Three Christchurch tradies will swap building sites and heavy machinery for golf clubs next month as they attempt to make New Zealand sporting history at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest indoor golf championship.

Kyle Hurley, Morgan Gallagher and Abel King will represent X-Golf Avonhead at the 2026 X-League Championship in Brisbane on August 7 and 8.

The Christchurch trio is the only New Zealand team to qualify for the tournament and will face eight Australian sides from centres including Perth, Melbourne and Darwin.

No New Zealand team has won the competition since it began 14 years ago, but team captain Hurley said the Canterbury underdogs were determined to change that.

“There’s a bit on the line for us. Plenty of great teams have represented X-Golf Avonhead over the years, but no New Zealand team has brought the trophy home. We’d love to change that,” he said.

The team qualified for the championship during its first X-League season, an achievement Hurley said had come as a surprise.

“We spend our weekdays on building sites and in machinery, not on golf courses, and that’s what makes this opportunity so exciting,” he said.

“We’re the underdogs, but we’d really love to prove a bunch of everyday tradies can bring the championship back to New Zealand.”

The championship follows a season involving more than 1700 players and will feature golfers from a range of backgrounds competing through indoor simulator technology.

X-League began in Melbourne in 2012 with just 30 competitors and has grown to include 35 X-Golf venues across metropolitan and regional Australia and New Zealand.

The competition offers players a structured team environment without many of the traditional barriers associated with golf, including weather, lengthy rounds and varying levels of experience.

Golf Australia figures show participation in off-course golf activities is growing by almost 17 percent each year.

X-Golf Group X-League coordinator Nick Treble said the championship reflected the increasing demand for alternative ways to play and compete.

“What makes X-League special is that every team has a unique story. Some are families, some are workmates and others are lifelong friends, but they’re all united by a love of the game,” Treble said.

“Technology has helped make competition more accessible, but at its heart, X-League is about everyday people getting the chance to represent their community and compete among Australia and New Zealand’s best.

“It’s always a real buzz for our finalists and we’re really excited to see how the championship weekend plays out for its 14th year.”

The competition uses X-Golf Group’s simulator technology, combining high-speed cameras, lasers and infrared impact sensors to recreate playing conditions in a controlled indoor environment.

The championship will be held at X-Golf South Bank in Brisbane, with the winning team receiving $20,000 worth of prizes, including a golf trip to Barnbougle Dunes Golf Links in Tasmania.