News Letter
Club President Report
Well, our reopening on Tuesday went very well: players checked in with huge smiles on their faces – until they learnt their new WHS course handicaps, that is!
As handicapper Robert Butler indicated a couple of weeks ago, a reduction of four shots makes it a very good round if you can score 36 Stableford points playing to your new course handicap!
We have had about 100 players take advantage of the great weather on our first three days back, and I would like to thank them all for their patience as we bedded down our important player movement and registration procedures. Thanks also to our supervisor team who are putting in the hours keeping the Club compliant with NZ Golf’s directives for reopening and managing player arrivals.
Just one point, I would ask members to ensure their playing bubble complies with Level 3 guidelines, as it is not realistic for supervisors to play the role of policeman on this and individuals must play their part. Remember, the Taranaki region was looking good with no Covid-19 virus cases for almost four weeks, but that has changed over the last few days and we must not become complacent.We established a small team from the committee who worked hard in preparing for our reopening – many thanks to David Butler, John & Marie Rayner, Jim Newlove, Jody Bound and Robin Broadmore for their time and effort over the last week or so making sure our processes and procedures were in place.And again, thanks to our course team of Paul Fairhurst and David Soffe for having the course, and in particular the greens, in surprisingly good condition at short notice.
ALERT 3 Golf Requirements
Our course will be open preferentially to members, with un-booked green fees players being allotted spare tee times where available;
To assist in managing logistics of restricted play, we have decided our course will open for play at 9am each day, with last tee-off time of 4pm;
Tee times must be booked to avoid congregations in the carpark and around the clubhouse. Tee times from Wednesday 29 April until Monday 11 May inclusive can be booked from Tuesday 28th April either when onsite or by telephoning the Club on 06-754 7497, again on a first in, first served basis. When signalled by a supervisor, please enter through the sliding glass door as usual and exit promptly after play via the golf cart pathway;
Clubhouse and toilet facilities (including the on-course toilet) will remain closed to players;
All play will commence from the 1st tee and tee time intervals will be 10 minutes;
Casual golf play only:
there will be no competitive Tuesday ladies’ golf, Wednesday men’s golf, Friday men’s haggle, Saturday Club Day golf or resumption of club champs;
A playing register (name & contact details) is being set up to enable contact tracing if necessary;
You must play within your “bubble”, therefore play will either be solo or possibly in twos/threes/fours if all are in the same bubble;
You must observe at least 2m physical/social distancing from anyone on course who is outside your bubble;
No scorecards will be accepted by the NZ Golf handicapping system during Level 3 (Dotgolf system inside clubhouse not available anyway);
Flagsticks and bunker rakes have been removed, with holes cut in centres of greens: cups will be inverted to allow holed golf balls to be flicked away with your putter;
Drinking fountains and golf ball washers will be shut down;Hand sanitiser will be available outside clubhouse;
The sunscreen station will not be available so please use your own;No hired golf carts will be available;
Do not come to the course if you are feeling unwell or showing any signs of sickness;
If you are over 70 years of age it is recommended (but not mandatory) that you stay at home, but if you are over 70 and have any underlying medical condition(s), please seriously consider whether you should be out playing golf under Level 3.
Finally, after being on supervisor shift yesterday morning, I went out on my own to play my first round of golf in over five weeks: a great feeling of freedom again! But I had forgotten what it was like to play on your own – you don’t get the usual breather while others play their shots. You play your shot, walk to your ball, immediately play your next shot, and repeat - but it took only 2½ hours for my round!
Enjoy your golfing comebacks!
Richard Crowe
Club Captain
Hello to all. Hope we are all well in current times. Well we are slowly getting back into it and I hope you have had a chance to get out for a hit with the weather being fine.I would like to take the chance to say thanks to Richard Crowe for all the emails and meetings and time spent on the member’s behalf for getting all the safety and regulations together so we as golfers can get out there again. Also, thanks to all the team that have help set up and are running the booking times, put up notices and done some course work, without these jobs being done there’s no golf…
SO if you want a time for the weekend ring and book please and remember to stick to the rules as best you can. Handicaps as some of you will be aware, there’s has been a change in the system so please check out your new LOWER handicap.
Thanks to all who have taken some of my (some might say different mickey taking) of some members just to let you all know it is all in good fun. Now to help others over the next few weeks where there is no competitive golf, I will name some of the for mentioned members and explain why they have got these names,
John Rayner …. JR or Homer Simpson …. self-explanatory really.
Martin Nobbs …. Forest …. from the movie Forest Gump. As in the saying (life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you going to get) If you have played golf with Forest this saying will be once again self-explanatory really.
Robert Butler …. Chop Chop, some think it’s because he is the handicapper or is it the golf ?
