Manor Park Golf Club – A skinny sanctuary

March 6, 2021 Ken Orr

They say there is nothing like Wellington on a good day, this was a great day. Two reasons it was great, the weather was picture perfect and I was playing golf in the weather bomb, actually, it is not a bomb that refers to bad weather.

What is the good weather equivalent? A weather revelation, maybe. When a storm undergoes a rapid pressure drop, that’s known as “explosive bombogenesis.” Hence weather “bomb” – I was feeling good and had a few bombs of my own planned.

Manor Park Golf Sanctuary is a great title for this 18 hole affair in Lower Hutt. A Sanctuary is a place safe from persecution and a refuge from the torment of the world outside. This was putting me at peace.

It is situated on the banks of the Hutt River and is a skinny course, no more than 3 fairways wide at any point and mainly only two, as it goes out and back with little crossover. This allows you to read the wind either 1 way or the other way. There are no variations in direction of travel, just up or back.

The sanctuary has an environmental certification for how it looks after the wildlife in these beautiful golf surroundings. There are wetlands and the Haywards stream on course, perfect for harbouring a thriving environmentally friendly golf course.
This course is exceptional value for your money $20 Sunday to Friday.

I played off of the Terracotta tees, an interesting choice of colour palette for the day. The tees are non-gender based, grey for the short course, terracotta for the longer course and blue for Championship contenders.

The first is an excellent starting hole, only 293 metres but a creek staddles the fairway at exactly 200 metres. As your first hit of the day you need confidence. The smart shot looks like a 6 iron short of the creek and a pitching wedge into the green.

A simple start really, we had just come out of 3 days of COVID lockdown but the driving range was open during that time. I had two driver only sessions to get the big stick straight, so it seemed like a waste to leave it in the bag.

I smashed the drive over the creek up to a few metres from the green. “you can’t beat golf on a good day!” The sanctuary thing was working for me.

My playing handicap was 14 today 2 more than my index of exactly 12. Evidence of how difficult the course would turn out to be. Your handicap is an indication of your potential. According to the stats, most golfers only play to their index 25% of the time. Playing to or beating your handicap is not a regular occurrence and should be cherished.

Manor Park Golf Club is narrow from every tee box, there are no free swings here. Add in the 2 streams to flirt with and you have a challenge on your hands.

The second hole is the first of the par 3’s – there are 5 par 3’s over the 18 holes. None of which is an easy proposition. The 2nd is 178 metres, with good bunkering.

The next par 3, the 5th is 190 metres. So not exactly an attacking opportunity. The 6th is your best chance at a putt for a two today, 136 metres but the green is a 2 tier sloppy number so getting off with 2 putts is good enough for most.

The 3rd and 4th are par 5’s – two of the four long holes on course, all of them require a long straight drive and a solid second to have a pitch to the green.

The par 5’s are all 450 metres and more, the 14th is 488 metres and the longest hole on the course with the Hutt river breathing down your neck. The wise pro tip even tells you to avoid the river.

This course gives you nothing, so cherish each par you get around here.
The stretch from 12 to 17 is tough, in the heat of the summer, I was slowing down, so these testing last few were making it hard to get to my handicap challenge for the day.

I finished 1 over the 14 shots given to me and was moderately okay with that.

Manor Park Golf Club is a quiet course and simple in its appearance. The greens are good and flat. They hold a ball that is well struck, the slopes are subtle, challenging but not dangerous. It is a hard place to post an under-par net score so beware.

The holes are all named, nothing to write home about though. The 14th is “Pomare” I had to look this up, apparently the name of an unofficial suburb of Lower Hutt. How is a suburb unofficial? Are there rebel Lower Hutters fighting to re-establish their past, shoulder to shoulder with the Catalans?

Play here at Manor Park Golf Club, if you like an easy walking course and you can keep it long a straight off the tee.

Waikato

PAEROA GOLF CLUB – Crushed IT!!

February 11, 2021 Ken Orr

The town of Paeroa is world-famous in New Zealand since ages ago. I have never been to this legend of a town and I was a bit excited driving down the main street. The Paeroa Golf Club is 6 km from the massive L&P bottle in the heart of the town. Paeroa town is more than just a fizzy drink, there is interesting shopping and it has a cool vibe.

The course was very quiet, sitting lonely at Rotokohu, in the Valley of the Mist. It was a beautifully clear hot day, no idea where that name came from, not today anyway.

