Nambucca golfer Ashton Herbert qualifies for state championships Nambucca Valley Sport Property/Sports/Opinion - popup ad Sport by News Of The Area - Modern Media - March 13, 2025 Ashton Herbert chips to the 16th green at the Nambucca Heads Island Golf Course. NAMBUCCA Heads phenom Ashton Herbert ticked a major goal box when he qualified for the NSW All Schools Golf Championships – after a nervous wait. The path to the battle of the best in the west required a Top 16 finish in the Catholic Schools NSW qualifier at Tuncurry Golf Course on Monday, 3 March. This was no easy task for the five-marker as many in the field were on a lower handicap. Trouble struck early for the St John Paul College student who stumbled around the front in five-over par including a triple bogey on Tuncurry’s toughest hole – a brutal par four. “I managed to grind it out on the back nine and after spraying my drive on the last I just had to punch it out and hit a wedge to a foot to save par,” Herbert said. That gave the 16-year-old a seven over round of 79 – on the cusp of qualifying to advance. “It wasn’t until the next day that I found out I’d made it through by a single shot,” he said. That news brought equal doses of relief and excitement for the Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club junior. Next step will be the 72-hole All Schools tournament at Dubbo over four days, 23-26 June. “I have been working hard on my game and will need to keep stepping it up,” Herbert said. “It’s a big opportunity and the support I’ve had from everyone at the (Island) club is immensely appreciated. It means the world to me.” Meanwhile, Alfred the rain bomb formerly known as a tropical cyclone, put paid to competition golf on The Island this past week on all but one day. Nambucca’s Paul Ryan rolled back the years with an excellent 82 off the stick including a birdie on the 7th in the Mid North Coast Trucks-sponsored veterans medley stableford on Tuesday, 4 March. That gave the 15-handicapper 38 points and the win in Div 1, one point clear of Urunga’s Kevin Sanford (14 handicap). Sanctuary Golf Club’s Craig Deamer (11) finished on 35 points. In Div 2, Bellingen’s Cormac McMullen (19) had the best round of the day with a sizzling 41 points. His round included seven pars and a bird on the 4th. Runner-up was Bowraville’s David Salvin (25) on 36 points on a countback from Social Golf Australia’s Phillip Hemming (19). The ball run went down to 32 points with Macksville’s Rod Edwards the last to collect. By Chris KNIGHT Nambucca’s Ashton Herbert at the testing Tuncurry Golf Course where an errant shot into the woods requires utmost caution in brown snake habitat.