Kevin Mancer …... Sausage as he was a butcher, as far as I know, I mean I have seen him butcher some smaller putts but I am pretty shore that’s not it.
Paul Fairhurst …. The Rock…as he is solid in stature and in his golf game. I was going to call him steady but it just didn’t fit.
Jody Bound…. Lofty…Most of you will remember the TV comedy ‘IT AINT HALF HOT MUM’ and the little fat fella called Gunner Sugden the Sargent Major called him LOFTY Boy …. hence the name. But don’t tell the whispering grass as the trees don’t need to know.?
More updates next week enjoy your time out there and let’s hope level 2 is not far away.
Thanks again,
Your Club Captain Lofty
PRO – TIP
DIRECTION is always a problem, mainly because we stand at the side of the ball & it would be easier if we could line up like a shooter looking down the barrel. So here is the big tip given to us by the great Jack Nicklaus.
Firstly stand behind the ball & pick a spot 2 metres in front of the ball which is in line with your target.
Now stand to the ball in the normal way but draw an imaginary line from the ball through the square club face & over your predetermined spot.
You are now in a square position, toes / hips / shoulders/ parallel to the intended flight of the ball.
This is the PROFESSIONAL way to check your DIRECTION !!!
Keep Well & Stay Safe.
Good Luck & Good Golfing.
Professional John Garner.
Todd Energy
Oil & Gas Industry
The “upstream” comprises exploration, appraisal, development and production from oil & gas fields, whilst the “downstream” comprises processing/refining and distributing product to point of sale.
History of Todd Energy
As one of three founder Todd brothers, Sir Bryan Todd kicked off the energy side of the Todd family’s business interests in NZ in 1955 when he signed a joint venture agreement with the multinational Shell and BP oil companies to undertake oil & gas exploration in NZ, primarily in Taranaki. The significant Kapuni gas/condensate field was discovered by the Shell-BP-Todd consortium’s first onshore exploration well in 1959, followed by discovery of the large Maui gas/condensate field with the consortium’s first offshore exploration well in 1969 – a golden touch eh! These discoveries signalled the birth of the natural gas industry in NZ, and reticulation pipelines were laid throughout the North Island to take this new fuel to the people (the South Island has no reticulated natural gas but uses transportable LPG or liquefied petroleum gas).
More Recent Activities
After nearly 40 years BP departed the upstream business in NZ in 1992, and Todd Energy took the opportunity to step up its oil & gas interests and capabilities. Todd Energy participated in the Pohokura gas/condensate field discovery offshore Motunui in 2000, and purchased 100% of the McKee/Mangahewa oil & gas fields in 2002.
Todd Energy is also sole owner of two 100 MW gas-fired peaker electricity generation plants in North Taranaki (one at McKee and the other just off SH3 south of New Plymouth), and is a 50% owner of the gas-fired steam and electricity cogeneration plant built in 1995 at the Kiwi (now Fonterra) Whareroa dairy factory near Hawera. In fact this cogen plant has the unique benefit of its own dedicated gas supply pipeline from the Kapuni field.
Ahead of Shell’s exit from the upstream business in NZ in 2018, Todd Energy purchased Shell’s 50% interest in the Kapuni field in 2017 to move to 100% ownership and operatorship of that field, reinforcing their position as the largest NZ-owned oil & gas player in the country. Todd Energy is now the second-largest company in NZ in terms of total oil & gas production behind the Austrian company OMV, which assumed top position after purchasing Shell’s Maui and Pohokura field interests.
One of Todd Energy’s sister companies within the parent Todd Corporation is the retail electricity, gas and internet provider Nova Energy, which is the energy supplier to not only our Club but to numerous businesses in Taranaki and also no doubt to many of our members.
Importantly for the local community, Todd Energy is a generous sponsor of various Taranaki organisations, facilities, events and clubs – including Coastguard Taranaki, St John Taranaki, Todd Energy Aquatic Centre, Len Lye Centre, Todd Energy Raceway, WOMAD and of course our own Manukorihi Golf Club. Todd Energy, now a significant employer in Taranaki, strives to stay connected to the communities in which it operates, and to this end holds meetings in our clubhouse from time to time to update the local community on McKee/Mangahewa well drilling and oil & gas production activities.
Todd Energy is not a publicly-listed company but is wholly-owned by the Todd family under the Todd Corporation umbrella.
For more information check out this website https://www.toddenergy.co.nz/
Richard Crowe
Disclosure (of bias!): Apologies if the above reads as if a Todd Energy employee wrote it – a former employee did! After almost 20 years with Shell BP and Todd Oil Services Ltd and various Shell companies, the writer was employed by Todd Energy in New Plymouth from 1992-2008 (before retiring to try and play golf!)