The history of Paeroa Golf Club has been very well documented in the “Century of Golf Strokes” published for the centenary celebrations in 2004. It was a pleasure to be playing a golf course with such a rich history and at the heart of the local community.

There is a par 3 to start, just like Thames Golf Club I like this unusual choice of starting hole.

The next 3 holes have a boundary fence tight to the right-hand side of the fairway. I would recommend leaving your slice in the car.

Following the short starter, it gets serious on the 2nd, the longest hole on the course a 482 metre par 5.

And wakey wakey the 3rd is another monster par 5 at 466 metres. Fully warmed up now, I enjoyed the run through the 4th-6th, “Summit” had a great looking approach to the narrow green.

“Elbow” the 5th need a power fade to slide around the corner and get up near the green on the short par 4. I enjoyed the drive here, blind from an elevated tee box.

The hole of the day was the spectacular 6th. There was water on the right and bush on the left to attract your eye. But the view across “Chasm” was enticing. 133 metres down across the steep valley, just lovely in a lovely part of the world.

A new local tee, – the L&P Tee – is slightly high but encourages you to hit up on the ball.

The ninth is a cool hole with a tight corridor of trees to negotiate from the tee. The green is protected by a stream and a couple of well placed bunkers.

The back nine starts with a “Westward Ho” – I have been critical of this hole name previously. From reading the 100 year history of the club this name was in place many years ago. So maybe I need to nod to the past and pull my head in.

But what I did discover from the pages is that the 3rd was called “Donga” in 1948. In 2004 they dropped this name in favour of “The Pines” – good bye Donga and good riddance. ! That’s one for the record books, other clubs take note you can alter your past and move your club forward with better hole names, come on…..

The back nine has good scoring opportunities with mid-length par 4’s and generous fairways. The far end of the course brings you back up stroke hole 1, the 14th, “Homeward” needs 2 good shots to get up to the green.

The closing 4 should set up your card, if you haven’t run out of puff. So keep a can of the good lemony stuff on hand to power you home.

18 is a short 286-metre par 4 taking you back to the clubrooms. “Journey’s End” is apt, enjoy the peace of the valley and remember those that have gone before. A great kiwi classic with a little fizz.

Waikato

Thames Golf Club – A Toe into the Coromandel and All that Jazz.

January 13, 2021 Ken Orr

The Kopu Bridge that crosses the Waihou River into the Coromandel is the gateway to Thames. This was the busiest one-laned bridge affair in the country, until 2012 when the new bridge was completed with 2 full lanes.

I stopped before the bridge to fill up the tank and get provisions, unsure if I’d find an open clubhouse at the golf club with drinks on show. The man at the gas station was stout and had a baritone tonality to his voice. Deep but smooth as he bid me a good day.

A quiet car park at Thames Golf Club, but the golf shop was open, I felt a little disquiet as I wasn’t for adding any revenue to the club on this occasion. The lady in the clubhouse shop was dressed in shocking pink and welcomed us with husky gravel in her timbre.

Was there something about this area that attracted this type? Golf club manager by day – Jazz singer by night? She was interested, like most Jazz singers. Where we were from and do we know the course?

I bought a pitch marker repair tool with the Thames Golf Club logo on to make up for the previous lack of confidence in the drink supply.

She pointed out that we start playing toward the hill and this loops back into the flat of the early part of the course. The back nine is back out towards the hill for another loop.

From the car park, I thought the course was on the flat, no she affirmed not so flat. It does venture up the hill. Not quite as testing as the Pinnacles – a local stiff climb which needs a ladder ascent near the summit to get you up top.

Near Death Experience

I played a few weeks back with a couple of older chaps. The conversation turned to which golf courses were the hardest walking. This quickly led onto which course had put my playing partner in the hospital. Waitakere was the obvious first choice. He nodded and mentioned the 18th at Maungakiekie, and how he fell over at Pupuke, ” you need one long leg and one short leg to play there every week.”

Thames Golf Club was not that bad! A few hills out the back of the course to get the thirst up but generally manageable without a cart.

A flat start and a 163-metre par 3, I was glad of this. The driver had a month of excellence but has recently hit a speed bump. Bryson Dechambeau won the US open with only a 41% driving accuracy. I was doing the same but just significantly further from the green.

I had a lesson with the trusty Ross, which gave me a focus on how to straighten the long stick somewhat. We all know it takes 2 games and some practice to get out the other side of a lesson. This was game 1 – it could spell danger!

The course here looks like a simple affair. There was only a handful of game souls out there on the day. So I was full of inaccurate assumptions that it wasn’t much of a course.

