My view on Formosa Golf Club is 2 fold, brilliant design, stunning location but in need of some loving. – is that 3 fold?

This is a follow-up post from last months late afternoon trip around the front nine, the course has moved forward quickly since then. Over a quarter of the bunkers now have sand in them. We ran a rule across the day if there was a rake you had to play from the bunker. No rake = a free drop. Throughout the round, there was the sound of rustling bushes as rakes were heaved out of sight out and of mind in search of a free drop.

The course was in good condition, fairways are coming along, and the greens are excellent. I am positive that Formosa Golf Club will step back up into the New Zealand limelight with new owners getting the job done. The biggest disappointment of the day was that the bar was closed, under renovation.

The back nine here is the best of the 2 sides. It has the coastal views, water features and a couple of the best holes in New Zealand. The 10th starts the magic with a tight dogleg to the left with a difficult green around the corner. The encroaching villas will have seen a few balls on their front lawn, I’m sure.

The hole that really caught my attention was the 11th. Maybe because I send a perfect iron into the headwind to about 10 feet. The downhill wonder is 151 from the whites. And a full 207 from the back tees, the beauty of Formosa is that the variations in tee choices changes the course difficulty, significantly.

The 11th is protected by good bunkering but the real challenge is the green. It sits nicely into the contour of the land, skinny from front to back, with ridges of undulation that make the thought of 2 putts seem like a success.

For sure the 11th at Formosa is on the list of Best Golf Holes in New Zealand.

The problem with picking a hole of the day at Formosa is that it keeps on giving. The tee shot from the 12th is awesome. An elevated tee showing off a sweeping par 5. Three fairway bunkers early and massive bunker further up which is over 100 meters long. Looking back down from the green is a view to behold and a reminder of how big the bunker is.

The views around the back nine are distracting and the golf course design is challenging. The stretch through 15 to 17 calls for thoughtful golf.

15 is a short par 3 with plenty of protection in front of the green. Which looks easy enough if you can make the right club choice. And not so easy if you get that wrong.

The classy 16th will get your juices going, a long par 5, 453 metes from the whites, and a long bus ride from the back tees. If you get a good drive away your temptation is to get up near the green.

A lone tall pine will catch your eye and most likely your ball. If you don’t do your homework you’ll be oblivious to the sneaky stream in the deep gully in front of the green. Laying up seems like a waste but it might be the wise thing to do.

This par 5 is one of the best in the land and can keep you awake at night with the approach. But it is lovely once you are up on the putting surface, unless you are facing a steep downhill 20 footer…

Standing on the 18th tee gives you a great vista of the clubhouse and surrounding area. The work is not done with an encroaching pond and a tricky approach to a large green.

Formosa Golf Club is a currently well worth the drive from central Auckland. I can see the whole complex on the rise and this will continue. I’d suggest you get out and experience the course today, the value for money is second to none in the region. You cannot put a price on this location.

Formosa Golf Resort is a wonderfully crafted golf design. The legend that is Sir Bob Charles, used his years of experience to good creativity to come up with this golf course.

The NZ Open was held right here in 1998, with that the course was surely aiming for greatness. In a few quick years, the gloss came off and so did the wheels.

I played here a couple of years ago and lost a ball in the middle of the 1st fairway, plugged somewhere into the sopping wet pastures. The course was a mess, I won’t elaborate but such beauty had fallen from grace. The atmosphere in the pro shop and bar were all wrong, defeated.

I came back one late afternoon when the weather looked settled and after a stretch of rainless days. A golf course that should give you more, deserves another chance so I drove the 40 minutes from Auckland city with no thought that I would need a tee slot secured.

When I got close to the driveway I remembered how impressive it was to pull up to the large grounds and make my way to the clubrooms.

I was hoping this old Supermodel wasn’t sat there clutching a beer on her porch, with a toothless mouth and false teeth sitting in a jar. With her belly fat sitting low over her filthy shorts giving herself a hair cut. Shouting obscene comments to the players as they passed her by.

I received a very friendly welcome in the shop from the Pro who had a passion for talking golf. Unfortunately, I could only play 9 holes due to the time I arrived, shame really. I took the front nine as the back nine was busy.

There are new owners and big hope for a resurgence of Formosa Golf Resort. I do hope this is true and this course gets back on its feet.

The tees range from a manageable 5,704 metres off of the whites, up to 6,633 off of the blacks. So the variety of golfers that can enjoy the magical location and well crafted course is wide.

There are panoramic views of Waiheke Island and Rangitoto from the course as you walk the clifftops and coastal fairways. A glimpse back across to Auckland CBD in the distance reminds you we aren’t far from the city of sails.

Formosa Golf Course has all the bones of a classic, palm trees swaying in the wind. A resort feel and wonderful sweeping driving holes, there are water features and picture-perfect greens.

