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The Story

It was a beautiful day that saw Team Freaky Styley heading towards Glenorchy and Paradise for the final round of the Queenstown stage of the 2011 New Zealand Disc Golf Tour.

The Queenstown Disc Golf Club spent a year planning for the 2011 Wakatipu tournaments, sustained on a diet of social rounds, meetings and working bees. In November 2010 we installed the last five baskets, to make it a full 18 basket course; no more talk of " barn door '' targets! Our dedicated team created a website, spun the publicity wide, gathered a treasure trove of prizes, manicured the Gardens course, and prepared the Paradise course like never before, with wide tracks from tee to green. As the weekend approached we made suitable offerings to the weather gods and goddesses, who promised us yet another fine window, sandwiched between days of clag.

As the final Medusa's head of loose ends were firmly tied together, players began arriving from all corners of the country, with several international visitors in the mix. Saturday dawned clear and still, with clouds burning off and sunshine prevailing. Our offerings had been accepted! Online registration aided the crack team of Jo and Dennis, who were installed in the rotunda, which was bedecked with humorous social club posters. Despite our apparently increased efficiency, we somehow managed to keep to Queenstown time and an excellent turnout of 48 players finally headed off to their tees. The 16th The Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic was under way!

As people came in from their morning rounds, completed in perfect conditions, top players were heard bemoaning their scores. Perhaps this was karmic revenge on those who had somewhat disparagingly referred to our beautiful course as a " pitch and putt '' one? Mario led the field with a new course record of 46, with only two other players cracking 50. On a personal note, I was pleased to find myself, at 51, being two shots ahead of the GM in the Grand Masters division; would I finally get my hands on a trophy again? A leisurely free lunch in the sun, sandwiched around a putting clinic, clearly provided the necessary tonic for the disappointed guns, with 10 people beating 50 in the afternoon seeded round.

Mario lowered his record to 45, thereby creating a new 36 hole record too and taking out the Open Division. Sammy Nielson took out the Masters, Karoline Jonsson from Sweden won the Women's division, Rolf Liechti prevailed in the Putters, and Toby Gentil successfully defended his Under 18 title. And the Grand Masters? I was happy to lower my score to 50, but the indomitable Bob completed an excellent 47, so prevailed by one stroke. Excellent prizes and trophies were distributed, with local businesses continuing to be very generous, despite the difficult financial times. Please note that all winning scores established Divisional course records, as this was the first 18 basket tournament.

On to the multifarious delights of Paradise, to prepare for the 13th Dart River Jet Safaris Paradise Plates. Saturday night saw a goodly crew of 18 smiling faces around a big fire in the Garden of Eden, with not a snake to be seen. I forced myself to bed at 2:30am, leaving half a dozen happy campers laughing and playing drums. During the evening someone suggested having a Paradise handicap system; for every hour after midnight that you stayed up, you got a point taken off your score the next day! Sunday dawned fine, many of us yawned fine, and the Doubles round eventually got under way.

After a typically long Paradise round, Simon and Nigel Hailstone produced an excellent 40, with only two other teams getting under 46. In the afternoon the wind picked up somewhat for the Singles, making conditions on the tussock hill holes rather challenging. Mario achieved an excellent 47, completing the Open double for the weekend, and thereby the triple (54 hole combined Queenstown Paradise total for Tour points). Our esteemed Mexican guest Juan Unda secured the Masters with another excellent 47 despite having played very little golf last year. He attributed this to "a regular diet of Tacos, Tortillas and Dos Equis" (good for the golf but hell for the fellow apartmenteers! - ed.). Possibly the Taco effect contributed to the windy conditions? Karoline again prevailed in the Women's, also completing a triple. In the Grand Masters, even the Paradise handicap wouldn't have caught me up to Bob, as TD Syndrome kicked in and the GM waltzed away with the triple. This year at Paradise prizes were available down to third place.