The elevation changes start a the 3rd, 15 metres up from tee to green. Then another 10 metres up on the 4th.

The 5th is from an elevated tee in case your legs hadn’t had enough. A 295 metre dogleg par 4. A sloping fairway and tricky green made this shorty much harder than it appeared on first viewing.

The course has 7 par 4’s 300 metres or under. This should make for good scoring if you can get your drive in the right place. My driver was doing okay following the lesson, but I wasn’t feeling it. Too much thinking was getting in the way.

The front nine was a success due to a good run of pars, including a nice par on the 8th – “The Drop” a 169 metre (all downhill) par 3 – followed by a nice birdie on the par 5 nineth. I felt good about my score at the 10th tee, only 3 over the card.

Our Jazz singer appeared on the 10th tee, “not as flat as you thought eh?” she improvised.

Getting Jazzy

Following on from a front nine to be (quite) proud of, the back nine took a hold of me. I slowly realised that my golf life was like being in a big Jazz band. The marriage of golf and music came to me as I hit an off-tempo slice into the trees on the 11th.

I knew my golf game was inconsistent, it was proud and daring and stupid and brilliant. I couldn’t just learn a simple rhythm and stick to it. Always tweaking or improvising. Never happy with the pop song cookie-cutter approach.

I am Jazz in a golfer. There no definitive explanation or definition of what Jazz is. The Jazz musician has a keen sense of improvisation that allows them to thwart all attempts of confinement.

A long line of questions around where the term Jazz comes from has provided no answers. One hundred years of the birth of Jazz was celebrated in 2017, the answers to the questions of its origin and what it actually is, remain elusive.

It is spontaneous, improvised, a syncopation of ideas. This is the accenting of a note that usually would not be accented. Often described as offbeat, the true essence of Jazz. If this is not my golf game I don’t what is.

Add the realisation, the “swing” is a large part of what Jazz is and I now agree with myself that golf is Jazz. The spontaneity of Jazz allows a Jazz man to have no planning, he can walk into a Jazz “Club” that he has never visited, with guys he has never seen, and just play. Golf affords the same luxury.

When you look at a hole called “Temptation” (the 5th ) or the “Devil’s Elbow” ( the 12th) – these are risk or reward holes. If you have seen La La Land – the jazz pianist Seb frets endlessly about what is and isn’t jazz – “it’s conflict and it’s compromise, it’s new every time…” Yip that’s Jazz and that’s the choice between the Driver or the 6 iron, conflict, compromise and a new outcome every time.

I stumbled through the back nine, not playing to my full potential or to the audience. But I really enjoyed this part of the course.

There were 4 cracking risk or reward drives, a short par 5 and a cool 100 metre directly up par 3, called “Summit.” This was the opposite twin of “The Drop” on the front nine.

I’m not sure how I dropped 7 shots over the nine holes to put me back in the pack, but I enjoyed the ride.

Devil’s Elbow required a clever iron off the tee and a precise wedge into the green. The course for me came to life on the back nine and filled me with the jingling sound of a great golf course.

I think running through the hole names of a course gives you a sense of what is in store. Thames had all the classics, including “Donga”, an overly used name that should be impeached. It means a dried up ravine formed by an action of water. Why is it so prevalent across the country?

I do favour the “Hopeful” and “Calamity” they no doubt are phycological warfare on the weak minded golfer.

Back to the quality of Thames Golf Club, it is a great course over some lovely countryside. If you are crossing the bridge into the Coromandel swerve off and enjoy all that this course has to offer.

Auckland

Formosa Golf Club – The Back Nine

January 1, 2021 Ken Orr

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.

Top NZ courses

The Rustic Roundup

December 2, 2020 admin

There is a new leader in the race for the best nine holes in New Zealand.

I had a lucky discovery in the countryside and the course makes it to the best courses in the land list.

A storm blows me into a rustic beauty in Shannon.

There are many golf courses in this land of the small white ball. 393 in fact, some of them will take your life savings for the privilege of teeing up. But my focus has moved to the lifeblood of New Zealand golf and those courses in the countryside feeding our communities.

Country courses can be all rustic – sheep, fenced greens and honesty boxes. Some are more angled towards country community affairs, a home for social gathering. Most are in quiet parts of our land giving you time to hear the wildlife, see the trees and listen to yourself muttering over missed putts.

My recent travels started at the king of rustic courses. Hawkes Bay is an area of New Zealand that can claim to have a true international golfing attraction in Cape Kidnappers. But I was there to play Te Pohue Golf Club.

