The two dominant teams in Wellington women's golf do battle in this season's interclub final, with top qualifiers Royal Wellington meeting 2024 champions Shandon at Paraparaumu Beach on Saturday.
Royal Wellington captain Glenda Swan talks about her team's preparation and her wider role overseeing the growing young female space at Golf Wellington.
Golf Wellington General Manager Steve Weir also joined the chat to look ahead to the busy golfing weekend.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Wellington's All Sport Breakfast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Twere Adam Cooper thanks to Rutherford and Bond Toyota and
King Toyota on news Talks.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
It'd be nineteen away from nine here on the Ollsport Breakfast.
Well as we always do around this time on a
Saturday morning, let's talk golfer. Nice to see the sunshine
outside because that means a few important events in the
golfing scene around the region will be taking place today
pata part of Umu Beach. In a couple of hours
ten to twenty it's the women's premiere inter Club Final
and this year it's a Royal Wellington who won the
(00:29):
round robin and the top seeds take on last year's
champions Shandon. Pretty good rivalry these two have. They've been
the dominant teams over the last few years in Wellington,
with battles always close and on the world class venue
that is parta pata Umu Beach. It promises to beat
more of the same Royals held the edge this year
with a win and a draw over Shandon. So we're
(00:49):
going to do something a little bit different with chatting
to Steve. We're General manager of Golf Wellington, who's out
there this morning and alongside him as the captain of
Royal Wellington heading into this final. Glenda Swan now Glen
and heavily involved in golf in our region, not just
at Royal Wellington, but she's the current Wellington Women's golf
team manager, a member of the Wellington Women's Masters team
as well. Have just been playing at the Inter Provincials
(01:11):
in ash Burton. So good morning to both of you,
Glenda and Steve. Glenda will start with you heading into
this final. You'd be pretty happy with the season overall, I.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Bet yeah, clor Adam, Yeah, very happy. Always good to
be in a in a final and we've got a
really solid team. We have varying ages, but I think
the youngest might be ten and a couple of the
sprinkling of twelve year olds, and then the rest of
(01:39):
us are sort of a we don't skip and do
cartwheels down the fairway. We're are slightly older. But so
it's great to be in the final and up against Shandon,
who will no doubt put up a solid team.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah. Tell us a bit about the rivalry with them,
obviously they were the winners last year. The other sort
of benchmark team in Wellington Women's Into Club. What's that
Ratheralry like.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, it's very friendly, Adam, very friendly lot for the
parents there. When we often play each other, I mean
it is a bit awkward and you're coming home and
saying to my family I've lost the match to a
twelve year old, but you just get used to it
and no, it's great. It's golf is one of those
thoughts I think where you're trying to you know, in
(02:25):
match player, you're trying to beat someone, but you also
can appreciate someone when they're playing good golf as well,
and I think that's a really key part of it.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah, and Steve will bring you in here. I mean
we see on the pro women's circuits, the likes of
the LPGA and others, just some of the you know,
very successful golfers are in the female space at a
very very young age. And you know we saw that
from Lydia Coe and others from a New Zealand perspective
as well, so that clearly trickles down into you know,
regional and into club golf here that you know a
lot of the top young players are in that sort
(02:54):
of early teens age bracket, correct.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You know, in the female space, it's not so much
a strengths game as it is in the male space.
So those young girls get to be confident in the
adult space quite early on in that eleven twelve thirteen
year old age break it and that shape of that
INDI Club final and indeed our REP program and Rep
teams there's very much of those younger girls. Obviously, the
(03:19):
challenges around that is recognizing our young girls, but also
that they're playing in the adult space and competing against adults,
so very similar to the pro space and.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Greeter, I know it's been a task of yours to
sort of bring some of these these young promising female
golfers around Wellington together and sort of get them on
the right track for success. How enjoyable, how rewarding has
that been for you?
