This golf club has history. Poverty Bay Golf Club was formed in 1893, the fifth course to be established in New Zealand.
A traditional links with excellent greens and undulating fairways. A top golf course and a treasure on the Aotearoa golfing map.
Awapuni Links was built around the dunes in 1913 when the club was moved out of its original home. The premier course in the region, so put it on your list.
PHYSICAL ADDRESS:
Lytton Road, Gisborne Airport, Gisborne 4010
Poverty Bay Golf Club
Poverty Bay Golf Club is a legend in the New Zealand golfing family. Located just 3km from Gisborne city centre, this is the first city golf course to see the sun rise in the whole world. If that’s not special enough, it’s also New Zealand’s 5th oldest club.
Gisborne – known as “Tairawhiti” (the light shines on the water) – is a great place to relax and take your mind off big city “first-world” problems. Captain Cook landed the Endeavour right here in 1768, though he probably didn’t stay long – the golf club took 230 years to come together after his arrival. The oral history of settlement dates back to the 1300s when the great navigator Kiwa found his way here, in search of golf, but he left empty handed. The golf story really begins in 1893 when a meeting of golf minds formed the club.
We decided to tackle nine holes on this lovely evening and return to do the back nine first thing tomorrow morning.
A warm welcome at a golf club is something you don’t see often enough. Here at Awapuni Links, entering the pro shop was a breath of fresh air – genuine interest and a warm feeling of golf in the blood of these people.
It is a course of historic value in NZ, and the gentleman in the pro shop was kind enough to pass on a copy of a magical history book compiled in 2007. The problem with history is you need to keep it in front of mind. If I had one criticism, perhaps the entrance to the course needs to better showcase its history and ask people to remember those who have gone before.
Before I delve into the day and the course, a moment to talk about distance markers. Here, the in-fairway markers are to the front edge, but there’s a white post that seems to indicate the middle of the green, and some sprinkler heads show distances possibly to the back edge. Why isn’t this standardized across golf? Middle of the green, front edge – pick one. And what’s with some courses using red as 100 meters and others as 90? Beware and check the details with someone – or just buy a range finder and embrace modern technology, leaving this quarrel to the traditionalists. Check out a selection here What-to-look-for-in-a-golf-rangefinder
I stood on the first tee pumped to be here. I could see the undulations across the course – classic links. Minimal trees to upset you but bunkering that looked like the real deal.
A par 5 to get you going – “Awapuni” – with a fairway framed by humps on either side. My first look at the greens – tidy, some of the best I’ve putted on for a while. I was expecting them to be quicker; they weren’t as slick as “links” would suggest, but suited me just fine.
The second had “classic” written all over it. A long bunker stretched across the front of the green with two others on the left and right to encourage you to put the ball on the green. Only 150 metres – what could go wrong? The hole is called “Redhead,” named after the architect’s lady friend who was a redhead, she had no hair just a red head, or actually named after architect CH Redhead, honoured for his work on course alterations in 1927.
Back-to-back doglegs follow – the 3rd to the left, 4th to the right. No bunkers on the 3rd, but the slopes on the green are trouble enough. One bunker greenside on the 4th, but the slope off the back of the green will put you in a hollow well below green level. All good links stuff. Both holes provide good driving tests and a reminder that links golf isn’t easy.
A great course design tempts you with attackable par 4s and tricky par 3s – holes that draw you in and pumps your ego, waiting for one slip in your accuracy. Then suddenly you’re head-high in a pot bunker or in a hollow by the green thinking: flop shot? Bump and run? Putt? Anything to escape with no more than 3 shots from there.
My round came to life on the 5th, a 460-metre par 5 – the longest hole on the course – heading back up to the front of the clubhouse. Following the drive of the day and a fat fairway wood, I found myself in a classic links deep hollow. A good stance was not forthcoming, but a solid iron gave me a putt at birdie. This set me up for three good looks at birdie during this lively period. I only three-putted once from these great opportunities.
The longest hole is followed by the shortest – the 6th at just 118 metres with 5 bunkers (which seems excessive).
I enjoyed the 8th called “Sahara” – chipping in for a well-deserved birdie at last.
The 9th is the longest par 4. There was a following breeze after a good blow from the tee and a brilliant 8 iron. At this point, I was annoyed we were only playing 9 holes, especially since it’s been a while since I scored well on both front and back nines. I planned to return the next day after immersing myself in “Links with the Past” (1893-2007) by JE Rouse.
Unfortunately, the only massive rain day on my East coast tour followed the next morning, so I never got a chance to finish my round. The gods of golf are generally unkind people. There must be more than one golfing god – how could the manipulation of your golf ball be the work of only one? This amount of trickery is definitely the work of a committee of gods who no doubt drink too much.
But on this occasion, the gods weren’t testing my resolve to play in a downpour – they were encouraging me to move on to greater things around the East Cape, leaving some unfinished business behind. I will return to complete my mission. For now, Poverty Bay Golf Club joins the list of great New Zealand golf courses.