Where? Taupo to Napier is a nice drive touching the southern point of the mighty Kaingaroa Forrest. It climbs up to the summit of the Turangakuma ranges and once you cross the bridge over the Mohaka river, you rise again to get up over the Titiokura Saddle. One of the great New Zealand road trips to be ticked off. 30 minutes short of Napier is this nine-hole golf course. Proper rustic with sheep in the fairways and sheep tee markers. Oh and nobody else on the course.

I played this course in a wind that was part of a weather bomb heading up New Zealand. It made for a perfectly wild day on a course that has a charm all of its own and should be a must stop if in the area.

At the start of this Rustic Tour of New Zealand, I was well organised. My wallet was filled with cash to feed the honesty boxes. I mentally prepared myself to share the course with wildlife. I mentally prepared for the various greens I would encounter. I downloaded an audiobook to focus on my putting prowess.

There is a man called Dr. Bob Rotella, a golf coach guru. I listened to his “Putting out of Your Mind” audiobook on the road. This has changed my life, both the audiobook thing and the lessons learned in less than an hour.

If you need any improvement on the greens I’d advise downloading the short audiobook. Audible gives you a free book when you sign up, so I challenge you to listen and not gain the confidence over a putt that I have now, thanks to Dr. Bob. Click the pic and tell me I am wrong.

The day after Te Pohue, I headed to the legendary 12 holes at Takapau Golf club, born in 1898. The weather bomb was severe and it wouldn’t let me out of the car to find out why there was a legendary attached to my description. I had to drive off.

It took 2 hours of navigating the storm to find a break at Shannon and I was blown through the 2 farm gates of Buckley Golf Club.

In the hospitality world, you use phrases such as, ‘we under-promise and over-deliver’. Buckley didn’t make any false promises, but my expectations were easily beaten by this little country course. Some sheep early on, but some cool hole designs lurking behind the clubhouse.

“Pond” “Hazard” and “Drop Shot” are worth the green fee alone. The club has been around since 1919, so it knows what it is doing.

The Best Nine Holes in the Land (so far)

The morning after a storm is always calm, I found a cracker clear day in Titahi Bay in Wellington. Titahi Golf Club is where Michael Campbell started his rather splendid career. This course is 9 holes and following the day out here it went straight to the top of my best nine holes in the country list.

A remarkable course on sweeping undulating slopes with brilliant risk and reward holes. Understated but not unnoticed. I’m glad I missed Titahi in a storm, my impression may have been somewhat different.

I once played Tokanui Golf Course in a breeze that was much stronger than stiff. I was actually very pleased to be playing the Southernmost golf course on the mainland with a Foveaux straight wind belting across the course. It made the whole course make sense, you don’t go to a water park and not expect to get wet.

Country golf courses struggle to get recognition, people don’t go country very often, the greens staff are usual one, with volunteers keeping these place in good order. That is why I was surprised to find Walton Golf Club. Following a closed sign at Tirau Golf Club due to the dreaded coring season, I stumbled up the treelined Walton driveway. In the Waikato countryside near Cambridge, this is a real hidden gem.

I didn’t expect it would end up on my top NZ golf course list. It slowly grew on me as I walked the fairways of this top-class country golf course. The layout, the location, the well looked after greens and fairways and the beautiful TREES. Like being on a garden tour it was a well thought out and a great place to play golf.

If you want to get lost in rustic whilst in the Waikato, there are many choices. “The best 9 holes in the Waikato” according to the team at Hukanui Golf Club is found 30 minutes north of Hamilton. Hard to disagree with that sentiment, the bar was open, the welcome friendly, the variety of challenges across the 2 hours was remarkable.

“Canyon” the signature hole across a small canyon was fun. The last green on the course is nearly in the clubhouse, “Walnuts” is a great finishing hole.

If this isn’t rustic enough for you, get in the car and find Waiterimu Golf Club. Proper electric fences and a flock of green keepers to manage the fairways. Somewhere near Huntly, you’ll enjoy the solitude of the country here.

An excellent collection of rural golf courses in New Zealand, and only a little slice of what is out there. When you come to plan a wee golf trip, don’t rush passed a small rural offering in favour of the big names out in the press. Save yourself a dollar and play a course that will give you some real character and might even surprise you just a wee bit.

Waikato

Hukanui Golf Club – Finishing with Walnuts on Masters Weekend

November 28, 2020 Ken Orr

A morning spent watching the third round of the Masters spurred me into the car and off to golf. A little known Waikato nine hole course in the countryside was a mystery box.