The place stinks of a lack of water when it needs it and holding too much fluid when it doesn’t. Let’s hope the new owners get the drainage and the sprinklers back in action.

The Front Nine

The first is a good way to get your round going, a down hill shortish par 4 with a palm tree framed green. You should get off to a good start.

The 2nd is a 165-metre par 3 into a tiered green over a wee pond that doesn’t really come into play. A long par 5 number 3 has a sandless fairway bunker to catch your pushed drive.

The 4th tee shot needs an accurate drive through an encroaching tree tunnel. Formosa style is on show off of the 5th, from the elevated tee box, a pond asks you to take on the corner. More water on the 6th I was warming to the challenge and ignoring the rough fairways.

Hole of the Day

The 7th is a canny par 3 to a long 2 tiered green, the tee box is a great place to be, looking up at the green framed by the overhanging trees.

I was sad to be standing on the 9th tee box, a great par 5 to take you back to the clubhouse. Nine holes at Formosa was not enough on this lovely evening. I wished I had arrived a little earlier to make it a full 18.

I managed to par the last with an up and down from the only bunker on the course with sand in it. The previous owners must have stolen all the sand to pay for their taxi ride out of here.

Missing out on the back nine was a shame, it has some great holes and better coastal views. I put the clubs away and promised to come back to play the rest and keep an eye on the progress of this once great golf course.

I had a good yarn with the pro and it seems work is underway to put the lipstick back on this pig. It will take a lot of puff and some mouth to mouth to resurrect Formosa. Good luck to the people here in their mission to put this course back at the top of great New Zealand golfing destinations.

Onewhero Golf Club is in the Waikato but is a member of the Auckland District Golf Association. The fertile volcanic soil has encouraged the tree growth and allows for a year-round challenging 18 holes of golf.

There is a great history of the club on the website and this is celebrated around the clubrooms. Since 1929 Onewhero Golf Club has been plotting a golf course to put you to the test.

I love a tree, there are many varieties to admire for their beauty, their majesty and some are useful as a windbreak or to put in your firebox in the winter.

Onewhero has planted thousands of trees which have flourished on the rich volcanic soil. Dominated by macrocarpa trees but also other natives and a monkey puzzle added in for interest.

The macrocarpa tree is great for burning, very popular long burning wood. This tree is solid, most trees are 90% air these are more like 90% trunk and branch. Low hanging branches result in no way out if you end up in one of the many treelined options for you.

Admire the trees don’t go in amongst them. Good luck with that plan at Onewhero.

A pretty place to play, I was expecting some hills but it was not too steep. A worthy workout and an interesting variety of holes.

The first hole sets the scene, a massive gully to drive into followed by an uphill approach to a difficult pedestal green. I pared the hole and my spirits lifted. With hindsight, I think I had just upset the course and thereafter the trees worked together to make my life hell.

Standing on the 2nd tee you get a breathtaking view across the course, including the newly remodelled holes on the back nine.

The club redeveloped the back nine holes about 5 years ago. If the trees weren’t enough they added three water holes, more hazards, bunkers and out of bounds. Hold onto your hat this course has plenty to offer.

The front nine is a tree-lined nightmare, my driver was having a day of non-compliance which introduced me to many a low hanging branch. There are doglegs all through the front nine, so getting off the tee was keeping me busy.

The back nine is awesome, Onewhero grows into a golf course of note as you make your way around the second half. The tree danger does not go away, I will quote from one of the hole descriptions.

” Stray left off the tee and you will end up in all sorts of bother, the trees here are so thick with their branches close to the ground. Stray to the right and hit it far enough you will land on the 3rd fairway. At the 180 metre mark a large pine tree can come into play on the right hand side. To be safe, just hit the ball down the middle. ”

A pro tip or general hole advice is surprisingly useless at times, hit the middle of the fairway, keep your ball on the green, beware of putting surface.

Amen Corner

The start of Amen Corner (12th to 14th) is were the course stamps it’s mark on the world.

The 12th is a par 5, reachable in 2 if you want to take on the water guarding the front of the green. I hit my driver a long way and chose a 7 iron to get me up over the water. I impressed myself by hitting it so well I flew the green by 10 metres.

They have done a good job with remodelling this part of the course. It is a change of scene from tree-lined doglegs and makes the back nine a treat.

13 is a short par 3 followed by an even shorter par 3. On the 14th tee, the 121 metres is intimidating and beautiful. This would be the hole of the day for me. Onewhero has made the list of Best Golf Holes in NZ with its presentation of the 14th.

Out of Amen corner, the 15th is a short par 4, 289 metres and surely reachable in the dry conditions. I waived the white flag looking at the dangerous drive. I went 8 iron & 8 iron, very clever golf to hit the green and the 3 putts made it a stupid outcome.