Sunday night at Paradise is always a time to relax and let loose, with all the golf having been played and the multitudinous organisational tasks having been completed. 2011 was no exception! A brilliant night was had around a raging fire, with percussion for Africa, courtesy of Martin G, often side-splitting humour, and probably a bottle or three drunk. And so, in the wee small hours, another excellent weekend of Wakatipu golf tournaments came to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Thanks very much to our great team of Dennis, Tomas, Eli, Jo, Felipe, Uan, Jason, Jim, Danny, and Alice.

James Jaguar Smithells

The Pictures

Check out awesome pics from previous Queenstown tournaments: 2017 New Zealand National Championships | 2016 Tucker Beach | 2016 Wakatipu Summer Disc Golf Tournaments | 2015 Wakatipu Disc Golf Championships | 2014 Tucker Beach Inaugural | 2014 Wakatipu Disc Golf Championships | 2013 Wakatipu Disc Golf Championships | 2012 Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic and Dart River Safaris Paradise Plates | 2011 16th Annual 'Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic' & Dart River Safaris Paradise Plates, 2010 15th Annual 'Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic' & Dart River Safaris Paradise Plates | 2009 14th Annual 'Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic' & Dart River Safaris Paradise Plates | 2005 Queenstown Classic

I Wanaka Ching Sound - Wanaka's Martin Galley putts out hole 9 as local Elias Lilo watches on.
Old Friends - Chris Davies, Pete Crowther and Martin Galley meeting at 'The Big Stone', perhaps reflecting on the loss of the tough object target that has been the bane of many a good round over the last 16 years. Calm Down - With little wind on the Saturday hole 10 was a breeze as Toby Gentil (Auckland) putts to one of the beautifully designed baskets (designed by Simon Feasey) The GM - Well balanced and happy to be back at the Gardens The Loot - Having the wonderful trophies on display was enough to lift anyone's game. Group Statistics - Tournament winner Mario Cernier (Chirstchurch) enjoys the social aspect of disc golf with his morning partners, Sheree Gentil (Auckland) and [unknown with son].	The Rotundra Conundrum - TD James Smithells welcomes the 48 players to the 16th Helicopter Line Queenstown Classic Tough Lay Up - Mexican Might Juan Unda on the way to a P.B.. Travelling - Some came by car, some by bus, some on Air NZ & Jetstar .. but Gabb made his own way! Welcome Back - It was good to see multi national champ Sheree Gentil (Auckland) chucking the discs again. Confused Meets Confusing - Pressure was on the bumbling Professor Hailstone when he 'misplaced' the scorecards. It's amazing how much junk you can get in a disc golf bag!
"I think I'll start with a Margarita, then a beer and..." - Wager winner Juan Unda indicates to Flats what he will enjoy for the prize.
Anticipation Story Time - Spent golfers relax around the fire at the Garden of Eden, DG HQ for the Paradise rounds. Top of the World 1 - Fhilep Stein and Hazen Simson under the flag that gets hoisted once a year at Paradise. Muddy Flyers - Known for screaming down hills on their mountainbikes, Bay of Plenty Golfers Andrew 'Flats' Taylor and Karoline 'Phonda Ramjet' Jonsson did their own bit of screaming as they hurtled through the Queenstown air in the chopper. Top of the World - Winners (and lucky dude) pose during their Helicopter Line run up the Remarkables. In a Ditch. And Happy - How could that be? But if - like Nigel Hailstone (Auckland) - you find yourself perched in a ditch above a nasty bogie-guarenteed drop with an easy shot at a 2, you'd be happy too!	So this is Paradise 1 - Andrew Humphreys from USA takes it all in from the 8th tee at Paradise. So this is Paradise 2 - Andrew Humphreys from USA takes it all in from the 4th tee at Paradise. So this is Paradise 3 - Andrew 'Flats' Taylor is speechless for once. Matagouri Damage - on his very first hole of the round, Bob 'GM' Gentil was attacked by the very tree this hole was named after. What a way to mark your disc! Congratulations! - TD James Smithells gets the prize presentations underway. The winners in all the divisions won Dart River Safaris jet boat trips (the best Jetboat adventure in the country! - ed.) The Paradise Plates Winners - Bob Gentil Grand Masters, Juan Unda Masters, Mario Cerniar Open, Karoline Jonsson Woman's and Nigel Hailstone & Simon Feasey Doubles.
That Was Fun - Spent Golfers relax around the fire at the Garden of Eden, DG HQ for the Paradise rounds. The 2011 Queenstown Classic winners - Toby Gentil Under 18, Bob Gentil Grand Masters, Mario Cerniar Open, Karoline Jonsson Woman's and Rolf Lieehti Locals