I was surprised to see the club rooms open in the afternoon at Hukanui Golf Club. I was more surprised that the friendly welcome was all genuine. Following the financial transaction the lady in the club talked me through the layout of the course. I headed off down the laneway towards the first, excited by the prospect.

The first is right next to the road, “Roadway”, not Roadhole, it was a drive you don’t want from the first tee. The noise of the busy traffic drew your attention. The group in front were walking the road line peering across the tarmac.

With the tee shot sorted and in the fairway, I found that the green isn’t too far from the passing cars either. A small green which was soft and slow.

Number 2 was into the wind and a challenging hit, 189 metres – with the road still on the left. Following a lavish swish of my hybrid from the tee, I headed off to peer across the tarmac. It was a beautiful high draw that bounced down the road, missing the oncoming traffic thankfully. 3 shots out of my 4 handicap for the nine dropped on the 2nd, this could be a tricky round.

My confidence was still high, I’d scored my best round in the year of lockdown down at Clarks Beach a few days before. Five over the card on the course, that made me feel like a golfer.

Okay, the classic hole names of Homeward Bound and Westward Ho were nowhere to be seen. But we got “Long John” on the 3rd, is this a Treasure Island pirate reference – it could be my new most cringe-worthy hole name.

It was a long par 5, of course. Right-hand dogleg needing a powerful draw from the tee. I imagined the laser tracer thing that follows a drive at the Masters on the TV, bending perfectly around the corner. Nailed it! Visualisation works after all.

The 4th was another par 5, called “not so Long John” – no it wasn’t – but it was shorter and a great driving hole over a ridge to a blind fairway. I nearly hit a random foot golfer.
The club has opened up to footgolf, which is cool and will provide much-needed revenue. The footballers have no idea how hard a golf ball is, so it may end up in disaster.

I was enjoying the course and the conditions but my excitement following the clubhouse lady’s description had lessened at little, nice course but maybe not great.

I was wrong, the uphill short par 4 fifth hole was a great golf hole – fairway bunkers to ask you the question and a hidden gully to stop you laying up. There were wonderful views from the hilltop green. It started a run of 5 holes that were excellent.

The 152 metre downhill 6th, “Beehive” was buzzin’ from it’s elevated tee. I had been told that the 7th over the gully was the course’s signature.

The Canyon

We cracked a can of zero alcohol beer for the occasion and let 2 foot golfers pass through, (very short are these soccer players). If you want a bit of fun at the supermarket ask them why they need a supervisor to the check out to allow you to buy zero alcohol beer, it’s beer you see.

So “Canyon” is the risk or reward hole of the day. Drive over the gully, canyon might make you think of the place in America, not quite as big here at Hukanui Golf Club.

The hole is all risk, OB on the left, trees on the right, a narrowing fairway leading into the green protected by a great deep bunker. Don’t hit the driver, there is no reward.

Just as hole names were improving, we got a “Deception” – the 8th needs a high fade over the corner. DJ was doing it around Augusta all day so why not me. Visualisation saw a perfect DJ like drive ( minus about 100 metres or so)

Walnuts

At the last you get “Walnuts”, the road comes back into play on the left and the clubhouse is 2 paces from the back of the green. You could put your drink order on your ball ready for a quick thinned tee shot. 123 metres to the green it is a lovely way to complete the course.

I was even more pleased to see the bar was still open, not normal for a country course later in the day. Sitting at the back of the ninth enjoying a real beer was very pleasant indeed.

The club claims they have the best 9 holes in the Waikato. I tend to agree, but I’ve only played one other. It ranks up there on the Top 10 NZ Nine Hole Golf Course list.

The course is tidy, the layout is challenging and the clubrooms are very friendly. Cheers Hukanui Golf Club for a great day out.

Waikato

Walton Golf Club – One Tree Five to the green

November 19, 2020 Ken Orr 3 Comments

By accident, on this day I discovered Walton Golf Club. The hidden gem of New Zealand golf courses. A claim made by many but not always backed up. This course could be the real thing.

Following an overnight stop in Taupo, I searched for a course heading north that has appeal on this rustic tour of NZ golf courses. Breakfast on the lake was amazing. I had a quick look at the Lake Taupo hole in one challenge, it was packed with suckers trying to hole out for cash. Like the traveller rigged fairground games – heads they win – tails you lose.

