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.