Inaugural retro vintage golf day a huge success NEWS

The Don Manning Championship charity golf tournament in Blenheim will return, “bigger and better” in 2023, says organiser Jeremy Manning.

The inaugural pre-Christmas event, which was staged at the Blenheim Golf Club course at Pollard Park last December, was hailed an “immediate success” by Manning.

Thirty-six players, dressed in old school golfing attire, vied for a series of sponsored prizes. The proceeds from the event, totalling $7500, went to Mike King’s Gumboot Friday charity.

King, a former comedian, is a mental health advocate and Gumboot Friday is one of his promotions to help raise funds.

Manning, a former Marlborough rugby personality, who went on to play for Irish province Munster against the All Blacks and latterly helped the Fijian Sevens’ team claim an historic Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, is keen to continue with the tournament, with some innovations.

A new date has been set, December 22, 2023 -- a Friday to honour the Gumboot Friday theme. This year Jeremy plans to have a few celebrity guests take part, plus a live auction, dinner and live music. He also hopes to introduce some more unique playing challenges and themed holes next year.

Manning’s grandfather Don Manning was a life member of the Blenheim club and Jeremy, now based in the United Arab Emirates, said he came up with the concept a couple of weeks before the event.

“It started as a social catch-up,’’ Jeremy Manning began to explain.

“I planned to play a few rounds with some mates when I got back to New Zealand but found there wasn’t time to fit it all in … then I thought why not put together something that 36 players can take part in at the same time and use it as a fundraiser,” he said.

“I am a big advocate of what Mike King is doing so it just sort of felt right … then support came flooding in.

“I talked to several local businesses who were all keen to help … they were amazing, as were the committee at the Blenheim Golf Club who waived all the green fees once they knew that it was a charity event.”

The inaugural tournament’s primary sponsors were: Hunting and Fishing Marlborough, Mitre 10, Mitchell Sports Power, Thomas’s, The Wellness Station, Simon Pratt Construction, RV Electrical, Meaters of Marlborough, Biddy Kate’s, The Rock, Sky NZ, Hynds Pipe Systems Blenheim, Jeff Fyfe and Eden Orchards.