Mataura Golf Club is a flat 9 hole course. With impressive hedgerows and established trees. The recent rain had subsided enough to get the greenkeeper out. I was fortunate again on my Southland tour to get the best of conditions.

A quiet day at Mataura Golf Club, there was only one other group out on the course. The Clubrooms looked good from through the window. Although the practice putting green obviously wasn’t used much.

Just over 5,500 metres for the 2 rounds of nine, the course is no pushover. 2 par 5’s and 2 par 3’s on each nine make it a par 72.

There is a neat little bridge to help you cross a gully in the 3rd fairway. It was dry but I wondered at the time if maybe there was some flooding in the area that would change the dynamic of the hole.

Following the recent flooding event in Mataura and surrounding districts, they were in a state of emergency which certainly would have covered the golf course. This was the biggest flood seen here since 1978.

My thoughts go out to the people of the area and I hope the recovery is swift for you all.

The 4th par 3 is …oh no .. Westward Ho at 139 metres on the 2nd nine it turns into “Good Hit” 171 metres.

Sponsored by a local Windscreen company – clever marketing with a car park close enough to the course to generate some business eventually.

After “Good Hit” came “High Tension” due to the overhead cables. They certainly came into play with your approach to the green.

There was a Bonanza on the card, not quite as common as Westward Ho. But why Bonanza? A great western show in the 60’s but what has it got to do with golf course names?

I enjoyed the last towards the clubhouse, called “Clubhouse” and “Last Chance” A par 5 needing clever placement of your drive to get a shot at the green, even laying up needed some thought to avoid the encroaching trees.

I found a surprise package at Mataura Golf Club. Surprisingly well ordered and surprisingly mature as a nine-hole rural golf course. The fairways around Mataura are quite wide and inviting. The greens were fine and flat.

Can it compete with Drummond for Southland’s best nine holes? Not quite, but I suggest if you are in Mataura bring the clubs and get out to enjoy the course.