Today’s decision of where to play my round of golf was not dictated by the weather gods. It was the warmest day of the year so far.
When you head north out of Taupo you pass Wairakei Golf + Sanctuary, I slowed knowing that quality lies behind the walls. But this not for today’s challenge, I was going rustic.

I made the decision to pass 2 courses, Tokoroa Golf Club and Putaruru Golf Club, before stopping in Tirau, the corrugated capital of New Zealand. Tirau Golf Club was CLOSED! Arghh bloody coring. The greenkeeper came over to offer an apology that we missed out on the chance to play, he suggested Walton Golf Club. Only a little way up the road near the Cambridge area.

We drove merrily along in search of Walton, through some beautiful countryside with horse stud farms dotted all around the area.

The tree-lined arrival into Walton was a hint to what we had in store ahead of us. The car park looked busy for a little course in the countryside on a Monday. Was there some International COVID
defying event taking place?

There were many ladies in purple around the clubhouse, luckily they were finishing up their round. So we had the course to ourselves mainly.

Lathered in sunscreen for the first time this season and the smell of fresh blossom put a pep in my step.
Golfers should not like trees. I don’t study trees and have little expertise in this field. I do know Onewhero Golf Club has too many macrocarpas.

But here at Walton I maybe have loosened my dislike of a tree. Someone has taken great pride in planting a vast collection of trees here, plenty of cherry blossoms, and well-manicured conifers, a magnolia or two plus more species I need help with. It was a pleasure to see such a spectacular spring day be reflected in the trees all around the course.

There were recognizable tall tall pines trees and wispy
willows plus a rhododendron when needed. The course could easily host a garden tour visit as well as golf.

No hole names here today at Walton Golf Club. The 1st had a nice elevated look at what was coming up. A par 5 first up is always good news in my opinion.

Following a long time sitting in the car getting to a golf course, I always think a wee warm-up should be included before starting the round. I didn’t do that and struggled to find the fairway pulling my driver into a different culture of trees on the first few holes.

The course is longer than most rural courses at 5,725 metres a par 72. There are no easy wins here, the 7th, a par 5, the par 3 8th and the 9th heading back up to the side of the clubrooms was a nice run of holes. All with good bunkering.

I’m not sure of my favourite hole on the course. The 10th through to the 13th was enjoyable. Ending with a cool water pump windmill thing at the back of the green.

After this, the course had more trees and a great outlook in front of me. It was certainly a very pretty part of the course. This golf course had a charm all the way around and it seemed to me that it was comfortable in its own skin.

The greens had been cored 5 weeks before – the Tirau Golf Club greenkeeper told me, so they were hard and difficult to hold the ball on. You needed to drop most approaches onto the front edge. That said they were very true and made for good putting. With my new found putting religion, I enjoyed the short game today.

The area is new to me, the farmland surrounding the course was a good looking affair and well-groomed. There are views out the distant mountain ranges. A thoroughly pleasant place to play golf. I might have found a golf course that has missed the limelight, but maybe the locals like it that way.

Adding Walton Golf Club to the Top New Zealand Golf courses list was an easy decision. I felt the community in the trees, the love in the fairways and all of this with one greenkeeper.

As toilet situations go, they were in pretty locations. Fine loo’s to match the rest of the course. So if you got to go, go to Walton. You will not be disappointed with this country golf course in the heart of the Waikato.

Wellington

Karori Golf Club – Naturally Golf, are they nudists?

November 8, 2020 Ken Orr

Karori is the largest suburb in New Zealand. So there. Karori Golf Club is 8 km’s from here on the road to Makara, an area known for mountain biking and rural living.

The course is set down in the valley and is in a beautiful countryside setting. I was a member at Karori for a few years and really love playing here.

Normally coming out of the winter the course can be a little damp underfoot but I found it in excellent condition today.
The membership in the years gone by was strong and the club was humming, but it is getting harder to operate a golf course now. I had a quick chat with the course manager who is working hard to grow memberships and keep the club moving forward for the community to enjoy.

The tag line at Karori Golf Club is Naturally Golf, to reflect the semi-rural location, the course easily moulds into the environment. A peaceful place to play your golf and no cell coverage! I wonder if they get a nudist crowd showing up mistaking the message? With dwindling numbers maybe “Naturally Golf” could bring a different crowd, a nudist NZ first perhaps….?

The first at Karori is a hole that I dream about. A dogleg to the right where hitting too well and straight will put you in trouble with the trees. You could use an iron to get up to the corner or “slide” your driver around and over to leave an easy approach. I go for the slide and rarely execute it. But I never fail to play it out in my mind on the drive through the country lanes to the course.

