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.