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Oh, it's fantastic. It's it's a great opportunity to be
involved and watching them, like we've had a couple of
the girls in our team, also in the girls team
and the women's team down in christ Church last year
and just watching how the progressing, how they're getting confidence,
how they're learning more about the game themselves along the way.
(04:05):
It's really nice to be involved in that. Actually I
feel like I need to probably take some photos for
my famous files, Adam, so that I can later on
say hey, look I was there when they were just
starting out. So no, a great opportunity to be involved.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yeah, you know what's around the corner, do you? And
you know what is driving them to golf? You know
what are the attractive sort of you know what's the
attractive proposition about golf. We think that's drawing a lot
of young young people to the sport.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Well, I think we're seeing at our golf club we've
got a couple of introductory programs for women generally getting
into golf, and also a junior program, so that also helps.
And also if they've got friends that are playing as well.
There's those sort of things. Often if parents or family
members are playing or I think in taste of case,
(04:53):
her grandfather was the influence for her, So there's often
various influences that brings them to the sport.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
And Greenda with Royal Wellington hosting this big women's apack
event next year, I know it's not just going to
be the tournament. It's going to be a lot of
fun events and sort of you know, celebrations around that.
How big of a time is it for the club
gearing up for this one too?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh, we've already been gearing up for a while and
it's going to be fantastic. So it's this will be
the eighth one that they'll be holding, the eighth event,
and it's a seventy two whole competition with a thirty
six old cut. It's February next year, the twelfth to
the fifteenth you're seeing, so it's all women's amateurs, about
(05:40):
ninety in the field, Adam, and I think also you're
seeing people like Genotytical. She was the first champion. She
went on to win the twenty twenty one Ladies European
Tour Order of Merit. So you're actually getting a lot
of players mentioned in the top twenty rankings when coming
(06:00):
out of the amateur and turning sort of pro. So
it's a really good pathway for them. And I was
lucky enough to go to Vietnam this year to see
some of the New Zealand players at the event in
March earlier this year as a lead up to us
bringing the event to New Zealand next year.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yea great and as a golfing region as a whole,
how can we capitalize on this big event coming to town.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Certainly from a female and girls playing space and just
a wider interesting golf. The women's game and that elite
amateur level is a little more relatable to the normal
golfers as a difference to the roy mclroys, etc. So
there's a much more appreciation of the game. Is skill
level at a level that we can view and be
(06:49):
engaged in. But certainly as an event supported by Wellington
City and the region, that'll be promoted heavily. But many
programs and have a go and off ortunity for clubs
to create junior and women's programs in and around that
is huge for us, to be honest.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, great Gwendall. Give us an update of how the
women's master's team back from into provincials. How'd you go
recently in Ashburton?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Oh, adam my wif I didn't have to answer that.
Not as well as we had hoped. But great team,
great team sort of effort. It's a pretty hard format
grows Stableford. But you know, the course was amazing Ashburden.
