The Tour of Southland is a historic and popular local cycle race. I was oblivious to its existence as I headed to Gore Golf Club on my own tour of Southland. I met the Tour on the road from Winton, they were going at a great lick through the Southland countryside. A marshal was holding traffic in front of me to allow the Tour to speed on, he told me they were headed for a finish line in Gore.  I assumed their speed and the extra energy in the Tour today was fuelled by the excitement to get to Gore to secure an afternoon tee time at Gore Golf Club, one of the best courses in the region.

I managed to get around and ahead the Tour, arriving at Gore Golf Club on a pleasant southland day. Gore Golf Club has a rich history dating back to 1903, I was intent on making the 120-year-old course proud of my effort to get across to take it on. Southland has 24 golf courses, and only six of them are a full 18 holes. Gore is reputedly one the best in the region.

I got on my bike and sprinted to the start line, the first hole, “Hokonui.” A par 5 at only 431 metres but stroke hole 4 – be suspicious when you see that little matric. Hokonui is a small town in Southland, a radio station, the hills in this region and the name of a famous Moonshine, which was no doubt present at the opening day of the club.

There is a creek 40 metres short of the green on the 1^st – which is invisible to the unsuspecting. A clever hole to get you underway, 2 big blows will get you there, but the smart golfer will start with a lay-up in two and focus on an accurate pitch.

There had been a bit of rain lately in the region and this made the course soft but still in good condition. The greens at the outset were flat and quite slow, most likely because I was playing at the start of the summer season. The course is parkland and tree-lined on most holes with wide fairways. Across the 18 holes, it is predominantly flat with limited bunkering.

The first par 3 of the day, number 4, was a roadside hole of 184 metres, in the heavy conditions it required a full carry to get up to the green. “Croydon” was a flat a simple hole if you can blank out the road all the way down the right. The name of the hole is a nod to the area of Gore the course sits in, the course is often referred to as Croydon Links.

Inevitably, a Southland staple, there was a Whisky “something” in the hole names. The 5^th was “Whisky Creek” a short par 4 that you can attack – your approach to a small green that tilts towards you, needs some attention. Up to this point, the greens were flat, from here on in there was nice undulation and the greens were quickening as the sun burned through the damp. The south is a region with much Scottish heritage, settlers from the motherland took to farming, making whisky, and playing golf from the early years. There is a Moonshine Museum and some great stories of early times of whisky making. Check out more here.

When I walked off the 5^th the group of 4 in front were sitting on the 6^th tee box enjoying a beer. Waiting for me to play through. They were from Island Park Golf Club on a weekend annual jolly. Gore Golf Club, followed by Invercargill Golf Club and back home via Milton Golf Club.

The 6^th is an uphill par 3 of 155 metres “Mokoia” needed an extra club to get up to the small green, I was advised by the group. I hadn’t been playing well to this point and was a bit nervous about hitting a 5-iron into the green. I was given the seal of approval when I dropped the ball 6 feet from the hole.

I had two more groups of Island Park men in front of me, following the par 5 7^th another short par 5, 410 metres – I worked out that the creek in front of the 1^st would have been in a similar place to the front of the 7^th – I laid up and popped the approach to a few feet. The group in front had stopped to let me through (or to have a beer)

I got off the 8^th and through the 2nd group in good spirits, the sun was drying the course, the golf was getting better, and the surroundings were very pleasant. The 8^th finishes at the clubhouse “Tuturau”

The 3^rd group of I.P.G.C Clansmen let me through on the 10^th – following a nice short par 3 of 123 metres. I was on the 9^th green, one of the men shouted “If you don’t f*#k about too much over that putt you can play through!”

A nice drive, in front of them off the 10^th was greeted with congrats and civilities. I was beginning to rack up a few pars and missed birdie putts. The 11^th is a par 3 to a sloping green, a pretty wee number, “The Gully” I notched up another missed birdie putt and swiftly got onto the 12^th – a real slog up hill to a soft fairway and it played all its 410 metres.

On the 13^th a group of 6 men drinking Speights were not going far or quickly, they let me play through. The 13^th tee shot is over a deep gully up to a small green, par 4 at 217 metres. I didn’t know how to approach the hole. I grabbed the driver and swung for dear life to get out of the way of the 6 men out for a drink, with the odd golf in between. The ball came to rest 2 feet from the hole! There was a collection of well-dones and the like. They had no idea I had struggled to hit a straight drive all day to this point. I tapped in for an eagle, quickly tidying up the scorecard!

I was certainly enjoying the course a lot better following a flat uninteresting start. 14 – “Dusky” was a nice driving hole and it had an excellent looking green with a dangerous tiering in the front and an OB road behind. I hit a lovely iron onto the back edge, my game was working just fine now.

The 15th, “Old Clubhouse” was a short par 4, 302 metres back toward the old clubhouse, another chance to keep the momentum going. I didn’t take it as no one was watching anymore. The same story of capitulation on 16^th “Mount Wendon” which had the largest green on the course.

I was pondering my hole of the course nominations, trying to not pick the 13^th because of my epic tee shot. The 17^th “Fishers” was in contention, 142 metres, road on the right, a deep bank on the left and attractive sloping green. I parred well after missing the green.

I would say the 6^th was my top pick of the course and is fairly placed on the best in NZ list.

I stood on the last very pleased to be there at Gore Golf Club, but one big challenge to come 370 metres back toward the clubhouse, “The Gums” was long with no run out of the fairways. I was on a playing handicap of 10 for the course, a solid bogey would put me on 80 for the day and nett 1 under for the par 71.

I was short in 2 and faced a tricky pitch up a ledge in front of the green, I played a percentage pitch and run up to 15 feet for safety. The I.P.G.C. Clan were out front of the clubhouse having beers and a good time. I rolled the putt in with a rattle on the flag stick and got a cheer from the crowd.
Gore Golf Club is not only steeped in history, making it a must-play for golf enthusiasts, it is a quality golf course. The layout of the holes is clever, and challenging and requires mixed skills and some intelligence to find your way around.

Gore deserves a place on the Top New Zealand Golf Courses List, the history, the quality greens and the challenging course layout are what this little game is all about.