It was a hot day and I was fading fast. The trees were dry and creaking all around me. I succumbed to my own head of thoughts.

Like a Stephen Spielberg movie, the place was closing in on me. Hiding behind my sofa on each tee shot, I couldn’t muster a par on any of the last 6 holes. There are 2 short par 5’s to finish, I couldn’t even hack a par out of those.

A great day out at a Onewhero Golf Club. But if I had my way I’d organise a firewood sale and gladly watch trailer loads of the dreaded macrocarpa tree head off to heat the homes of needy people.

Maxwell’s Golf Retreat is 9 holes over 1388 metres. There are 8 par 3’s and 1 (tricky) par 4. The holes vary in distance from 98m to 233m.

I was expecting a nice pitch and putt experience, but what followed at Maxwell’s was a well thought out 9 holes. Don’t be fooled by Maxwell’s, plenty of bunkers maybe 18 of them and water encroaches on 4 holes to keep you honest.

I met Mrs Maxwell herself, a very warm and friendly welcome to her home for the last 20 years. She has built this wonderful corner of the golfing world herself. As a successful golfer in her own right, she has given back in spades to the future of golf in New Zealand.

I had a sense this was a well-loved golf course, it felt like you were playing at someone’s home. Worthy of a spot on the Top 10 NZ 9 Hole Golf Courses.

The 5th is a great hole challenging your shot-making as the water protects a small green. Once that has been mastered the 6th brings you back over the water to my pick of the best looking hole of the day.

The course has subtle elevation changes and sits on 2 hills. A thoroughly enjoyable golfing day out.

The last heading back up to the clubhouse makes you weary with your tee shot, nothing thinned off the tee would be appropriate!

A really good bar and the deck was a good spot for refreshments. The idea this little course would be an easy beat was not the case. Water hazards did their job when required, subtle elevation changes made life difficult and the greens had to be read.

You will enjoy a day out at Maxell’s, I surely did and I’ll be back!

Over the Bombay hills south of Auckland city. November burst into life with a beautiful summers day. The countryside was dry, tee boxes were a little hard and fairways were on the border of drying out. The rain gods are needed to keep the Maramarua Golf Course in good condition. But today it was just right.

The dry conditions meant the greenkeepers had to top up the water on the greens, we did get caught in a few sprinkler bursts. The greens were okay but a little hairy which made them slow to putt on.

Maramarua Golf Club is in a rural setting, the course has character aplenty. I was an immediate fan – the first was stroke hole 17 a short par four. I started with a par and followed up with 2 more.

The fourth is called Fish or Chip only 302 meters but the tight fairway and encroaching water challenge the tee shot. The pro advice on the website is, ” the smart option is …. blah blah blah.” We know what comes next and it involves an iron from the tee. I hit driver and this was not smart, but it felt good!

The course is a wonderful challenge none more so than the 8th. Stoney Batter ( the 8th) is stroke hole 1, 371 metres par 4 with a small lake protecting the front of the 2 tiered green.

The New Clubs

This was the first day that I had the full complement of new clubs in my bag. Mizuno JPX919 Hot Metal Pro irons and Titleist T2 driver and hybrid. They were flying me along today. 2 over the card after 9, a birdie on 7th helped. The guys at the clubroom fitted me well for these clubs, I am loving having them in the bag.

My good scoring started to slip going into the back nine. Due to sunstroke, thirst, tiredness, old age, new golf swing, and a full heavy bag. I required some concentration to keep the round under 80. 3 closing pars got me home in 79 on the par 71 5,574 metre course.

I passed down my old clubs to my boy who used them well today and even secured a 2 on the par 3 14th. Another golfing milestone for him.

What I like about Maramarua Golf Club is the quiet setting and the interesting touches around the place. They have gone with a stand-up rake for the bunkers – a nice touch of class.

Fish or Chip maybe one of the top hole names in the land. The hole naming committee didn’t take an easy road here. There was no Elbow or Westward Ho to be seen.

Easy Away, Long Fellow, The Sniper, Deception are some of the classy titles. Thank you for making some creative effort!

You will enjoy your day out at Maramarua Golf Club, so if you are south of the Bombay hills drop in for a round.

Chamberlain Park Golf Club is a parkland course in Mt. Albert. A public course which is great value for your money.

You turn up and get in the queue at Chamberlain. It was Father’s day and the course was packed with father son combos. We waited over half an hour to get our turn on the first.

I started my long and rocky golfing career on a municipal public golf course in Glasgow. Knightswood Municipal Golf course is 9 holes, you waited for your name to be shrieked out of the starter’s hut to announce your invitation to get on the tee box. It was a joker’s paradise using the name of a famous footballer or politician – many a Mick Jagger and Mohammed Ali were called up onto the tee. We had one golf club each and a putter between the 3 of us. I’m not sure were we got the golf balls.