The Results

Overall for Tour Points

Player name Division R 1 R 2 R 3 R 4 Total Tour points 1 Mario Cerniar O 46 45 47 138 50.00 2 Juan Unda M 52 48 47 147 48.98 3 Dave Sammy Neilson M 50 47 52 149 47.45 3 Dennis Behan O 51 48 50 149 47.45 5 Martin Doerken O 53 48 49 150 45.92 6 Nigel Hailstone M 53 47 53 153 44.39 6 Simon Feasey M 49 49 55 153 44.39 8 Bob Gentil GM 53 47 54 154 42.34 8 Elliot Menzies O 49 51 54 154 42.34 10 Hazen Simson O 50 52 55 157 40.81 11 Uan Spijkerbosch O 53 56 49 158 39.28 11 Craig McNab M 53 49 56 158 39.28 13 Andrew Taylor O 55 49 56 160 37.24 13 Gareth Dykes O 54 55 51 160 37.24 15 James Smithells GM 51 50 60 161 35.71 16 Kyle Murray O 55 54 53 162 34.69 17 Russel King O 55 52 57 164 33.67 18 Felipe Stein O 53 56 57 166 31.63 18 Martin Galley M 53 56 57 166 31.63 18 Pete Crowther GM 53 57 56 166 31.63 21 Elias Lilo O 56 59 57 172 29.07 21 Tomas Larsson M 58 54 60 172 29.07 23 Philip Murray O 58 56 59 173 27.54 24 David Rose O 59 58 57 174 26.52 25 Karoline Jönsson W 64 59 66 189 25.50 26 Hannah Joynt W 65 65 71 201 24.48 27 Jenny Joynt WGM 66 70 70 206 23.46 28 Tyler D. Johnson O 56 52 108 21.42 28 Luke Daglish O 54 54 108 21.42 28 Andrew Wilson O 55 53 108 21.42 31 Chris Davies M 53 56 109 19.38 32 Josh McLean O 53 57 110 17.84 32 Thabit Ayoub O 54 56 110 17.84 34 Chris McLean O 58 54 112 15.29 34 Chris Johnson O 56 56 112 15.29 34 Hemi Te Awhitu O 57 55 112 15.29 37 Regan Caldwell O 58 56 114 13.25 38 Rolf Liechti M 56 59 115 12.23 39 Frank McFarland O 61 56 117 10.70 39 Guido Leek M 62 55 117 10.70 41 Barry Doleman M 61 57 118 9.17 42 Aaron Miers O 63 58 121 8.15 43 Craig Louvdale O 63 59 122 7.13 44 Sheree Gentil WM 61 67 128 6.10 45 Toby Gentil J 69 66 135 4.57 45 Martin White M 67 68 135 4.57 47 Andrew Humphreys O 58 58 3.04 48 Alice Smith W 74 74 2.02 49 Bree Papa W 87 87 1.00

 

Paradise Doubles

Nigel Hailstone Simon Feasey 40 Dave 'Sammy' Neilson Martin Doeerken 43 Gareth Dykes Uan Spike 45 James Smithells Pete Crowther 46 Craig MaNab Mario Cerniar 46 Hazen Simson Martin Galley 47 Elliott Menzies Russell King 47 Tyler D. Johnson Frank McFarland 48 Elias Lilo Dennis Behan 49 Kyle Murray Philip Murray 50 Tomas Larsson Felipe Stein 50 Rolf Lieehti Buzz 51 Andrew Humphreys Bree Papa 56 Hannah Joynt Jenny Joynt 62 Chris McLean Joshua McLean dnf

 

See you next time!