They had set it up beautifully and we had fine
(07:37):
weather so there were no complaints apart from the need
to need to sort of work on a bit more
working our way at the ranks next year.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
All right, very good, Well let's look at this final
then coming up a bit later on today. We know
that the weather during the week has been a bit dicey,
but we also know how much quality there is in
the course of patapata Uma Beach to offset some of
those weather impacts. So how do you feel the core
will suit you in your Royal Wellington team today?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
We all love.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
It's a great course, hoping that the rain hasn't affected
it too much. Normally the greens run quick, so really
the trekkers to stay on the fairway and get the
short game under control, but it's often easier said than done.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, any particular matchups that are worth us keeping an
eye on through the weekend?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Oh well, well, Steve, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Certainly both teams are full of representative players. They've all
played representative golf at some level. Apart from the Royal
number six, certainly a leash Barbara at the top and
then Olivia lu and Amy you at two and three
for Royal. Those three games will go a long way
to terming the result. But I think the person sitting
(08:54):
next to me will also have kind of saying that
because typically in these team events are lead out players,
which of the five and six of this match have
quite a say in terms of momentum, So you could
throw a blanket over at Adam. It's anyone's guess. I
wouldn't be surprised if in a few years time we
have a playoff for that.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, it'll be interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Glinda.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
You've had a lot of success in golf. I'm sure
you're you're well used to these kind of crunch games
like finals and deciders. What's your strategy generally approaching you know,
the games and tournaments that mean a little bit more
like this one.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Make sure my husband cooks me a good meal of
the night before. Yeah, no, it is. It's just about
keeping your heads down, really, just being strategic, thinking about
the actual the match you're in, not the actual endpoint
of where you want to be, and just generally those
sort of those sort of aspects and you know things,
(09:48):
sometimes your opponent is just having a blinder of a
day and its and it's what it is, and you
can only congratulate them, but it will certainly be a
tight game.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, great, Well, look forward to it and Steve you
mentioned on the slot last week. Lot's happening around the
sort of golfing circles as the summer winds down. Plenty
else on the agenda this weekend.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yet certainly before that match gets underway soon, the Woman's
Premier two grade are underway with the four quarter finals
and the Dancing Cup semi final which is a Take
in Life semi final to find the opponent for Shandon
next week in the final is underway today, as well
as a full round of men's in the club matches
and the junior playoffs tomorrow for those three junior grades.
(10:30):
So luckily that weather settled down. The courses are still
carrying quite a lot of moisture, but we'll hope you
get through without too many disruptions.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And all right, well guys, it's been great to Chack
Glen to congratulations on your season today with Royal Wellington
and everything else you do for golf around the Wellington region.
It's been great to hear some of your insights into that,
and Steve good to chat as always, So thanks to
both of you, and enjoy your weekends and good good
best of luck out there on the course.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Thanks very much Adam cheers.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Steve and Glennda sworn with us here on the ill
Sport Breakfast. Glenn to the captain of the Royal Wellington
women's team who are in the Anter Club Final today
against Shandon Underway and the Sunshine at teen tweety at
Pata Pata Omy Beach. For more from News Talk sed B,
listen live on air or online, and keep our shows
with you wherever you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
Wellington's All Sport Breakfast.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Twere Adam Cooper thanks to Rutherford and Bond Toyota and
King Toyota on news Talks.
Speaker 3 (00:08):
It'd be nineteen away from nine here on the Ollsport Breakfast.
Well as we always do around this time on a
Saturday morning, let's talk golfer. Nice to see the sunshine
outside because that means a few important events in the
golfing scene around the region will be taking place today
pata part of Umu Beach. In a couple of hours
ten to twenty it's the women's premiere inter Club Final
and this year it's a Royal Wellington who won the
(00:29):
round robin and the top seeds take on last year's
champions Shandon. Pretty good rivalry these two have. They've been
the dominant teams over the last few years in Wellington,
with battles always close and on the world class venue
that is parta pata Umu Beach. It promises to beat
more of the same Royals held the edge this year
with a win and a draw over Shandon. So we're
(00:49):
going to do something a little bit different with chatting
to Steve. We're General manager of Golf Wellington, who's out
there this morning and alongside him as the captain of
Royal Wellington heading into this final. Glenda Swan now Glen
and heavily involved in golf in our region, not just
at Royal Wellington, but she's the current Wellington Women's golf
team manager, a member of the Wellington Women's Masters team
as well. Have just been playing at the Inter Provincials
(01:11):
in ash Burton. So good morning to both of you,
Glenda and Steve. Glenda will start with you heading into
this final. You'd be pretty happy with the season overall, I.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Bet yeah, clor Adam, Yeah, very happy. Always good to
be in a in a final and we've got a
really solid team. We have varying ages, but I think
the youngest might be ten and a couple of the
sprinkling of twelve year olds, and then the rest of
(01:39):
us are sort of a we don't skip and do
cartwheels down the fairway. We're are slightly older. But so
it's great to be in the final and up against Shandon,
who will no doubt put up a solid team.