Chamberlain Park Golf Club is under threat of extinction. The local council is attempting to carve up this course for other outdoor activities and maybe the odd development.

The movement to stop this ridiculous plan is vocal and extremely determined to save the park. This voice is being ignored by the council and others who don’t know better, their claim is that golf courses take up too much space.

Today there was not enough space for the son’s taking their fathers out for a bonding golf game. The winter sun was warm on this fine day. I met a friend who was out with his elderly father. The group behind us were bickering over the scoring on the 3rd tee, and then we heard “Happy Father’s day!” and a barrel of laughing. A great day in the golfing calendar.

Save Chamberlain Park Golf Club

I can only urge you all to visit the site Save the CPark and pledge allegiance to the course. On the site you will find out why it is vital we keep our golf courses. The history that these places carry with them, the value to the community are not to be swished aside easily. There is a climate change revolution happening right now. The council making less room for golfers and golf courses is not the what they should be focusing their time to. Their plan is to cut down acres of trees and add some concrete.

There has been no consideration of heritage or ecology in the proposed plan. The vision of some council members is truly fogged. This golf course is one of busiest in New Zealand. How can you be thinking that making it smaller is in the best interests of the people of Auckland?

This is a true public golf course. What does that mean? It is here for the general public to play a game with no airs or graces. All you need to do is take your clubs from the garage and head out to play. You don’t need a collared shirt or non denim shorts. The dress code of conduct suggest only that a shirt is worn at all times.

There was a group of 9 men all playing the same hole with 2 carts and a loud speaker to announce their arrival with music to freshen up the air.

A public course does not equal poor golf. Chamberlain has an interesting layout, with rolling fairways. It was playing well in the mid of winter. It is a course that all types of golfer can enjoy. And that my friends is what golf is for. We have a handicapping system that allows the best to play with the worst on a level pegging.

The day out at Chamberlain on father’s day was memorable because it was father’s day. Not so memorable was the number of times my son out drove me. No pocket money for him next week.

News Flash! Father wins the Father/Son Father’s Day Challenge!

I was playing well around Chamberlain until I hit 6 – 6 – 6 the number of the beast on 3 holes in a row. I sorted out my round on the back nine with a steady 39 this gave me a Father winning score of 84 for the day.

Clarks Beach Golf Club is due south out of Auckland. Get off at horse country through Karaka and head to the peninsula that is
Clarks Beach.
This wise old owl chose playing a sand based course in the dead of winter. Winter in Auckland is no winter at all, when you are from Scotland. We had a still and sunny day to get out on the links of Clarks beach.

A friendly bunch you’ll find here, they even waived the fee for my 16 year old and told me to have a good time with him, “he will be paying for you soon enough.”

You’ll be pleased to read I left the trundler bag at home and picked up the clubs. It felt great to get the bag on my back once again.

A flat looking course in fabulous condition. The greens looked inviting and were very true. Just over 5,000 metres the course isn’t too long with many short par 5’s and par 4’s.

I was expecting a scoring feast in these conditions and on this easy little course. On a windy day Clarks Beach would have some teeth but not today.
Or so I thought. Having negotiated the opening 3 holes in good shape the pretty little course woke up and fought back.

The 4th green is a place you don’t want to be. Double digits on the Stimp stick reading I’m sure. I stood over a 5 foot birdie putt and putted straight off the front of the green.
And then it started the hidden undulation of the greens here make securing 2 putts a lesson in patience and control. I had 4 birdie putts inside 6 feet none of which were ever going in.

The mental fatigue from staring at the devilish greens was getting to me. I would imagine in the heat of the summer you would be in an impossible position more often than not.
All of the par 3’s are attractive little numbers. The “prettiest hole on the course” number 12 is only 110 metres but a par is a treasure.
Fantastic views framing green with good bunkering all around. According to the pro tip the bunker will be your savour. Was this written by a golfer?

The par 4 7th looks easy, simple drive and shortish flip wedge into the green no drama, except there is water all around the green and close, oh so close.

Don’t be fooled by Clarks Beach Golf course . OB hugs many a hole here and the water is not a serene soothing touch to the area. The water appears to challenge your shot making on a regular occasion.

We met a lot of friendly locals, including a retired chap who wandered over to us on the 17th to pronounce “ I had 4 putts on this green yesterday!” – so it wasn’t just us. He wore a pink sun faded Clarks Beach Golf Club cap and knew the ferocity of the little course better than most I’m sure.
Utterly wonderful golf course pretty as a picture, challenging as it needed to be with friendly people to boot. A great addition to my adventure to meet every course in the land.

Course handicap of 15 today, the index moves tomorrow. I should drop closer to the mythical single figure mark following a few steady rounds.

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.