The course favours someone with a power fade like me – I used to have more of a squirting slice when I played here. Two holes in the first 3 are right-hand doglegs, called “Bent” and “Seriously Bent”?

The par 3’s

The par 3’s here are all good. 3 crackers on the front nine. Number 2 over the tall tall tree, requires a high confident blow early in your round, to land on a large plateau green. The gettable 4th is inviting a good short iron at the pin.

The 6th with first look at the wind turbines

Followed by the treacherous 6th, “Shorty’s Heartbreak” which may be some peoples vote for best hole on the course. Only 121 metres from the blues, but don’t be short or the stream and steep gully will take your ball.

Only one par 3 on the back nine, the 13th is usually into the prevailing wind and deceptively longer than it views.

Before I go any further I need to discuss the hole names here at Karori. I don’t remember the hole names from my days as a member. They may have been there but I can’t recall them. I may be going mad.

I had my own name for the 9th, It is officially called the “Big Dipper.” My name for the number 1 stroke hole was a little cruder. So these must be new?

The ninth needs a monster of a drive off of the elevated tee. Outta the screws or your approach will be difficult across a large gully. Miss the fairway and you are laying up. A par here is a great result.

The making of the course is the variety of holes and the challenges they bring. The back nine is the best of the 2 sides. With a combination of holes, some requiring a solid drive others shorter par 4’s requiring a thinking man’s golfer.

My favourite hole is the 12th looking down at the shortish 258-metre par 4 knowing one great blow will get me on the green. The green slopes back to front willing you take it on. The fairway bunkers can be in play if you mis-fire. “Dizzy Heights” makes my Best golf Holes in new Zealand list.

The 2 bunkers on 12th are the only ones on the back nine and matched with only one bunker on the front on the par 5 7th.

I love the drive off of the 15th, “High and Mighty” says it all as you look out over the pond at the green far far away– I don’t think I have parred this hole in many years trying. A long iron is usually required into a tricky green if your drive gives you a chance.

The 17th is a hole that I know the driver is not needed. At 297metres if you get too close to the green, trees and a gully make it a tricky approach. A sensible 7 iron leaves a 9 iron – this is a test of how comfortable you are with your manhood to play sensible and measured golf.

The left-hand dogleg on the 18th is a great way to finish, hitting over the blind corner and down a steep slope. Local knowledge is an advantage. The tight little green sitting behind an overhanging tree needs an accurate and confident finish to your round here.

You will not find a friendlier golf course in the area, so if you need an afternoon out of the city, Karori Golf Club is your best option. It can be a little hilly for those not match fit, but this adds interest across the excellent course design.

Wellington

Mornington Golf Club – Up and down for a bit of Frisbie Golf

November 2, 2020 Ken Orr

Mornington Golf Club is a true municipal course. I was first seen with a golf club in hand on the municipal golf course of Knightswood in Glasgow. These courses are – not country – not rustic – not local – not a community – but municipal. Probably council workmen will cut the grass – maybe with a little less passion than a local club. At Mornington Golf Club, you pay at a parking meter by the first tee – a long way from the picture on the website of a green fee custodian in the 1920’s taking green fees.

I didn’t know much about this course, never really felt the need to play here. It is a golf course for everyone and was born in 1915. This was the vision of Robert Cameron, a Scot and maybe the originator of the first public golf course in New Zealand. The history of the course has to commended by bringing golf to the common man. I am one of those, but who isn’t really?

I met one fella walking his dog, “ Lots of golfers out today!” he barked, the man, not the dog. It seemed like an odd thing to bring up, on a golf course.
Another man had a dog with him as part of the four-ball, actually a five-ball with the dog. He played a hole with his dog by his side, I watched him chunk a chip and then another one and then he barely made the green with his next chunk. The dog looked dismayed and wandered away, missing the blasted putt up the green. It gave him no chance of making a two-putt for his up up up and down down down.

I heard his partner ask what were you in for there? “Put me down for a 6” he announced, even the dog looked embarrassed.

There were Frisbie Throwers on the second fairway, throwing down towards me as I teed up. What’s going on? This place is just a big shared park. Then I recognized the metal Frisbee catcher on the fairway. It is actually a Frisbee golf destination shared with an actual golf course.

True community cross usage. If you are having a bad round bring a Frisbee and maybe a dog or a kite.

I puffed all the way around here, the course is a collection of greens, tee boxes and hills. Trees are added in because they grew here. But it is a fantastically irritating golf course.

