Hawks Nest Ladies Classic

2026 MARKS the 40^th Annual Hawks Nest Ladies Classic, a wonderful 2 day golf event that brings people together on the scenic mid north coast. This year’s special Ruby Anniversary event celebrated  the growth and development of ladies’ golf in our area. From its humble beginnings as part of the Myall Prawn Festival of the 1970’s,  with entry fee for the game of golf just $3, the Hawks Nest Classic has  become one of the most popular ladies’ events on the NSW golfing calendar. It’s is a great competition for players at all levels, played in a friendly atmosphere at beautiful Hawks Nest Golf Course.

We would like to thank our major sponsor this year, Reflections Holidays, for their generous and ongoing support of Ladies’ Golf in our community. Also thank you to GWM and Burton Automotive, who offered a fabulous Hole-in-One prize of a Haval car on the 3^rd hole (though sadly for the ladies the prize did not go off this year). Other local businesses such as Nelson Bay Golf Club, Estia, IGA, Mumm’s on the Myall, Tea Gardens Ferries, Myall Coast Realty, Alana’s Flowers and the Hawks Nest Pro Shop all donated prizes, and we thank our supporters for their contribution to a fabulous tournament.

Over 236 players from far and wide competed in this 2 day event, with over 40 clubs represented in the field. The Sunday night Meet and Greet had the golf club buzzing with excitement as the ladies kicked off the party. A special mention goes to Judy Spicer. returning for her 11th year all the way from Norfolk Island. In fact, most players were familiar faces, having played in the Classic for sometimes 25 years or more. Large teams coming back included groups from Belmont, Breakers on the Central Coast, Avalon, Tanilba Bay, Nelson Bay, Newcastle, Muree and Merewether, to name a few.

But perhaps the biggest contingent this year came from Bayview Golf Club, in Mona Vale. 34 ladies brought their wonderful sense of fun, friendship and enthusiasm for golf, as they have every year. The Hawks Nest Ladies Classic is a highlight in their golfing calendar, so the Bayview girls all hover at their computers when the booking sheet goes live each November! This year they had much to celebrate, with Jane Reed winning the Nett Champion’s Trophy, and Kaye Platt hitting a wonderful hole-in-one on the 5^th hole during round 1. Kaye said it was her first one ever, hit sweetly with her 5 wood but that she lost sight of it, suspecting it had rolled into the bunker. She was ecstatic when she realized it was in the hole!

We were delighted to see some ladies here for their first Classic, and we’re pretty sure they too, will become regulars. It’s also fantastic to see ladies who may no longer manage to play golf still coming with their friends to enjoy the party. One of the popular party highlights was 200 ladies celebrating together at the ‘Rockin’ the Ruby Red’ Dinner Dance on Monday evening, where the club became a red zone never seen before. Still looking for Alice!

A huge thank you to everyone who provided their time and effort to showcase Hawks Nest Golf Club in such a spectacular manner. This includes the hard working Hawks Nest Ladies Committee, The Pro Shop, Sando’s Restaurant, club staff and a large team of members and volunteers. Their efforts included creating floral arrangements and wonderful morning teas each day, modelling this year’s fashions, selling raffle tickets, being a willing helper around the course spotting and raking the bunkers, or a hundred other behind the scenes tasks to guarantee the event’s success.  And as always, our course was in beautiful condition thanks to Sam Coates and the ground staff team.

The Ladies Classic also has a proud tradition of fund raising in support of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, and with the generosity of our prize donors and visitors, we raised $2,062 this year. Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2026 Hawks Nest Ladies Classic. We’ll do it all again next year!

Congratulations to our Major Winners (36 holes) for 2026:

2026 Ladies Gross Winner

1^st                  Katrina Skinner-Oyston  (Easts Leisure and Golf)

R/U  Dominique Kelly  (Merewether GC)

2026 Ladies Nett Winner

1^st  Jane Reed  (Bayview GC)

R/U Ann Hamilton  (Belmont GC)

2026 Ladies Stableford Winner

1^st   Catherine Piggott (Northbridge GC)

R/U  Robin Mc Clelland  (Muree GC)

The full winners list will be available of the Hawks Nest Golf Club website.

By Dianne BOWES