.

The longest hole was a 605m par-five and the shortest par-three was 120m over water.

Challenging was something of an understatement and ordinary mortals struggled. So the American owners, Paul Kelly and Bob Hay, commissioned Matt Dye, third generation of a famous United States golf design family, to make the course a pleasure for players of varying skill levels while retaining its challenge to the tigers.

Nine holes have been kept in play while six new holes have been created and all the others redesigned. Just before Christmas the new 10-18 were brought into play and the rest should be ready by March.

By then the associated Karikari Estate, the northernmost vineyard in the country, should be offering a chardonnay from its first vintage.

Carrington Club has set its sights on attracting Kiwis as well as tourists and green fees for the 18 holes will begin at $110.

The new design retains the potential for 6605m off the back tees, which compares with the 6829m competitors in the Australian Open contended with on the Moonah Links course, which is on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

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Nick Faldo has been honoured by the British-based Professional Golfers' Association for his outstanding services to golf.

After receiving the inaugural PGA Recognition Award, Faldo said: "I'm truly delighted to be accepting this.

"I'm thrilled that my career is being recognised by the oldest association of its kind in the world."

PGA chief executive Sandy Jones said: "Nick has been one of golf's greatest ambassadors - there is no one better to be our first recipient of this award.

"Since becoming our youngest ever Ryder Cup member at the age of 20 in 1977, Nick has continually set new standards of professionalism as well as records.

"His career achievement of winning three Opens and three US Masters, not to mention an unrivalled Ryder Cup record, positioned him as Britain's best golfer of all time.

"But it is his dedication and commitment to the game which really sets him apart as the professional's professional."

To less exalted eyes, Faldo stood out for showing a penchant for youthful wives and embracing the shattered Greg Norman after the Australian had fallen apart to gift him the 1996 Masters at Augusta.

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Defending New Zealand Open champion Mahal Pearce finished 11th and top Kiwi on the Australasian tour's order of merit for 2003.

His A$203,578 ($232,885) was just over half the winnings of Australian Open champion Peter Lonard, who topped the list with A$604,000.

The other Kiwis in the top 100 were: David Smail, A$135,809, 15th; Greg Turner, A$88,700, 25th; Michael Long, A$66,044, 29th; Steve Scahill, A$62,607, 31st; Richard Lee, A$57,751, 35th; Eddie Lee, A$54,497, 37th; Gareth Paddison, A$38,776, 53rd; Elliot Boult, A$11,854, 81st; Alastair Sidford, A$11,807, 82nd; Martin Pettigrew, A$11,230, 83rd; Tim Wilkinson, A$10,994, 86th.

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Twelve months ago Mike Weir was best known for playing left-handed and Jim Furyk for the loopy swing that looked a coach's nightmare.

And if you'd heard of Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel, odds were you were related to them.

But in the year of the outsider they have emerged as winners of the Four Majors - the Masters (Weir), the US Open (Furyk), the British Open (Curtis) and the USPGA (Micheel).

Add to their ranks Mahal Pearce, the Dunedin professional, who emerged from obscurity to win the New Zealand Open at Middlemore in Auckland.