About The Tour
The most significant new development in New Zealand Golf, The Golf Tour of New Zealand (GTNZ), combines New Zealand's leading amateur players (men and women) in a new tour, with many of our leading professionals.

MARK BROWN / TARANAKI OPEN

The progress of New Zealand's amateurs and professionals has slowed in recent years (with a couple of rather notable exceptions) as the golfing world has become more competitive than ever. To help meet today's changing and emerging challenges, GTNZ presents the opportunity to change the way players in this country are viewed, so that amateur and professional players alike can utilize more opportunities at home to develop as elite players.

The current separation of tournament professionals from leading amateurs, men from women, means that many of our promising and talented young elite players are suffering from a dearth of quality events to compete in and miss out on competition with more experienced and skillful adversaries.

The world rankings now feature players from countries never imagined before (for instance the Scandinavians, France and Germany are all now very competitive). One of the reasons for their rapid advance is the amount of quality competition available to them in Europe.

For NZ to facilitate the development of our own players to full potential it must have the strongest possible domestic competition. To do so we need a tournament programme that caters for all 'elite' players. GTNZ will fulfill that role.

Nurturing the Regions
The Tour will also return tournament golf to the regions that have spawned so many of this country's past and present champions. New Zealand's heartland has a rich and proud heritage of professional golf. It wasn't that long ago that the likes of Charles, Owen, Thomson and Nagle graced the fairways at courses like St Clair, Ngamotu, Belmont, Mt. Maunganui, Tauranga and Otatara. Not only are great golf venues left untested, so too are traditional golfing communities neglected.

Totally supportive of this initiative is none other than the new hero of NZ sport, Michael Campbell. "There is absolutely no question that if we are to give our talented players the best chance to become world-class players, the strongest possible domestic competition is critical. Other structures will be important too - but none can replace experience gained in the heat of battle" commented Campbell. "I'm 100% behind Greg's (Turner) plans and will do everything practicable to offer my support" he said.

GTNZ will again provide a catalyst and inspiration for young New Zealanders and the public alike to get behind our great game.

Advisory Board
Earlier this year we also established an advisory board made up of several of New Zealand's most successful, experienced and insightful sporting greats (Russell Coutts, Brett Steven, Greg Turner, Grant Fox, Anton Oliver and Tom Schnackenberg to date). Between them they have a huge collective and individual knowledge of competing and winning at the highest level in their respective fields. The experiences they have gained transcend the boundaries of different sporting codes and potentially bring fresh ideas to old problems.

While most of this group possess a significant understanding of golf, it may well sometimes be the lack of familiarity that proves the greatest asset. This team will form the core of a mentorship programme that can offer the potential for a huge acceleration in the development of our aspirational elite. All are strong individuals with a philosophy that supports the concept of self-sufficiency being a core component in individual achievement, especially in an individual sport. All have expressed the view that achieving the most competitive domestic environment is vital to the development of talent and have suggested their first and primary role as mentors should be progressing that cause.