Each year sixteen of us gather, and each man brings a guest. We make four sides and play three of Queenstown's great courses.
We play to the traditions of the game. Strokeplay over the first two rounds, with each side keeping its three best cards, then a team scramble to close. One side lifts the trophy and one competitor takes the individual honours. Patrons are welcome to follow along, provided they hold their applause until the putt has dropped.
Millbrook rests in the Arrow Basin beneath Coronet Peak, with the Remarkables standing over the closing holes. The fairways are broad and the second cut is kind. Most competitors give back a shot or two to the view across the first nine.
Sir Michael Hill laid this private course through Arrowtown and set sculpture among the holes. You will line a putt beside a work of art, then lose it left of the green. The members hold the putting surfaces in high regard, and rightly so.
The Invitational closes along the shore of Lake Wakatipu, where John Darby routed Jack's Point through tussock and schist beneath the Remarkables. The final day is a team scramble: four players, one ball, the lowest side takes the day. Hold your nerve and mind the honour of the occasion.
Post each round's scores, follow the team and individual honours, and read any single round or the full Invitational.
Each day stands on its own. Players earn points by where they finish that round, sixteen for the win down to one, and sides earn four down to one. Ties share their points. Because every day is scored the same way, a strokeplay round and the closing scramble count for exactly the same. The individual title runs over the two strokeplay rounds; the team trophy adds all three days together. The small figure beside each points tally is the score to par, for interest.