Hastings Golf Club, Bridge Pa
Hastings Golf Club is also known, both nationally and internationally, as “Bridge Pa”.
From its 1898 beginnings as a nightmarish dust bowl, the transition to the tree-lined golfing dream it is today was not achieved easily. At times progress was painfully slow.
1963 saw the first of the Wattie's professional tournaments. The first was won by Bob Charles, fresh from his success that year in the British Open. Charles went on to win four of the eight Wattie tournaments staged and establish himself as a great favourite of the Hawke's Bay crowd. Another terrific thrill for golf followers in Hawke's Bay during the Wattie tournament era came when Stuart Jones won the 1965 event which left a field which contained all the top professional marvelling at the skill of this talented amateur.
The Bridge Pa course had undergone a number of changes of layout since its establishment in 1912 when in 1970 president Roy Skittrup spearheaded a plan which saw the course altered radically to provide the two even nines which exist today.
While the changes to Bridge Pa initiated by Skittrup and Harold Christie took some time to develop (and for players to adjust to), by midway through the 1970s the Hastings course was being hailed as something special, not just by people from other parts of Hawke's Bay and New Zealand, but overseas as well.
Through the 1980s the course continued to develop and to be recognised as one of the country's premier layouts.
The Hastings Golf Club hosted the men's inter-provincial championships in 1989. Formerly known as the Freyberg Rosebowl, but subsequently renamed the Tower tournament for its main sponsor, this contest brought the cream of New Zealand's golfing talent to Bridge Pa.
In 1997, Hastings hosted the men's North Island championship at Easter and in 1998 it staged the Freyberg Rosebowl Masters event for players aged 40 and over it will have been the venue for every major national tournament. This is a remarkable record for the club and the course and a tribute to the men and women who have been responsible for the organising of these many prestigious events.
Hastings Golf Club Notables
“The Emperor”
Stuart Jones joined the Hastings Golf Club in 1947 on a 24 handicap. The young Jones, who had taken up golf seriously when a scalding received from a Wairakei geyser persuaded him to cut short a promising rugby career, took a “look, listen and learn” approach towards improving his own game.
By the start of the 1948 season he was on a 16 handicap and by its end he was on three and had won the first of his many club championships. The club has a new No 1 player and the most stellar career in New Zealand amateur golf had been launched.
From success at Bridge Pa his achievements quickly blossomed and he began to be the player to be reckoned with at first provincial, then national and ultimately international level as well.
With such an outstanding record it is little surprise Stuart was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (1977), named the first-ever Hawke's Bay Sportsman of the Year (1966), elected to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and given life membership of the Hastings Golf Club.
But despite all the successes and the accolades, there is nothing Stuart Jones enjoys more than a round of golf with his club mates and friends on the course he rates as among the top half dozen in the country.
Stuart Jones has not just been a standout – he has been a legend. Or as the doyen of New Zealand sporting journalists Sir Terry McLean described him: The Emperor.
Other Notables at Hastings
Bob Glading – Winner of the 1949 New Zealand PGA championship
Sir Bob Charles – Winner of the Watties professional tournaments at Hastings in 1963, 1966, 1967 and 1968
John Durry – Winner of the 1967 New Zealand amateur championship
Frank Nobilo – Winner of the 1978 New Zealand amateur championship
Cherry Kingham – Winner of the 50 th anniversary Hastings Ladies Golf Club open championship and No 1 for the victorious Auckland team in the 1980 Russell Grace tournament played at Hastings.
The Lion Foundation New Zealand Amateur Championship was held on the Bridge Pa course April 2010 and Australian Matt Jager and New Zealand’s Cecilia Cho successfully defended their respective titles.