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Yeah. Tell us a bit about the rivalry with them,
obviously they were the winners last year. The other sort
of benchmark team in Wellington Women's Into Club. What's that
Ratheralry like.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, it's very friendly, Adam, very friendly lot for the
parents there. When we often play each other, I mean
it is a bit awkward and you're coming home and
saying to my family I've lost the match to a
twelve year old, but you just get used to it
and no, it's great. It's golf is one of those
thoughts I think where you're trying to you know, in
(02:25):
match player, you're trying to beat someone, but you also
can appreciate someone when they're playing good golf as well,
and I think that's a really key part of it.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
Yeah, and Steve will bring you in here. I mean
we see on the pro women's circuits, the likes of
the LPGA and others, just some of the you know,
very successful golfers are in the female space at a
very very young age. And you know we saw that
from Lydia Coe and others from a New Zealand perspective
as well, so that clearly trickles down into you know,
regional and into club golf here that you know a
lot of the top young players are in that sort
(02:54):
of early teens age bracket, correct.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
You know, in the female space, it's not so much
a strengths game as it is in the male space.
So those young girls get to be confident in the
adult space quite early on in that eleven twelve thirteen
year old age break it and that shape of that
INDI Club final and indeed our REP program and Rep
teams there's very much of those younger girls. Obviously, the
(03:19):
challenges around that is recognizing our young girls, but also
that they're playing in the adult space and competing against adults,
so very similar to the pro space and.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Greeter, I know it's been a task of yours to
sort of bring some of these these young promising female
golfers around Wellington together and sort of get them on
the right track for success. How enjoyable, how rewarding has
that been for you?
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Oh, it's fantastic. It's it's a great opportunity to be
involved and watching them, like we've had a couple of
the girls in our team, also in the girls team
and the women's team down in christ Church last year
and just watching how the progressing, how they're getting confidence,
how they're learning more about the game themselves along the way.
(04:05):
It's really nice to be involved in that. Actually I
feel like I need to probably take some photos for
my famous files, Adam, so that I can later on
say hey, look I was there when they were just
starting out. So no, a great opportunity to be involved.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Yeah, you know what's around the corner, do you? And
you know what is driving them to golf? You know
what are the attractive sort of you know what's the
attractive proposition about golf. We think that's drawing a lot
of young young people to the sport.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Well, I think we're seeing at our golf club we've
got a couple of introductory programs for women generally getting
into golf, and also a junior program, so that also helps.
And also if they've got friends that are playing as well.
There's those sort of things. Often if parents or family
members are playing or I think in taste of case,
(04:53):
her grandfather was the influence for her, So there's often
various influences that brings them to the sport.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
And Greenda with Royal Wellington hosting this big women's apack
event next year, I know it's not just going to
be the tournament. It's going to be a lot of
fun events and sort of you know, celebrations around that.
How big of a time is it for the club
gearing up for this one too?
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Oh, we've already been gearing up for a while and
it's going to be fantastic. So it's this will be
the eighth one that they'll be holding, the eighth event,
and it's a seventy two whole competition with a thirty
six old cut. It's February next year, the twelfth to
the fifteenth you're seeing, so it's all women's amateurs, about
(05:40):
ninety in the field, Adam, and I think also you're
seeing people like Genotytical. She was the first champion. She
went on to win the twenty twenty one Ladies European
Tour Order of Merit. So you're actually getting a lot
of players mentioned in the top twenty rankings when coming
(06:00):
out of the amateur and turning sort of pro. So
it's a really good pathway for them. And I was
lucky enough to go to Vietnam this year to see
some of the New Zealand players at the event in
March earlier this year as a lead up to us
bringing the event to New Zealand next year.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Yea great and as a golfing region as a whole,
how can we capitalize on this big event coming to town.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Certainly from a female and girls playing space and just
a wider interesting golf. The women's game and that elite
amateur level is a little more relatable to the normal
golfers as a difference to the roy mclroys, etc. So
there's a much more appreciation of the game. Is skill
level at a level that we can view and be
(06:49):
engaged in. But certainly as an event supported by Wellington
City and the region, that'll be promoted heavily. But many
programs and have a go and off ortunity for clubs
to create junior and women's programs in and around that
is huge for us, to be honest.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Yeah, great Gwendall. Give us an update of how the
women's master's team back from into provincials. How'd you go
recently in Ashburton?
