All posts by Ken Orr

North Harbour, Top NZ courses

GULF HARBOUR COUNTRY CLUB – A Birthday Treat

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Club House heading up 18.

It’s my birthday!! I celebrated with an early morning trip to one of New Zealand’s best golf courses.
Opened in 1997 it is but a baby in golf course terms. It feels a lot more grown up when you get out there.
It is a 45 minute drive north of Auckland into the North Harbour district out on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
Overlooking the Gulf of Hauraki and nestled amongst a beautiful suburb. The course overlooks the Pacific ocean- it is an
amazing part of the New Zealand landscape.

Even the entrance driveway tells you the course is set up be be something special. Not a pot hole on the tarmac and neither on the greens. Possibly the best greens I’ve putted on, so excuses are futile at this point.

The team in the pro shop were friendly and professional and wished us well for our walk free round. I had treated myself to a cart for the day.


My thoughts on carting on the golf course are well documented, but it was my birthday. …so I get to cheat on this day!

Carts even had GPS.

This proved to be a great decision, the course sweeps up and down
over and around the coastline. The distances between holes would certainly test your fitness levels. The front nine was amongst the estate of houses built around the course following it’s establishment. It had a funny feel – not resort like – more domestic.

Contoured like a well contoured thing

It was a beautiful warm day with no wind to speak of. I would strongly advise to avoid playing here in a high wind situation, it would be long long day. The last 3 of the front nine are focused around a lake which makes for tricky but beautiful golf.

10th is called Sandwich?

All of the holes have wonderful Maori names and they all made sense for once. When you head off into the back nine Gulf Harbour shows you why it is a top 10 golf course in New Zealand.

The challenge and the view are magical. Stand up on the 16th and tell me you don’t love Gulf Harbour. Smack the ball over the ocean, carry 200 metres and you will tame the beast. Ta Moko – your identity – or the Signature hole. Lydia Ko argrees check out her thoughts Lydia’s favourite fairway.

I had a course handicap of 14, ran out in 6 over the card. I was ready to blow out the candles on my birthday ( not sure what that means.) Four quick fire double bogies going into the back nine; blew out the candles for me. I finished 17 over the card by the end, I blame the cart. I had a great birthday at Gulf Harbour Country Club.

This golf course is world class and a perfect way to get one year older.

15th Hole “Tangaroa” – God of the Sea -wanted my ball.
Auckland

Pakuranga Golf Club- Charity golf but don’t give away any shots.

We are out today as a 4 Ball ambrose to play in the Charity golf day for the Carbine Club of NZ. A great charity which raises money, to support athletes with disability.

Pakuranga Golf Club hosts this event which starts with a great sausage sizzle and a bit of banter before the shotgun start. Our team, believe it or not, are defending champions.

Spirits were high and expectations firmly in place. Pakuranga golf club has some excellent photos in their club rooms of the development around the original course. The course is in South East Auckland only 25 minutes from town. In 1969 it was a farm and the course was developed that year into the lovely parkland course it is today. The photos show the journey from farm to residential take over around the course and the suburb.

The course is in excellent condition sand based greens with well established tree lined fairways, a true parkland course. Which is a phrase I am not really sure means anything. “Resembles a park” ( has trees) “inland” ( is not links) “manicured” (they cut the grass in the rough)

There are trees up every fairway and on some holes they really encroach on your drive the – the 2nd for example needs a high sliding slice to avoid the trees which seems appealing off the tee. Our 4 ball each managed a straight drive through the trees into an impossible spot. If you are playing ambrose this is idiotic. One of our 4 manufactured a shot that put us on the green and we were putting for birdie. If you are playing ambrose you can usually scramble out of even the worst spots.

A parkland course has one thing I like – no punishing rough – trees are a pain but you always find your ball and their is usually a mythical line out of the trees to get you were you need to go.

The course is a good mix of short and long. Par 5’s can be reached in 2 and some short par 4’s bring out the “open the shoulders beast” in you. The par 3’s are all short enough to attack.

All in all a course that is good to play and could be easy to score on once you know the lie of the land. We completed 18 without a bogie on the card, and 6 birdies. Minus our 9 handicap this should have put us in the prizes with a net 56 – not a chance – net 53 took it out. We won this tournament last year and took home a golf bag each. This year we took home some memories and a top up of the tan.

No Prizes this year