Lots of short par 4’s from one side of a steep valley up to the other. Looking down the barrel of a 224-meter par 4 normally is a thrill. But the greens are up in the sky at the top of a hill. Tee off into the hillside in front of you, hit a blind approach and pump your legs up the hill to find out where it landed. REPEAT UNTIL you go home.

There is a treat of a 203-meter par 3, early in the round, making the walk to the elevated tee still enjoyable.

The ninth is a hoof of a hole off of the top of the course down into a valley and up to an elevated green. A par 5 that you’d like to think you’d reach in 2 at 409 metres.

This part of the course is shared by the inner city loop track as if dog walkers and Frisbee chuckers weren’t enough, ramblers were added.

I got attacked by a magpie on the 11th – the noise I made was something I was not proud of. I quickly tapped in my putt to get away from the little bugger. Play with your sunglasses on top of your hat like eyes in the sky that will keep them away. Apparently.

The greens were soft and large, easy to land on in the main. The putting surface was okay but it took a lot of concentration to focus on the “just get it in” mentality.

You whip across the busy Adelaide road to finish your round. The course has a long history from its inception and works well for a community alongside the bowls club and other rec areas.

But it is not a place for a leisurely day out. The hills were a nightmare and the set up was nothing short of annoying. You do get some great looks out across Wellington as you move up and down the course.
So take a moment to enjoy them before tackling another hill climb.

Wellington

Titahi Golf Club – Home of Cambo

October 29, 2020 Ken Orr

There is nothing like Wellington on a good day. It was a very good day when I ripped back my curtains. I was on a rustic tour of NZ golf courses. Is it me that is rustic or the golf courses?

Titahi is more than rustic, 9 holes of a community golf course near Porirua only a short 15 minutes from central Wellington. On a cracking morning like this one, it was definitely the best way to start my day.

Funny thing, I lived in Wellington for 10 plus years, I did not know this course was here. I visited Porirua many a time but never ventured around the coast a little bit to discover this great wee 9
hole golf course. It is short at 5,133 metres for the gents.

There were a couple of groups out in front of me when I got there. The man in the shop let me know these slow buggers might get in my way. I made the decision to just go easy, enjoy my own company and soak up the surroundings.

This is the home of the 2005 US open champ – Michael Cambell. This club is obviously exceptionally proud of the success this New Zealand golf legend had.

Cambo was a natural golfer and stood next to the greats to win a major and compete for many more in his golden era. Cambo visited my son’s school in Queenstown with the US Open Trophy, I realised that day how hard it would be for a kiwi lad to beat the rest of the world at this crazy game. And more difficult to beat Tiger Woods on the day who was his closest rival.

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I spent a little time on the practice putting green. The view from here was awesome, a glimpse of the water and the sweeping course looked beautiful. I was still focusing on getting my putting game on track. Dr. Bob Rotella would be proud, as his words played over in my mind. Just put it in clear your mind and hole the putt.

The course felt on the municipal side, a course for everyone of all abilities. But not unloved, with massive sweeping fairways on the edge of the bay. It offered up some interesting stances in the fairway.

The course was in good condition, the greens were a little on the soft side but flat and true. A little links-like with limited trees to annoy a poor drive.

The view from the 3rd tee shows off the course and I felt pleased with my decision to visit Titahi Bay today. A 265-metre par 4 that makes you think you are good enough to reach the green.

The 4th was a lovely driving hole, I enjoyed a birdie on the 4th, following a sweet 8 iron to a few feet.

The golf here offers you good risk and reward dog legs 281 metre 5th and 239 metre 7th. The opportunity to score well is on offer but not a giveaway.
On the 5th I lipped out for birdie number 2 in a row. High confidence and high on the location, I was loving the game of golf today.

The 8th is a par 3 into the prevailing wind at 190 metres it needed a bullet of a hit to make the green.

Sitting up on the 9th tee ready to play the number 1 stroke hole, the elevated tee was a nice spot to reflect on a golf course that I’d put on the top of my 9 hole golf course list. A tractor was swooshing across the fairways breaking my silence.

I could have been swayed by the weather or the presence of Cambo. It may have been sitting there on the final tee 1 over the card for 8 holes.

Heading up the hill to the 9th green in front of the clubrooms is a difficult approach. I had a messy double-bogey 6 on the 9th but this didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the course.

Titahi is a must-play when the sun is up in the Wellington sky. Unassuming but impressive none the less, you’ll feel much better about life after a couple of hours here.