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Oh, adam my wif I didn't have to answer that.
Not as well as we had hoped. But great team,
great team sort of effort. It's a pretty hard format
grows Stableford. But you know, the course was amazing Ashburden.
They had set it up beautifully and we had fine
(07:37):
weather so there were no complaints apart from the need
to need to sort of work on a bit more
working our way at the ranks next year.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
All right, very good, Well let's look at this final
then coming up a bit later on today. We know
that the weather during the week has been a bit dicey,
but we also know how much quality there is in
the course of patapata Uma Beach to offset some of
those weather impacts. So how do you feel the core
will suit you in your Royal Wellington team today?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
We all love.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
It's a great course, hoping that the rain hasn't affected
it too much. Normally the greens run quick, so really
the trekkers to stay on the fairway and get the
short game under control, but it's often easier said than done.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, any particular matchups that are worth us keeping an
eye on through the weekend?
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Oh well, well, Steve, what do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Certainly both teams are full of representative players. They've all
played representative golf at some level. Apart from the Royal
number six, certainly a leash Barbara at the top and
then Olivia lu and Amy you at two and three
for Royal. Those three games will go a long way
to terming the result. But I think the person sitting
(08:54):
next to me will also have kind of saying that
because typically in these team events are lead out players,
which of the five and six of this match have
quite a say in terms of momentum, So you could
throw a blanket over at Adam. It's anyone's guess. I
wouldn't be surprised if in a few years time we
have a playoff for that.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
Yeah, it'll be interesting.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Glinda.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
You've had a lot of success in golf. I'm sure
you're you're well used to these kind of crunch games
like finals and deciders. What's your strategy generally approaching you know,
the games and tournaments that mean a little bit more
like this one.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Make sure my husband cooks me a good meal of
the night before. Yeah, no, it is. It's just about
keeping your heads down, really, just being strategic, thinking about
the actual the match you're in, not the actual endpoint
of where you want to be, and just generally those
sort of those sort of aspects and you know things,
(09:48):
sometimes your opponent is just having a blinder of a
day and its and it's what it is, and you
can only congratulate them, but it will certainly be a
tight game.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah, great, Well, look forward to it and Steve you
mentioned on the slot last week. Lot's happening around the
sort of golfing circles as the summer winds down. Plenty
else on the agenda this weekend.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
Yet certainly before that match gets underway soon, the Woman's
Premier two grade are underway with the four quarter finals
and the Dancing Cup semi final which is a Take
in Life semi final to find the opponent for Shandon
next week in the final is underway today, as well
as a full round of men's in the club matches
and the junior playoffs tomorrow for those three junior grades.
(10:30):
So luckily that weather settled down. The courses are still
carrying quite a lot of moisture, but we'll hope you
get through without too many disruptions.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And all right, well guys, it's been great to Chack
Glen to congratulations on your season today with Royal Wellington
and everything else you do for golf around the Wellington region.
It's been great to hear some of your insights into that,
and Steve good to chat as always, So thanks to
both of you, and enjoy your weekends and good good
best of luck out there on the course.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Thanks very much Adam cheers.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Steve and Glennda sworn with us here on the ill
Sport Breakfast. Glenn to the captain of the Royal Wellington
women's team who are in the Anter Club Final today
against Shandon Underway and the Sunshine at teen tweety at
Pata Pata Omy Beach. For more from News Talk sed B,
listen live on air or online, and keep our shows
with you wherever you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio.
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